Khruangbin at Radio City Music Hall

Khruangbin's debut studio album, "The Universe Smiles Upon You" released in 2015, seems to be the harbinger of the band's universal sound. Their first album is culled from 60s Thai music history, specifically from Luk thing; while their second album, "Con Todo El Mundo" (2018), was heavily influenced by Spanish and Middle Eastern sounds. Yet this musical trio is from Houston, Texas, comprised of Laura Lee on bass, Mark Speer on guitar, and Donald Ray "DJ" Johnson Jr. on drums.

Although reviews from NME have said they are so “outside the box and confounding expectations and preconceptions…", guitarist Mark Speer says otherwise. “When we first started the band, we wanted to have a formula,” he says. “It’s like, ‘This is what we do, and we’re not gonna try and go outside the box too much. We’re gonna explore the box we’re in. I’ve always been a big fan of that. I used to be in bands where was like, ‘Man, we’ve gotta think outside the box!’ And all I’m thinking is: ‘You guys don’t even know.’ Music should never be just for the sake of being experimental. Before you even start, you have to know what you’re experimenting with first.” Speer said.

The band took their name from the Thai word "khruangbin" (Thai: เครื่องบิน; RTGS: khrueang bin), which means "aeroplane", as their name. Bassist Laura Speer who was learning the Thai language at that time said the band's name symbolizes the international set of influences that shaped the band's formation.

Still true to form, Khruangbin's latest studio album released in 2020 -"Mordechai", explores on heavy influences from West African, Indian, Vietnamese, German, Czech, Mexican and many more cultures.
Laura Lee said the band wanted the album to sound like "the world, rather than any one particular part of the world”.

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