Musical trio Khruangbin is well known for their blend of classic soul, dub, rock, and psychedelia; the group emerging in 2010 and going strong fourteen years on.
They’ve played 18 tours to nearly half a million people, selling out iconic venues such as Red Rocks and Radio City Music Hall, the latter twice.
Two weeks ago, they released their fifth album A La Sala, and just last week they took to the stage at Coachella.
They have a music-forward approach to their craft, and the group’s drummer DJ Johnson told Newstalk ZB’s Jack Tame that it’s been that way since the start.
“The music always comes first,” he said.
Johnson said that the music determines everything that happens in the backend, album titles being one example.
“We’ve been asked like, ‘what’s the next album gonna be called?’ And it’s like, well, we don’t know yet because the music doesn’t exist yet.”
They’ve described the album as a creative homecoming of sorts, bassist Laura Lee telling Tame that while the band has grown and evolved, touring the world and playing stadiums, it's nice to strip everything back.
“The amount of voices and opinions and, you know, tugs and pulls in various directions have grown, and I think there was a desire to just get back to square one.”
A La Sala is free of collaborations, guests, and features, and although they are proud of the collaborations they’ve made, Lee said it felt like so long since they’d made music just the three of them.
“As we were getting back to that place, we realised that the creative was in less, and not in more.”
Johnson said that while it does have the same kind of magic as when they were first making music, the growth and evolution they’ve gone through has impacted it.
“We went back to more or less the way that we used to approach the material when we first started, but with a renewed sense and a maturity in which we’re approaching it.
LISTEN ABOVE
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.