Latest news with #Khruangbin
Atlantic
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Atlantic
Is Culture Really Dead?
The Day the Music Died In the June issue, Spencer Kornhaber considered whether popular culture is really in terminal decline. Spencer Kornhaber perfectly articulates the ersatz nature of pop culture today. Something I think he missed about modern pop music, though, is the relatively infrequent use of instruments. The listener can feel the emotion of a song created using actual instruments. It's the difference between fast food and a home-cooked meal. I think this helps explain the moment country music is having; listen to country, and you'll hear a real guitar or violin. It makes me wonder if music can survive otherwise. I was delighted to see my local radio station, KMUN, mentioned in Spencer Kornhaber's article. A community-supported station in a rural area of the Pacific Northwest, KMUN is itself an institution fighting against the decline of popular culture. The station has a small staff, and many programs are provided by volunteers. There's lots of folk music, yet each show has distinct music and artists. The same is true of the station's classical programs. A few shows frequently have musicians in the studio performing on air. Local residents discuss current events and issues and can even propose their own programs to present, after taking a class in radio technology. Kornhaber's article focuses on cultural conformity, and yet here's good old KMUN doing radio with variety, purpose, eccentricity, and community. I hope The Atlantic 's readers will give it a listen! Astoria, Ore. I'm sincerely thankful to Spencer Kornhaber for talking with Ted Gioia. I know the headline of Kornhaber's article calls to mind the year 1971, but the great fragmentation of our culture dates even further back. Early-20th-century philosophers warned that the 'mechanization of culture' would undermine the meaning and purpose of life. ChatGPT and other AI technologies seem to be the culmination of that trend. David Thomas Rockville, Md. As I reviewed the list of the artists mentioned in Spencer Kornhaber's article, I wasn't surprised that so many people think contemporary music is in decline. To those people I say: Cécile McLorin Salvant, Waxahatchee, Black Pumas, St. Paul & the Broken Bones, boygenius and its individual members, Lianne La Havas, Samara Joy, Wet Leg, Indigo Sparks, Joan Shelley, Lake Street Dive, Lucius, Sierra Ferrell, Dana Gavanski, Khruangbin, Leon Bridges (or Khruangbin and Leon Bridges), Bahamas, Amyl and the Sniffers, Nels Cline, I'm With Her, Rufus Wainwright, Laura Marling, Molly Tuttle, Billy Strings, and, and, and … Anyone who thinks that the world is not awash in great music is simply not looking in the right places. William Rogers Washington, D.C. Spencer Kornhaber replies: William Rogers points out a reassuring fact: If you look for it, you can still find most anything you seek in culture—including rock and folk musicians who faithfully adhere to 20th-century standards for excellence. But I want to push back against the notion, embedded in the other letters, that maintaining cultural health is mostly a matter of preservation. We should of course champion skilled instrumentalists and scrappy radio stations, and we should think critically about what's gained and lost in every technological transition. It is as important, and harder, to nurture greatness that's flourishing in new forms, using new techniques. We need maximalist, forward-charging art that can compete with, not simply provide refuge from, the attention-scrambling modern forces that might otherwise drive us into a dark age. What Is Classical Music? The term is applied to radically different compositions across more than 1,000 years of history, Matthew Aucoin wrote in the May issue. We need a better definition. In his article about what he calls 'written music,' Matthew Aucoin rightly laments the inability of cash-strapped public schools to teach musical literacy. Not so long ago, urban public schools were at times sites of world-class music education. Aucoin mentions Miles Davis in his article, so it's worth remembering that Davis often heaped praise in interviews on his first trumpet teacher, Elwood Buchanan, who worked for the public schools of his hometown, East St. Louis, Illinois. It was Mr. Buchanan, Davis said, who encouraged him to play light, fast, and without vibrato—three things that would soon become synonymous with the Miles Davis style. Elvin Jones, one of the most influential drummers in jazz history, had only a ninth-grade education but credited his musical development to his middle-school music teacher in Pontiac, Michigan. Meanwhile, in Chicago, a succession of jazz greats—Nat King Cole, Dinah Washington, and Gene Ammons, to name just a few—studied under the same inspiring teacher, Walter Dyett, who ran the music program at DuSable High School. A similar testimony appears in the biography of the legendary multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy. This legacy of musical education reminds us of the power of public schools to nurture the next generation of talent. As Aucoin suggests, making sure those programs are fully funded today is a solid investment in the future of written music in this country. Bravo to Matthew Aucoin for his wonderfully insightful and enlightening article. I am a specialist in the field of musical notation, with the bulk of