Khruangbin’s New Album, “Todavia Viva”

Khruangbin (which translates to “engine fly” or “airplane”) serves as a metaphor for their ability to combine international influences into psychedelic instrumentals, from the laidback rhythms of “A Love International” to noir soul rim-shots and synth strings on “Todavia Viva,” their album represents an injection of new life into classic material.

The Band

Khruangbin first made its mark with a remix for Bonobo’s Late Night Tales show and an appearance on his Late Night Tales series, drawing instant fans. However, their sound also caused some consternation among audiences; was it soul?funk? Dub?psych rock or something entirely different? Regardless, their answer lay somewhere in between and that was indeed their intent.

Their name in Thai means “engine fly,” and their music exudes an airy and open-road aesthetic. Rooted in 1960’s Thai funk – specifically inspired by Monrakplengthai blog of archived cassette recordings – but with global influences as well.

All that can be found on A La Sala, an album in which Houston-born trio The Three From Two demonstrate their incredible capacity for cross-cultural fusion. From steel guitars and slow-rolling backbeat of opener “Three From Two” to noir soul rim shots on “Todavia Viva,” their songs create a timeless vibe reminiscent of Kodachrome landscapes and road trip dreams.

Mark Speer

Khruangbin of Houston features bassist Laura Lee Ochoa and drummer Donald Johnson to create an eclectic sound, conjured up from deep cuts dug from vinyl records around the world and an almost academic appreciation of global grooves. Their unique psychedelic funk blends elements from Thai music, jazz and R&B with traditional folk instruments like flute and banjo to create something entirely original that defies categorization.

On A La Sala (“To the Room”), their first album since 2020’s Con Todo El Mundo, they present a jigsaw puzzle of ideas gathered over years of creative experience. Utilizing off-the-cuff recordings (voice memos from sound checks or long voyages, unconscious epiphanies), they pieced together rhythms, sections and musical interactions into cohesive wholes; also revisiting an approach which had once been central to their recordings: seeding them with field recordings.

Laura Lee

Khruangbin creates music with dynamic musicality; their songs combine bassy basslines with pregnant pauses on “Todavia Viva” or noir-soul rim-shots and synth strings that play off DJ Johnson’s drumming on “A Love International”. Led by Laura Lee Ochoa on bass and Mark Speer on guitar respectively, Khruangbin acts as an indispensable culture-mix superpower whose tunes encourage living room dancing moods without the fussiness of worldly glamor.

Laura Lee works not only at WRWO but also serves as a medium on Radio Medium – a call-in program connecting listeners with spirits from beyond (check it out!). When not running these two businesses, Laura enjoys nature photography, cooking and collecting Marvel trading cards from the 1990s (collect them here!). Laura oversees two small businesses including Laura Lee Los Angeles’ vegan makeup line as well as Nudie Patootie clothing boutique; Paul serves as Co-Directors of Cuyamungue Institute which operates globally from Santa Fe New Mexico (which they oversee with Paul!).

Donald Johnson

Instrumental music has an almost magical way of conveying emotion beyond words; whether that means recalling a calm sunset or yearning for someone long gone.

Johnson has extensive performing experience that spans from intimate settings to large international stages like Madison Square Garden and Chicago’s Soldier Field. He has shared the stage with luminaries such as BB King, Percy Mayfield, Lowell Fulson and Phillip Walker.

Khruangbin’s latest, A La Sala, finds them shifting their exploration inward; rather than following the trail blazed by rock music‘s wanderlust of earlier decades, they have created an album from within themselves that features building blocks from Khruangbin’s creative past such as off-the-cuff recordings made at sound-checks or during long journeys as voice memos–voice memos that could later be massaged into new sections, rhythms, or musical interactions.