Khruangbin
Khruangbin are a Houston trio whose bass, guitar, and drums weave Thai funk, soul, dub, and psychedelia into mostly instrumental songs.
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Khruangbin’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus their backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
Overview
- From
- Houston, Texas
- Members
- Laura Lee Ochoa: bass; Mark Speer: guitar; Donald “DJ” Johnson Jr.: drums
- Early connection
- Mark and Laura toured with Yppah supporting Bonobo in 2010; DJ and Mark already played in a gospel band together.
- First wider exposure
- Bonobo included “A Calf Born in Winter” on his 2013 Late Night Tales compilation.
- Debut album
- The Universe Smiles Upon You, released November 6, 2015
- Name
- Khruangbin is Thai for airplane.
Mini bio
How it started.
Mark Speer and Laura Lee began taking their own music more seriously after touring with Yppah on Bonobo’s 2010 American tour. Mark brought in Donald “DJ” Johnson, his bandmate from a gospel group. Early rehearsals in a remote Texas barn gave the trio room to find their sound, with Thai cassettes playing on the long drives there.
Finding their listeners.
Bonobo put “A Calf Born in Winter” on his 2013 Late Night Tales mix, opening a door before the trio had released an album. The Universe Smiles Upon You followed in 2015. Their 2018 breakthrough, Con Todo El Mundo, widened the palette toward Mediterranean and Middle Eastern funk and soul while keeping the interplay between bass, guitar, and drums at its center.
A bigger musical family.
The trio made Texas Sun with Leon Bridges in 2020 and joined Vieux Farka Touré for Ali in 2022, revisiting music by his father, Ali Farka Touré. For 2024’s A LA SALA, they returned to making an album as a trio with longtime engineer Steve Christensen. The title recalls Laura Lee calling her family into the living room as a child.
Coming full circle.
A Best New Artist nomination at the 2025 Grammys recognized a band with years of records and touring behind it. Later that year, The Universe Smiles Upon You ii returned to the debut’s songs with fresh recordings and a new sequence, made back at the barn.
Creditschronological, newest first
Albums
- 2025The Universe Smiles Upon You iiPerformers; co-producers with Steve Christensen
- 2024A LA SALAWriters, arrangers and performers
- 2022AliCollaborators with Vieux Farka Touré; co-arrangers and co-producers
- 2020MordechaiRecording artists
- 2018Con Todo El MundoRecording artists
- 2015The Universe Smiles Upon YouDebut album performers
Collaborations and remixes
- 2025raat ki rani (Khruangbin Remix)Producers, remixers and instrumentalists with Arooj Aftab
- 2020Texas SunCollaborative EP artists with Leon Bridges
Awards
Quotes
We never really thought of ourselves as having a “singer” but we knew that we wanted a voice for Khruangbin.Khruangbin, The Universe Smiles Upon You album notes
On introducing vocals into the band’s sound. Source: https://khruangbin.bandcamp.com/album/the-universe-smiles-upon-you
Trivia
- Laura Lee and Mark wear black wigs for performances and interviews, a visual signature that also helps preserve their privacy.
- Con Todo El Mundo takes its title from the answer Laura Lee’s grandfather wanted when he asked how much she loved him: “with all the world.”
- For A LA SALA, they played cricket and field recordings in the studio to evoke the feeling of being back at the barn.
- Fender’s 2025 launch made Mark and Laura Lee the first bandmates to receive a signature guitar and bass simultaneously.
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Follow the trio for music, live sessions, and news from the road.
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