my career behind me. I was, as Aucoin puts it, the 'modern-day equivalent of medieval monks laboriously copying out illuminated manuscripts.' It's true—I spent several years in apprenticeship under a professional copyist and then went on to prepare music for Broadway shows, films, symphony orchestras, operas, nightclub acts, commercials. All with pen and ink. In part for this reason, I think it's worth writing an addendum to Aucoin's proposed description of classical music. His article deals mostly with music as an expression of the artist. I submit, however, that the need for music-notation literacy includes the world of commercial music, too. This would extend the benefits of musical literacy beyond the concert hall and into the general public; perhaps it could even make school music programs more relevant and less susceptible to budget cuts. Just as architects need construction workers to realize their expressive concepts, composers and songwriters need arrangers, orchestrators, and copyists. As someone who has no musical aptitude but appreciates those who do, I enjoyed Matthew Aucoin's 'What Is Classical Music?' But I have to disagree with his statement that 'the written word is as prevalent today as it ever was.' Northwestern's Medill School reports that in the past 20 years, the United States has lost more than one-third of its print newspapers. As a former president of my local library's board of trustees, I saw CDs, DVDs, artwork, and maker spaces take over floor areas that previously had been filled with books. For many, the increase in time spent on social media and watching streaming entertainment correlates with a decline in time spent reading. Aucoin rightfully wishes that we Americans would spend more time listening. But we also need to spend more time reading. Jay Fisher Lisle, Ill. Behind the Cover This issue features a collection of stories marking 80 years of life in the Atomic Age. Among these are Ross Andersen's reporting from South Korea and Japan, two countries that may pursue nuclear weapons; Tom Nichols's analysis of America's system of command and control; and Noah Hawley's essay on Kurt Vonnegut and the bomb. For our cover image, we selected a photograph of a 1954 bomb test at Bikini Atoll. The image was found in a government archive by the photographer Michael Light. The so-called Yankee test released an explosive yield equivalent to 13.5 million tons of TNT, about 900 times that of Little Boy. — Lucy Murray Willis, Photo Editor
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'We make our music in nature': Meet Khruangbin, the Texas band that records in a barn
It's hard to pin down who Khruangbin are. That's partly due to their sound — wide-ranging, incorporating everything from 1960s Thai funk to surf, soul, psychedelia and rock. It's also partly due to the fact that two of its members — Mark Speer and Laura Lee Ochoa — wear wigs on stage and in any kind of public appearance. 'It's pretty obvious that me and LL, with the hairstyle, it's meant to create anonymity,' Speer, the band's guitarist, tells me. They're wearing them as we chat; Speer's comes down over his eyes and makes him look like a 1970s hippy. Mystique is their stock in trade; that, combined with their electrifying live performances, has combined to send Khruangbin's reputation stratospheric. Despite never having a single in the Top 20, they've been nominated for a Grammy (ironically, for Best New Artist this year), sold out international tours and been streamed over 1.2 billion times on Spotify. They're the ultimate cult band, who just happen to be loved by everybody in the know. And despite being Texas born and bred, they're Londoners too. 'We're very familiar with flats in London,' Speer tells me wryly when I apologise for the clutter visible behind me. 'We broke in London.' 'I lived in London for a good while,' Ochoa, who plays bass, chimes in. 'In Hackney. Khruangbin got started in London because I was there... our first shows ever as a more established band happened in the UK. It's like a kind of second home. It feels really cosy to me. I just love it.' That's good, because they're here a lot. The trio — completed by drummer Donald 'DJ' Johnson — was last here for a two-night stay in Hammersmith late in 2024, which earned them rave reviews and ended up being one of the season's hottest tickets. This year, they will be taking to Gunnersbury Park in August for the latest stop in their world tour. 'I wanted to start a band, and I asked them' Laura Lee Ochoa Formed in Houston in the early 2010s, the band has proudly proclaimed its Texan identity since the very first days it started playing music. Their origin story has taken on the feel of myth. Speer and Johnson, both formidable musicians, came together through playing in the gospel band at St John's Methodist Church (incidentally, the same one Beyoncé Knowles attended as a child) in downtown Houston. They were joined in 2007 by Ochoa. 'Mark and DJ would share a meal after their rehearsals. And I crashed one Tuesday, and I never left for three years,' she laughs. 