NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� If you think your Spotify playlist is getting a little too long, consider the one shared by the members of It's got 51 hours of songs.
鈥淚鈥檓 trying to listen to as many different things as possible before they all start to sound kind of the same,鈥� says Mark Speer, the trio's guitarist and musical explorer, capturing interesting sounds from Thailand to the Middle East.
鈥淲e lose Mark sometimes for a small period of time because he鈥檚 on an anthropological dig,鈥� says bassist Laura Lee. Drummer Donald 鈥淒J鈥� Johnson finishes her thought: "For the quintessential Chinese funk."
The mainly instrumental Khruangbin's sonic explorations have paid off of late, with a warmly received 2024 album, 鈥淎 La Sala,鈥� that reached the top 40 of the Billboard 200 and a Grammy Award nomination for best new artist. Not that any of that is going to their heads.
鈥淚 think we鈥檙e just going to keep leaning in what we do and keep trying to be more the silhouette version of ourselves as much as we can and let the music speak for itself, because that鈥檚 who we are. We don鈥檛 like the spotlight in that way,鈥� says Lee.
The Texas trio makes music that's hard to describe, a mix of soul, surf rock, psychedelic and funk that creates a melodic, Afro-pop-inspired, reverb-heavy sound with nods to other cultures. The band's name is appropriately travel-related 鈥� Khruangbin is the Thai word for airplane.
鈥淢ark's storytelling feels like words, even though there are no words. And my storytelling feels like math even though there are no numbers necessarily. And D.J. is the translator between my language and Mark somehow,鈥� says Lee.
They are highly collaborative, working in the studio and performing live with on two EPs, Paul McCartney, Vieux Farka Tour茅, Wu-Tang Clan, Toro Y Moi, Men I Trust and more.
For 鈥淎 La Sala,鈥� Khruangbin focused on the trio, realizing that they didn't need anyone else in the studio. They say that was empowering.
鈥淚 think because we had just been through a process of collaborating quite a lot, it felt important for us to just huddle, just the three of us,鈥� says Lee. 鈥淲hen it鈥檚 just the three of us, it鈥檚 like a deep breath and a collective sigh.鈥�
Most of their music is instrumental, but vocals 鈥� either ghostly or a full-on lyric song 鈥� have been employed, like on 鈥淢ay Ninth鈥� from the new album, with the lyrics 鈥淢emory burned and gone/A multicolored gray.鈥�
鈥淭he music comes first,鈥� says Johnson. 鈥淎nd when we finish putting everything together, if we feel that it needs one more thing, something missing, or we just want a vocal texture, then usually we go down the path of adding that.鈥�
The trio, especially early on, faced pressure from record executives who liked the instrumentals but wished there was a vocal on top.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 just human nature. I don鈥檛 think it comes from like any sort of bad place," says Lee. "But people just want to sing on top of it. And people are used to hearing a vocal. They鈥檙e like, 鈥楾his sounds so good. Let鈥檚 add a vocal.鈥欌��
"A La Sala" is the trio's fourth studio album, with 鈥渆ach member of the trio has several opportunities to shine while making each track sound individual, and it all comes together cohesively.鈥� The Guardian said Khruangbin make 鈥渢heir intricate music sound so gentle that it lulls the listener into a newly imaginative state.鈥�
Although they formed in 2010, the Grammy administrators chose Khruangbin as a best new artist nominee alongside Benson Boone, Doechii, RAYE, Chappell Roan, and Teddy Swims. The rules of the category have changed over time and now offers inclusion for any act that has 鈥渁ttained a breakthrough or prominence.鈥�
The members of the band see their albums like snapshots in time. If their third, 鈥淢ordechai," was the sound of energy and movement as the band toured relentlessly, then 鈥淎 La Sala鈥� is more sedate, born from the pandemic and with a title that means 鈥漈o the Room."
It's a more chilled-out sound, even cozy. One song, 鈥淭hree from Two鈥� even celebrates the home birth of Lee's first child. 鈥淲e needed some quiet, and it felt nice to put out something quiet in a world that鈥檚 not so quiet anymore," she says.
The band has heard their music playing at the oddest places, like 鈥淭exas Sun鈥� becoming a popular tune played on TikTok by people making out in Australia or heard at yoga studios.
鈥淚 hope that our music is malleable enough to communicate to later generations in whatever way it works,鈥� says Speer. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how language happens. That鈥檚 how music happens, that鈥檚 how cultures happen. So, I鈥檓 super into it.鈥�
They don't know what direction their next album will take, but they have lots of ideas, like maybe the quintessential Chinese funk.
鈥淲e have a ever expanding folder full of stuff that may or may not ever see the light of day,鈥� says Speer. 鈥淲hen it鈥檚 time, it鈥檚 time. And if it鈥檚 not time for it, it鈥檚 not time for it. Don鈥檛 dig in your heels 鈥� move on to the next thing.鈥�
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The 67th Grammy Awards will be held Feb. 2, 2025, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The show will air on CBS and stream on Paramount+. For more coverage, visit .
Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press
