Khruangbin’s Mark Speer: “I was always into tones that I didn’t hear so much in Western music“

“A lot of folks just assume I’m a rock dude because I play guitar,” says Khruangbin’s Mark Speer. “But that’s not really where I come from.” 

Indeed it’s not. In fact, since debuting in 2014 with the hazy, exotica-tinged instrumental, A Calf Born in Winter, his band – which includes bassist Laura Lee and drummer Donald “DJ” Johnson – has made a name for itself as one of the foremost purveyors of, well… what style of music does Khruangbin play, exactly? 

Over the course of two full-length albums and a handful of EPs, the band has explored everything from Thai funk to Middle Eastern disco and myriad other regional styles, and infused these sounds with splashes of psychedelia, dub, roots and more. 

As for Speer’s distinctive guitar approach, he says, “I was always into tones that I didn’t hear so much in Western music. Like, the reason I got a chorus pedal isn’t because I was into the Smiths. It was because I wanted my guitar to sound like a dual-course instrument, like a saz. I wanted to be able to emulate a rubab or a shamisen or kalimba or a djembe. Those tones, to me, are really awesome.” 

In the past, Khruangbin’s music has been predominantly instrumental. But for the new Mordechai the exploratory trio moved beyond even that border. 

“We haven’t been singing because I don’t really like to sing. And I hate writing lyrics,” Speer says with a laugh. “But for this one we wanted to challenge ourselves.”

The result is a deeper, perhaps more expressive version of Khruangbin, with all three members sharing vocals on the album’s 10 tracks, which range from the chilled acid-funk opener First Class to the cool French pop/Middle Eastern soul workout Connassais de Face and the Haitian/Tex-Mex mashup Pelota. 

Throughout, the band also incorporates sounds from Pakistan, West Africa, East Asia and beyond. But it’s all informed by Khruangbin’s connection to their hometown of Houston – as well as, more specifically, an old barn in nearby Burton, Texas, where they record all their albums. 

“We open up the doors, and you can hear the birds, you can hear the bugs, you can feel the wind,” Speer says. “It’s crucial to the vibe.” As is their hometown. “Houston is the most diverse city in America,” Speer says. “It’s the big gumbo of the people and the culture here that makes Houston feel like it does and this band sound like we do.”

• Khruangbin’s Late Night Tales is out now via Late Night Tales.