Khruangbin is a band from Houston, Texas, who first formed in 2010. NME called them the "low key superstars" of psychedelic music. They’ve released three albums. The most recent, which came out in June 2020, is called Mordechai. In the past, most of Khruangbin’s songs have been instrumental, or if they did have vocals, they'd be minimal. Their new album is different. It features vocals prominently, and in this episode, the three of them explain their philosophy on vocals and their process on writing lyrics. I spoke to each of them to get their perspective on how they made the song "So We Won’t Forget." songexploder.net/khruangbin

Leon Bridges is the soul singer hailing from Fort Worth, Texas, who burst onto the music scene in 2015 with the album Coming Home. Since then he’s established himself as an adventurous musician whose latest album Gold Diggers Sound combines retro sounds with contemporary production. Khruangbin is the Houston-based power trio——Mark Speer on guitar, Laura Lee on bass, and DJ Johnson on drums—who also debuted in 2015 with the album The Universe Smiles Upon You, which introduced their unique brand of funky, dreamy, psychedelia. In 2020, Bridges and Khruangbin teamed up to release the EP Texas Sun, whose title track managed to channel both spaghetti western soundtracks and classic soul at the same time. Now, the quartet is back with another collaborative EP, Texas Moon, which continues the musical palette of their first release while inverting its lyrical themes. We spoke with Leon Bridges and Khruangbin about their new EP, the Texas songs that connect them to their home state, and why they chose to go lunar for their latest project. Songs DiscussedLeon Bridges and Khruangbin - Texas Sun, B Side, Chocolate HillsMel Waiters - Got My WhiskeyTownes Van Zandt - Columbine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Khruangbin will tell you they did everything wrong. Gave their band a Thai name, play mostly instrumental music, two members wear wigs, they record in barn ... and yet, they've had a charmed existence since they released their first record almost exactly five years ago. They've crushed the festival circuit, opened up for Wu Tang and found themselves on Obama's summer playlist. Justin Richmond chatted with them about their new album, Mordechai, coming off the road for lockdown right before they were supposed to do a run of shows with Tame Impala and how they're quintessentially Houston. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.