Khruangbin
The first time I saw Khruangbin play live was at the spectacularly weird & wonderful Meow Wolf in Santa Fe, NM. If you have never been, you must stop what you’re doing, do not pass go, and check it out immediately! The warehouse-like interactive art experience also has a 21+ bar & music venue where Khruangbin was playing— so of course I grabbed my 13 year old son & my partner, and we hightailed it down I-25 from Boulder, CO to Santa Fe just to see them.
The 2nd time, I flew out to Chicago with my son Max for the 2019 Pitchfork Music Festival featuring an eclectic blend of new artists & venerable legends. Some of our favorites included: Ibeyi, Isley Brothers and Parquet Courts, and most of all, Khruangbin, the Thai funk, surf soul trio from Houston, TX.
The band features Mark Speer on lead guitar whose hyper-groovy licks are almost Santana-esque in terms passion & prominence. Add in sexy driving bass lines from Laura Lee and “DJ” Donald Johnson’s flawless metronomic drum beats to form the perfect 3-piece harmony that is Khruangbin— which loosely translates to “engine fly” or “airplane” in Thai. Khrunagbin’s music is somehow chill, mesmerizing, electric & thrilling all at the same time.
