Speer and Johnson met in 2004 when they played for Pastor Rudy Rasmus' St. John's Methodist Church gospel band in Houston, Texas. The church employed Speer as the guitarist and Johnson as the organist.[6] The two musicians attended a bar after Tuesday night rehearsal, and Speer revealed his extensive knowledge of music from around the globe. Johnson calls him "a music encyclopedia" and Speer told The New York Times Magazine that as a child, he was obsessed with the Microsoft Encarta CD-ROM's catalog of music samples from around the world.[7]
In 2007, Speer met Ochoa through friends, where they initially connected over a shared love of Afghan music and Middle Eastern architecture.[8] In 2009, Ochoa, who had trained on guitar and piano, started to learn the bass with guidance from Speer. After playing for six months, she auditioned and got the gig to be the bassist for Yppah on his upcoming tour. Speer already had the gig as guitarist for Yppah and had encouraged Ochoa to audition.[9] In 2010, both Ochoa and Speer went on tour with Yppah who opened for Bonobo.[10]
The tour motivated the two of them to make music together more seriously, leading them to form Khruangbin.[11] Speer and Ochoa went to a barn where they developed the bass-heavy, psychedelic sound that became the basis of the band's aesthetic.[11] Upon their return, they asked Johnson to join the band as drummer, to play simple break-beats under the guitar and bass.[12] The barn, located in the 300-person town of Burton, Texas, would become the site of many future Khruangbin recording sessions.[13] The band has a long-term working relationship with Houston-based engineer Steve Christensen.[14]
When asked to play their first gig, Ochoa, who was learning to speak Thai at the time, decided they should use her favorite Thai word "khruangbin" (Thai: เครื่องบิน; RTGS: khrueang bin), which means "airplane", as their name.[15] Speer said that, had they had the foresight to predict the band's success, they might not have chosen a name that was so difficult to pronounce.[12] Khruangbin has stated their name "symbolises the international set of influences that shaped our music".[15]
Speer described the band's creative process as focused.
"When we first started the band, we wanted to have a formula,” he says. “It’s like, ‘This is what we do, and we’re not gonna try and go outside the box too much. We’re gonna explore the box we’re in. I’ve always been a big fan of that. I used to be in bands where was like, ‘Man, we’ve gotta think outside the box!’ And all I’m thinking is: ‘You guys don’t even know.’ Music should never be just for the sake of being experimental. Before you even start, you have to know what you’re experimenting with first.”[16]
A notable part of the band's visual style is the black wigs that Ochoa and Speer wear on stage and during promotional interviews and photoshoots.[17]
Career
The Universe Smiles Upon You
After touring with Bonobo, Khruangbin's song "Calf Born in Winter" was included on his 2013 Late Night Tales compilation.[18] The song became one of the most popular tracks on the record, helping create an initial audience[11] for the band's first EP, History of Flight, and debut album, The Universe Smiles Upon You, in 2015.[19] The 2015 debut draws from the history of Thai music in the 1960s, specifically from luk thung.
In 2017, the band covered "Ma Beham Nemiresim" by Googoosh, a popular Iranian singer, for the Philia: Artists Rise Against Islamophobia compilation,[22][23] and created a Tehran-specific playlist on Spotify, in addition to many other city-specific playlists, as part of their AirKhruang DJ series.[24]
Con Todo el Mundo
Khruangbin at All Points East 2018
In January 2018, Khruangbin released their second album, Con Todo el Mundo.[20] The title of the album came from Ochoa's Mexican-American grandfather, who would often ask, "How do you love me?" ("¿Cómo me quieres?") and would only accept one response, "Con todo el mundo" or, in English, "with all the world."[19] The band said the title of the record is also a reference to the diverse range of musical influences that inspired it, primarily from the Middle East.[8] Later in the year they recorded live for Spotify an arrangement of the Indian song "Khuda Bhi Aasman Se", played by Mohammed Rafi in the movie Dharti.[25][26]Con Todo el Mundo (2018), has influences from Spain, and, with regard to the Middle East, specifically Iran.[2]
Speer, Ochoa, and Johnson also hosted "AirKhruang" radio shows on NTS Radio and Facebook Live.[24]
They opened for Leon Bridges on his 2018 tour, as well as Trey Anastasio's Ghosts of the Forest tour in 2019.[27] In 2019, Trey Anastasio also joined Khruangbin on stage at Lockn' Music Festival. In 2020, the group was featured on the cover of Relix.[28]
Mordechai
Khruangbin's third studio album, Mordechai, was released in June 2020 on Dead Oceans.[29] Three singles were released from the album, "Time (You & I)", "So We Won't Forget", and "Pelota".[30][31][32] The band also relaunched their AirKhruang DJ series, and the following year appeared on Austin City Limits performing with Leon Bridges.[33][34]
On September 23, 2022, the band released the album Ali, a collaboration with Vieux Farka Touré, featuring eight tracks of covers of songs by Vieux's father, Ali Farka Touré.[41][42]
In 2023, the band's 2014 single, A Calf Born in Winter, appeared as part of the soundtrack of the comedy-drama film, The Holdovers.
A La Sala
In January 2024, the band announced their fourth solo album, A La Sala, which was released on April 5, 2024, and shared a video for a new song, "A Love International."[43]
The band played both weekends of the 2024 ACL Music Festival in October 2024 in Austin, Texas.
In November 2024, the band was Grammy-nominated as Best New Artist.[44]
Genre and style
Khruangbin's style does not fit neatly into an existing genre.[45] The New York Times called it "extremely slippery, genrewise (Is it psychedelic lounge dub? Desert surf rock? The sound you hear inside a lava lamp?)."[7] Mostly instrumental,[46] the band's sound has been described as soul, surf rock, psychedelic, rock, dub and funk,[46][47] with one website even describing them as "electronic".[45] The most commonly used term to describe Khruangbin's music is Thai funk,[45] though the band members themselves challenge the convention of genres, publicly refusing to be pigeonholed into one particular label.[45] As music journalist Rob Shepherd noted for PostGenre, "the [name Khruangbin], which translates to 'flying engine' or airplane in Thai, is perfect for their music as it often crosses borders and cultures."[48]The New York Times wrote that Khruangbin's sound was so distinct and popular that "there now exists an entire subgenre of music broadly known as 'Khruangbin vibes.'"[7] The band focuses on simple gear and setup. In 2024, Ochoa said she has not changed the strings on her bass since 2010.[45]
Discography
Studio albums
List of studio albums, with selected details and peak chart positions
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