![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/khruangbin.jpg\")
<\/p>\nCrafting a musical style upon a foundation of Thai funk might seem a bit high-concept, especially if you’re a band that makes your albums in a barn in rural Texas. But as unlikely as it might seem, that’s the story that has grown up around Khruangbin, a trio based in Burton, a city of less than 400 souls.<\/p>\n
Vocalist and bass guitarist Laura Lee admits that her group does draw some influence from a style of music that sought to reinterpret American funk for Southeast Asian audiences. But she thinks that too much has been made of the connection. \u201cWe got labeled as Thai funk because people couldn’t place our genre,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd because our name is Khruangbin,\u201d she adds with a laugh. Literally translated from Thai to English, the name means \u201cengine fly.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople thought we were just interpreting the Thai music, but we’re just playing music that sounds good to us,\u201d Lee says. \u201cWe are just who we are, and we’re pulling from influences that maybe aren’t the average thing that\u2019s coming out of music today.\u201d<\/p>\n
In fact Khruangbin’s sound \u2013 a slinky, sultry and sometimes psychedelic stew with a decidedly cinematic feel \u2013 bears the influence of many exotic styles; many of the song titles on the band’s latest album, Con Todo el Mundo<\/i>, are in Spanish. And thanks to drummer Donald Johnson, Khruangbin’s music owes a clear debt to hip-hop as well. \u201cMy approach to drumming is breakbeat-based,\u201d he says, describing music that itself drew upon 1960s and ’70s funk and soul.<\/p>\n
Johnson notes that ultimately, all three band members \u2013 himself, Lee and guitarist Mark Speer \u2013 \u201ccome from all different places, but eventually meet up together.\u201d He believes that two acts that influenced his group (as well as most everyone else who has come along in the last few decades) are British instrumental band the Shadows and James Brown.<\/p>\n
On the band’s earliest recordings, Khruangbin chose to focus on a purely instrumental approach. Even now, the vocals are used more as an instrument, providing tone color more than serving as a means to deliver a lyrical message. \u201cWhen we started, nobody wanted to sing,\u201d Johnson says. And when they did add vocals, the band decided to use a unison approach. That way, Johnson explains, \u201cno one person stands out more than the others.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, Lee emphasizes the Khruangbin’s lyrics are more than just sonic decoration. \u201cYou like something for the way it sounds,\u201d she explains. \u201cAnd then if it’s something that you’re really into, you can start to dig and find out that the raw ingredients are really special too.\u201d She says that even though the lyrics aren’t the focus of Khruangbin’s songs, \u201cif you went and discovered them, I think we would be proud of what you would find.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lee allows that she is surprised at the band’s popularity. \u201cEspecially when we have everything going against us: we’re mainly instrumental and we have a band name that nobody can figure out.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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