'I wanted to start a band, and I asked them. I wasn't knocking at the door waiting for them to let me in.' Speer taught Ochoa the ropes on the bass; almost immediately, she was hired to tour (alongside Speer) with electronic rocker Yppah, who opened for English musician Bonobo on his world tour. It incentivised Ochoa and Speer to start making music more seriously, and helped kick-start Khruangbin, whose first track appeared soon after on Bonobo's Late Night Tales compilation album. Titled A Calf Born in Winter, it became of the album's most popular tracks, paving the way for their debut EP, and then their own album, The Universe Smiles Upon You, in 2015: an airy, dreamy collection filled with sounds that have become classic Khruangbin. That is, Johnson's impeccable timing, Ochoa's bass and Speer noodling above both, in a sort of easy, three-way conversation. 'I wouldn't necessarily call us retro or anything, or trying to rehash nostalgia' Mark Speer Khruangbin's music, which is often wordless, has a lovely clarity to it, but one thing is clear: they're not a heritage act. 'I wouldn't necessarily call us retro or anything, or trying to rehash nostalgia, but there is an element of simplicity in what we do by design,' Speer says. 'In our particular case, we play the instruments we play, and we try to see what we can do with us as three people, which is limiting, and that's kind of nice.' That applies to their live music, too: the trio make a point of not recording any music that cannot be recreated perfectly at a gig. 'I think another aspect of most of our music is that it's been recorded in nature,' Ochoa adds. 'And the barn we record in is not isolated from any element — rain, wind, insects, birds, cows. They're all in the conversation when we make music. There's a sort of, allowing nature to speak for itself, which is lost, I think, in a lot of music.' Ah yes, the barn: all but one of the trio's albums have been recorded in a small barn in the countryside between Austin and Houston. Made from corrugated iron and surrounded by cows, it's as rustic as it sounds. In addition to the birds, bees and wind, there is also the aforementioned herd of cows, all of which have made their way into Khruangbin's unique sound. Though, in the case of the cows, they're polite. 'I have personally never heard them moo right in a moment where there's a breath of music,' Speers adds. That sense of authenticity, as well as their hefty, wide-ranging musical chops, has helped Khruangbin carve out a niche in an increasingly crowded musical market. But as befits a band who like to keep things simple, they're not in it for the fame. 'If nobody could see me, but just hear me, that'd be awesome' Donald 'DJ' Johnson 'I like staying in the shadows,' Johnson says. 'If I could play a show under the stage, I would. If nobody could see me, but just hear me, that'd be awesome. But, you know, it comes with the territory, and you deal with it as best as you can.' 'We're all nerds,' Ochoa chimes in, and Speer agrees. 'I really, really want to spend my time making art,' he continues, and gestures to the wig he's wearing. 'It's odd how much this can change my appearance. If I take this off and go walk around in my regular clothes, no one is going to recognise me, which is really nice. I think that helps keep my perspective on quote-unquote fame.' That element of privacy applies to their online presence, too. 'I'm trying more and more to disconnect from the social aspect of the internet,' Speer says. 'It can really suck your time. It is made to be addicting, and as someone who is expected to spit out really amazing music on a constant basis, I need to be inspired. And very little in the social media realm is inspiring to me.' His words feel especially interesting given Khruangbin's various influences, many of which (such as Afghan music) Speer discovered down various rabbit holes back at the start of the internet era, which he still talks fondly about now. 'I care more about what feels real and honest than I ever have before' Laura Lee Ochoa In addition to social media, things have changed since they started. Ochoa has become a mother, which she says has given her 'more conviction than I ever have … because I'm not just setting an example for myself, I'm setting an example for her. 'I care more about what feels real and honest than I ever have before. And certainly, in terms of inspiration, it's coming from different places,' she says wryly. 'There's an infinite request for The Wheels on the Bus in the back seat of the car.' And of course, there's the current state of politics. For a band who draw such inspiration from the place they grew up, it must be hard to avoid the impact that the current administration is having on the entirety of the country — especially the Deep South, where many of Trump's voters live. The band bristle slightly when I bring up the issue; Speers lets out a loud groan. 'I'm from the state. I'm from the land, I'm not from one person or multiple persons,' Ochoa says carefully. 'I'm from the place and the school and my friends, and that's how I think about Texas.' 'It's funny, because I'm pretty sure all the cities in Texas would be considered blue, but the state legislature is considered red,' Speer adds. 'So how can you have real representation, if the representative of your state doesn't really represent the cities where all the people live?' Rather than chat politics, they're focusing on touring. And on speaking about Texas in the way they know best: through music. 'Texas wouldn't be what it is without all the laws that exist there. But that's not what I think defines where I'm from,' Ochoa says. 'Those records are — they have Texas all over them. Truly. And it might be subtle, and you might not be able to explain it in words, but it's there.'
