THE UNIVERSE SMILES UPON YOU

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Given the band’s range and combination of musical influences, what is the group’s songwriting process like? That sense of home remains more important than ever for Khruangbin, as bassist Laura Lee recently relocated to London while guitarist Mark Speer and drummer Donald Johnson remain in Houston. The seeds of Khruangbin were sown when 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, with DJ - he and Mark have played in the same gospel band for years - the natural choice for drums.

Everything we’ve written and recorded has been out in the barn, and I think when you have the ability to record in a space like that… how could you not? It feels like the band’s home, and the spaciousness of the countryside gives off an incredible feeling and a certain sense of natural environment that I hope comes through in the record. Chemistry feels especially important to the success of your music. How does the band maintain that, now that you live in different places? How and why did the band decide to start incorporating vocals? Why weren’t they a part of your music initially? Neither Mark nor I wanted to be a "singer" in the traditional sense, so we thought that we’d sing collectively to create a more psychedelic sound, and it seems fitting as we write the lyrics together. It feels right to sing together, and we’re really fond of the result.But reducing this music as combination of gospel and Thai-funk is a disservice to the elegant creativeness of this band. This music really is its own unique, vivid world and its meditative undertone allows one to really let go and explore where the music can take you. “Mr. White” sets a perfect tone for the album as you’re tethered to the Earth on Johnson and Lee’s hushed but direct rhythm while you float along in the atmosphere to Speer’s warm, buzzed tones. “Little Joe and Mary” is tender and innocent, Speer’s high-whistling flourishes on his guitar playing with Lee’s bubbling bass line. And just how a painting can give you a glimpse into the fabulous world of the artist, music can provide a little snapshot of the world of the musicians who made it. You listen to an album and it this place the musicians have created and it calls to you from behind the speakers. But, it is usually merely a window to those delightful places, something you can see and hear but you can’t experience it. Is the sound on Universe what the group strived for from the outset, or is it something that developed over time? How has that evolved? What brought you to London, and what have you been doing there? How has your time there influenced you, musically? We never really thought of ourselves as having a “singer” but we knew that we wanted a voice for Khruangbin. We decided to write about something close to us, tell a story as simply as possible, and sing it together.”

Khruangbin have continually pointed towards the explosion of funk music that came out of Thailand in the ‘60s and ‘70s as a major source of inspiration; their most recent EP, History of Flight, was a collection of covers featuring some of their favorite Thai musicians. Yet while Mark Speer’s mercurial guitar tones bear a strong resemblance to albums by Thai forbearers like Dao Bandon and The Impossible, particularly on album opener “Mr. White” and the minor-key lurch of “Balls and Pins,” Khruangbin are interested in much more than simply paying homage. Khruangbin first turned heads last year with the video for their song "A Calf Born in Winter," which Bonobo featured on his Late Night Tales mix and eventually led to a record deal from label subsidiary Night Time Stories. They recorded their debut full-lenth, The Universe Smiles Upon You (out November 6), in the countryside barn where they held their first rehearsals, and the band still refers to that space and their long drives across the pastoral East Texas landscape as their "spiritual home." However, some albums are such obvious products of their environments they manage to transport you right into the world of the artist. Houston trio Khruangbin, recorded its pastoral debut album, “The Universe Smiles Upon You,” in a barn out in the 300-person town of Burton, Texas, far away from the lights, noises and distractions of modern life. As the band explained to Impose Magazine, the barn, “creates a sense of spaciousness, serenity, and creative freedom. It’s a crucial member of the band.” Every time I have put on “The Universe Smiles Upon You,” I have taken a 40-minute trip to that isolated sanctuary and have been able to gaze up into the beauty of the night sky and feel an overriding sense of connection to something tangible but inexplicable.

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The extent of the band’s crate-digging is evident throughout their work. Initially paying homage to ‘60s Thai funk, which they discovered through a blog, and rooting themselves in the American soul and funk from ‘60s and ‘70s – especially The Isley Brothers – Khruangbin continued to broaden their horizons. Iranian post-disco – especially artists such as Googoosh, Sharam Shabpareh, Kourosh Yaghmaei – were instrumental influences in ‘Con Todo El Mundo’. Several of the songs use field recordings from your and Mark’s travels. Were they recorded with the intention of being used in your music? Why did you choose to record the moments that you did? With a whirlwind of success elevating the band to greater heights, you might expect a rushed third album – but Khruangbin neatly surprises with ‘Mordechai’. Underscored with memories and love for Houston, a city that shaped the trio, ‘Mordechai’ is the album on which they allow us further into their mysterious world. No wonder Khruangbin, who make psychedelic music that travels between eras and continents, have become low-key stars in the past decade. Guitarist Mark Speer and drummer Donald “DJ” Johnson played in a gospel band together at St. John’s United Methodist Church in downtown Houston – the same church that Beyoncé, Solange and the rest of the Knowles family frequent.