Khruangbin is a musical trio that seamlessly blends soul, rock, funk, and psychedelia in a cohesive new style of music. The name is "Airplane" in Thai, as stated in their social media bios, along with a pronunciation guide of the name to clear up any confusion. With bassist Laura Lee, guitarist Mark Speer, and drummer DJ Johnson, the group has created a unique, funky, groovy sound. Every time I listen, I can't help but to get up and move. Laura Lee in particular is behind much of the visually creative works of the trio. She has created all of the poster work for the group, as well as all of their album covers. Not only is the trio known for its entrancing sound, but their style is equally eccentric. Laura Lee often shows up in extravagant dresses, yet another form of how she expresses her creativity.
Bassist Laura Lee describes her creative process in many ways, the most important being self care. She takes daily walks and allows herself to be alone with her thoughts and get outside and moving. For Laura, "songs are moods and they're feelings." Constantly inspired by the visual world, she finds artistic influence in anything. When it comes to lyrics, the trio writes the music first, and the words come second. She flips through a book where she has lyrics pre-written, and finds something that fits the mood of the music.
Laura Lee notes that although the group has traveled all around the world, there is one place that brings her back home. Their "clean slate place" is a barn on their farm in Texas (where the group originates from), where Laura finds that "every time we go back, it's empty; we have to fill it." There is no internet on the farm, allowing the group to be distraction-free and slow down, going back to the basics and enjoying the music-making process. Laura says that the barn has almost become a fourth member of the band.
Laura Lee is an intrinsic creative. She produces her work with little thought of the outside world and their opinions. She views clothing, music, and visual art as ways to express herself, and the opinions of others come second to her own personal enjoyment. She finds her flow state in terms of lyrics when she's listening to the music that they have created, and flipping through the pages of her lyric book.
I would highly recommend Khruangbin to anyone! They also have done two collaborative albums with Leon Bridges (another of my favorites), which are also amazing, and add even another layer to their musical genre.
Sources:
https://notion.online/the-endless-creativity-of-khruangbin/
https://blogs.loc.gov/nls-music-notes/2022/08/hidden-gems-of-the-nls-collection-the-music-of-khruangbin/
https://www.khruangbin.com (you all should take a look at their website- super fun!)
Laura Lee certainly presents herself as an intrinsically motivated creative who is confident in her being. From what you described, her self expression is a vital component to how she lives and is applied to her work, and she doesn’t shy away from being herself whether that be through her style of dress, her artwork, and her music. I listened to a few of Khruangbin’s songs with Leon Bridges (who I also adore!) while writing this out, they are indeed very groovy! They remind me of summer--great recommendation!
ReplyDeleteI only know a few songs of Khruangbin, but I love them all and now am a lot more inclined to listen again! I had no idea who the band members were, but it seems like Laura Lee definitely puts a lot of effort into her music and wants it to be an experience. It is really interesting that they have a farm in Texas to go back to when they really want to get unplugged and get back into the flow state.
ReplyDeleteI recently started listening to more Khruangbin songs and they're one of my favorite artists right now! I feel like their music is so refreshing and unique compared to what I usually listen to and I totally agree that it makes me want to get up and move. It's so cool that they use the barn as their space to create, I had no idea. I love the quote by Laura; "every time we go back, it 's empty; we have to fill it".
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