Boston Globe
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Khruangbin hone their identity with a blur of global influences
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up So do a lot of people, including the folks who'll gather to see the band perform at Advertisement Fueled in part by the song 'Maria También' appearing in the most recent season of 'The White Lotus,' the band's 2018 album 'Con Todo El Mundo' has amassed hundreds of millions of streams. Collaborations with modern soul singer Advertisement Such collaborations helped point the way to Khruangbin's fifth album, last year's 'A La Sala.' The band formed as a three-piece in Houston (Johnson is still there, while guitarist Mark Speer and bassist Laura Lee Ochoa currently live on opposite coasts), yet 'A La Sala' manages to be their first record without any outside musicians. The drummer sees the album as a reset following their recent work with Bridges, Touré, and various remixers. 'When it came around to getting ready to record 'A La Sala,' we were all kind of longing to get back to working with just the three of us,' Johnson said. 'There's always just three people on stage. And [making 'A La Sala'] was, in a sense, us getting back in a room together, writing and sharing ideas and just kind of doing it in an insular fashion.' But insular doesn't mean that Khruangbin's ears aren't open. If an Uber driver is listening to music, Johnson said he always asks what it is. 'Maybe you can put me on to something that I haven't heard,' he often says. Drawing on music that nobody in Khruangbin has direct cultural connections to potentially opens the band up to accusations of appropriation (the band's name is even the Thai word for 'airplane'). To that, Johnson demurred, 'we always try to give honor and respect to all of the music and artists that we listen to and we highlight them.' What's more, he feels that the time is right for Khruangbin's pan-global gumbo. 'I think the Western music palate is really expanding,' he said. 'You're seeing it in the rise of these bands that are coming out of Korea, like BTS and Blackpink. These bands have huge followings, not just in Asia but in America.' Advertisement He also points to the belated success of Nigerian artist Steve Monite's 1984 electrofunk track 'Only You,' recently heard in an American Express commercial. The song shows clear echoes of the clipped, reverbed sonics and arm's-length vocals that Khruangbin occasionally plays with. Those vocals mean that Khruangbin isn't, strictly speaking, an instrumental band, but the way voices are used and produced – low and distant, like a mirage that merely signifies the notion of vocals – make the distinction functionally irrelevant. 'No one in the band really is self-professed as a singer, so to speak,' said Johnson. 'So when we do sing, we sing together, because we like the sound of a group vocal. But the drums, bass, guitar — that always comes first. And when we get to the end of the process and it feels like we need something else or something's missing, then vocals are usually a nice texture to play with. It's a fourth instrument.' Accordingly, the band tends to invite listeners to glean whatever meaning they want out of their lyrics and titles. When confronted with a list of songs that suggest a thematic interest in the calendar and the passage of time – 'August 10,' 'Friday Morning,' 'May Ninth,' 'August Twelve,' possibly 'Fifteen Fifty-Three' – Johnson declined to elaborate, explain, or even agree. 'They all mean different things at different times,' he said. 'It depends on where we are in life when these songs get their titles. It's not really anything we try to give away.' Advertisement But the drummer admits to having seen memes involving dates memorialized in Khruangbin titles. 'Maybe also that could attribute to the success of 'Con Todo El Mundo,' because a lot of people were born on August 10,' he said, referencing the track from their 2018 album. 'I don't know, or 'Friday Morning.'' KHRUANGBIN With John Carroll Kirby. At The Stage at Suffolk Downs, 525 William F. McClellan Highway, Boston, Friday, June 27, 7 p.m. Tickets $84-$167. Marc Hirsh can be reached at or on Bluesky @
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Khruangbin's Laura Lee and Mark Speer on Recreating Their Signature Strat and Bass With Fender — But in Extremely Limited Quantities: ‘It Would be Weird for Everyone to Have Our Guitars'
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. When Fender reached out to Khruangbin's Laura Lee and Mark Speer — the wig-donning guitarists of the Texas-based, genre-blurring band — with the opportunity to create brand new, custom versions of their Stratocaster and Bass, it didn't even cross their mind that they would design instruments that were different than the ones they've played on stage for more than a decade. More from Variety Fender's Iconic Stratocaster and Telecaster Guitars Get Rare Discount in Surprise Online Sale Fender Teams With Jack White, Finneas and Blu DeTiger on Signature Guitars, Bass and Amplifier Khruangbin Brings It Back to Basics With the Low-Key Majesty of 'A La Sala': Album Review 'I think we literally handed them our instruments and just said 'Make it look like this,'' Speer tells Variety over Zoom. 'It's just what I've been used to. Picking up other guitars I'm like, 'This feels a little different.' There's a distinct clunkiness to the guitar I play and [Fender] was able to accommodate that for me, thank goodness.' 