Formed of Laura Lee on bass, Mark Speer on guitar, and Donald Johnson on drums, KhruangBin is a three-piece band from Texas. Taking influence from 1960's Thai funk, they are truly steeped in the bass heavy, psychedelic sound of their inspiration, Tarantino soundtracks and surf-rock cool. The trio's first single 'A Calf Born In Winter' was released in May 2014 by Late Night Tales offshoot Night Time Stories. 'The Infamous Bill' is an expanded offering of KhruangBin's exotic, individual sound. The EP's four tracks were recorded at their spiritual home, a remote barn deep in the Texas countryside where KhruangBin's first rehearsals took place.
And their newest 'The Universe Smiles Upon You' is their strongest project yet. Their music is mainly instrumental, with a strange-yet-familiar quality that comes from the elements they most enjoyed on those Thai cassettes: funky bass, twangy or fuzzy wah-wah guitar, horn blasts and tonal melodies that come from traditional folk. KhruangBin boasts both psychedelic and dreamy personas without belonging to either the psych or dream-pop categories. They were part of a different tradition that we were excited to welcome to the Room Service stage… and they truly lived up to their hype.
