Khruangbin is a three-piece band from Texas, formed of Laura Lee on bass, Mark Speer on guitar, and Donald Johnson on drums. Mark and DJ’s roots are in R&B, Hip Hop and Gospel having played within the same gospel band for years. Both professional musicians, Mark began teaching Laura how to play bass in the summer of 2009. As such, Laura quickly developed a huge passion for the instrument and the aesthetic it brought to music she loved. Having worked studiously on developing her skills, both Mark and Laura were invited to tour with Ninja Tune’s YPPAH supporting Bonobo across his 2010 American tour.
The tour galvanised the two of them to start making music together more seriously, sowing the first seeds of Khruangbin. Taking influence from 1960’s Thai funk – Khruangbin literally translates to “Engine Fly” in Thai – the two took a trip to a barn deep in the Texas countryside and jammed for the entire weekend, developing a sound which was steeped the bass heavy, psychedelic sound of their inspiration. Khruangbin was formed, with D.J. the natural go to for drums. The band recently signed to LNT offshoot Night Time Stories, with an album planned in 2015. Get their first single ‘A Calf Born In Winter’ now on iTunes.
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