'For us, the most epic guitar that we could put out in the world is the one that we play,' Lee adds. 'And so the reason that we like it is because it's ours.' The storied guitar manufacturer, who has created custom instruments for everyone from Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton to George Harrison, is still going strong in partnering with contemporary musicians. Most recently, they've partnered with who released a custom Player II Telecaster and Brad Paisley on a restored version of a 1967 Telecaster. In the 1940s, Fender revolutionized the industry with the release of the Telecaster (the first mass-produced solid-body electric guitar), the Stratocaster and the Precision Bass. So, for Lee and Speer, widely respected in the industry for their distinctive playing style on electric guitar and bass, respectively, the collaboration made perfect sense. While Speer thought the process of recreating his Strat — 'verbatim,' as he says — would be relatively easy, he realized during the process that one of his favorite aspects of his guitar was the outcome of a manufacturing mistake when it was first made in the early 2000s. ''Well, I like it like that,' he recalls telling the Fender design team. 'So it needs to be that.'' The result is the Mark Speer Stratocaster, featuring an Aged Natural ash body, custom-wired DiMarzio Pro Track pickups and a vintage-style synchronized tremolo. Packed with a Custom 'C' neck, jumbo frets and minimalist aesthetic, it's tailored for Speer's expressive tone and fluid, psychedelic playing style. The Strat, which Speer has fondly compared to a DJ console in its ability to change EQ, is at the core of Khruangbin's genre-bending style. 'That's what the guitar is able to do for me,' he says, noting its influence on the very deep jazz-like qualities to the brighter, pluckier tones you hear in Khruangbin's music. 'I'm used to it. I don't really like playing on other guitars. I'm sorry to say, but I just like this one and I know how this paintbrush works.' Lee, meanwhile, found her musical sensibility through her bass, which she's had since 2009. When she began the recreation process with Fender, she wanted it to feel as approachable to new players as she felt when she first began playing. 'It's a really easy, it's not too complicated,' she says of the Fender release. 'It's comfy and I hope that it's warm to people.' The Laura Lee Jazz Bass arrives in a Vintage White finish with matching headstock and gold pickguard. Built with DiMarzio Ultra Jazz pickups, concentric volume/tone controls, and a Custom 'U' neck, it's a playful, precision-crafted instrument that reflects her minimalist, dub-inspired approach. Aside from essentially creating near replicas of their worn-in instruments, another non-negotiable for the pair was making sure their custom six-strings would only be released in limited quantities. 'I don't want to just have a bazillion guitars that look just like mine flooding the marketplace,' Speer says. 'I know some people make heavy changes to their signature model but that is my guitar. It would be weird to have everyone have my guitar.' Of course, if you're fast enough, you can get your hands on Lee and Speer's exact Fender Strat and Bass. Shop the limited-edition guitars below: Buy Now $1,499.99 $1,499.99 Buy Now $1,499.99 $1,499.99 Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts? 25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mark Speer's celebrated playing style is due to playing him only one guitar for over two decades
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Genre-blenders Khruangbin may have transitioned from psych-tinged instrumental upstarts to an arena-ready trio with a bulging repertoire and a Grammy nomination to boot – but guitarist Mark Speer still leans on the trusty Stratocaster that has accompanied him from day one (i.e. the past two decades or so): an early 2000s reissue. 'If someone handed me their guitar I'd be like, 'Wow, what a nice instrument,' but I won't sound very good on it,' he tells 'I'm used to mine. I'm not a guitar player – I play that guitar. I've been using that one thing for the whole time. I know exactly where certain notes are going to sing more than others. 'Or if I play here versus here, I can really control the timbre of where things are happening and why – the volume knob, things that I do against the gain structure, it's all part of the voice. Really, it's my voice, right?' Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Speer's recently-announced signature model with Fender is a near-replica of what he plays on the daily – with a '70s Strat pickup sandwiched between DiMarzio Pro TrackTMs, jumbo frets, Graph Tech saddles and string trees, and a Custom 'C'-shape neck with a 7.25' radius – packaged in an Aged Natural finish. 'The guitar is very similar to my main one and that was the whole point,' he adds. 'It also feels the same way. The bit that routes the body out – it was a discontinued way they used to do it. They were very kind to bring that back. I think they just went and found the bit and put it back on the router to make it.' Speaking of signature models, his bandmate Laura Lee has also released her own – marking the first time Fender has simultaneously released a signature electric guitar and bass for two members of the same band.
