The Universe Smiles Upon You

by Khruangbin

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veldusi Once in a while you stumble upon a band that blows you away with such unexpected freshness and brilliance, that you're convinced they'll conquer the world in a matter of weeks. I'm still waiting, but Khruangbin is such a band. Consisting of only three the band makes intimate music that somehow sounds larger than a passing parade. Celebrating life, traveling and good company. With 'White Glove' as a lovely tribute to a deceased feline. Majestic happy little clouds they are. Favorite track: Dern Kala.

followthewaydan 3 piece band.
Heavy slow/mid-paced bouncing intricate rhythms, cascading guitar, gentle harmony vocals (here and there), with Psychedelic/World/Funk/Soul/Trip/Hip-Hop/Reggae influences, all with an Old School feel.
An ace debut LP, recorded as a band.
Feels like home. Favorite track: Zionsville.

alferes tinoco this is excellent!! buy it. Favorite track: August Twelve.

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Streaming + Download

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Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
Housed in a printed outer sleeve and jewel case, with booklet and download codes.

Includes unlimited streaming of The Universe Smiles Upon You via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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Purchasable with gift card

£9.99 GBP or more
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Pressed on 180 gram black virgin vinyl.

Includes unlimited streaming of The Universe Smiles Upon You via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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Purchasable with gift card

£19.99 GBP or more
Limited 12" White Vinyl Gatefold
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Pressed on 180 gram white vinyl with a custom hand drawn gatefold sleeve by bassist Laura Lee.

Includes unlimited streaming of The Universe Smiles Upon You via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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1.	Mr. White 04:58		buy track
2.	Two Fish and an Elephant 03:33		buy track
3.	Dern Kala 03:39		buy track
4.	Little Joe & Mary 05:08		buy track
5.	White Gloves 03:38	lyrics	buy track

6.	People Everywhere (Still Alive) 02:39		buy track
7.	The Man Who Took My Sunglasses 02:13		buy track
8.	August Twelve 06:13		buy track
9.	Balls and Pins 03:28	lyrics	buy track

10.	Zionsville 04:11		buy track

about

Taking influence from 1960's Thai funk - their name literally translates to "Engine Fly" in Thai - Khruangbin’s debut album ‘The Universe Smiles Upon You’ is steeped in the bass heavy, psychedelic sound of their inspiration, Tarantino soundtracks and surf-rock cool. The Texan trio is formed of Laura Lee on bass, Mark Speer on guitar, and Donald “DJ” Johnson on drums.

‘The Universe Smiles Upon You’ was recorded at their spiritual home, a remote barn deep in the Texas countryside where their first rehearsals took place. The band listened to a lot of different types of music on the long drives out to the country but their favourites were 60s and 70s Thai cassettes gleaned from the cult Monrakplengthai blog and compilations of southeast Asian pop, rock and funk. This had a heavy impact on the direction of the band, the scales they used and the inflection of the melodies; which coupled with the spaciousness of the Texan countryside culminated in Khruangbin forming their exotic, individual sound.

Although the band was conceived as an instrumental outfit, ‘The Universe Smiles Upon You’ features the first Khruangbin recordings with vocals. Tracks ‘People Everywhere (Still Alive)’, ‘Balls and Pins’ and recent single ‘White Gloves’ show a new dimension to the band.

“We never really thought of ourselves as having a “singer” but we knew that we wanted a voice for Khruangbin. We decided to write about something close to us, tell a story as simply as possible, and sing it together.”

The seeds of Khruangbin were sown when Mark and Laura were invited to tour with Ninja Tune's YPPAH supporting Bonobo across his 2010 American tour. The tour galvanised the two of them to start making music together more seriously, with DJ - he and Mark have played in the same gospel band for years - the natural choice for drums.

Sharing their first recordings, Bonobo included Khruangbin's ‘A Calf Born In Winter’ on his 2013 Late Night Tales compilation. Subsequently signed to Late Night Tales offshoot Night Time Stories, ‘A Calf Born In Winter’ was released as a single in May 2014, four track EP ‘The Infamous Bill’ followed in October, with covers EP ‘History Of Flight’ on Record Store Day 2015.

“We feel like there is an ease that comes from being immersed in a space, away from the distractions of the city and everyday life. We make our music in a barn, in the Texas hill country, because it makes sense to us. Being there allows us to make music that comes naturally, and that’s what we wanted this album to be. We wanted to make a record that just let the music happen, and we hope that’s what you can hear.”

credits

released November 6, 2015

Laura Lee - Bass, Vox
Mark Speer - Guitar, Vox, Percussion
Donald Johnson Jr. - Drums
Will Van Horn - Pedal Steel

Recorded at the Barn with Steve Christensen

Mixed at the Tree House by Steve Christensen & Mark Speer

Design by Samuel Muir
Pencil sketches by Laura Lee

Produced by Mark Speer & Steve Christensen

All songs written by Khruangbin except 'The Man Who Took My Sunglasses' written by Andrew Wilkins

2015 Night Time Stories
in association with Late Night Tales

license

about

Khruangbin Houston, Texas

Khruangbin is a three-piece band from Texas, formed of Laura Lee on bass, Mark Speer on guitar, and Donald Johnson on drums. Taking influence from 1960's Thai funk - their name literally translates to "Engine Fly" in Thai - Khruangbin is steeped in the bass heavy, psychedelic sound of their inspiration, Tarantino soundtracks and surf-rock cool. ... more

shows

Oct 10

Moreno Beach

Perris, CA
Nov 02

White Oak Music Hall

Houston, TX
Nov 07

Parque de la Exposición

Lima, Peru
Nov 13

Circo Voador

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Nov 15

Memorial da América Latina

São Paulo, Brazil
Dec 03

O2 Academy Brixton

Brixton, UK
Dec 05

Paradiso

Amsterdam, Netherlands
Dec 06

Paradiso

Amsterdam, Netherlands
Dec 07

Z-Bau

Nuremberg, Germany
Dec 08

LE BATACLAN

Paris, France

contact / help

Contact Khruangbin

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Track Name: White Gloves: She was a queen.
She had a house.
She was a fighter.
She was a queen.
Had a good dude.
Bought me a rabbit.
She was a queen.
Wearing white gloves.
But she kept 'em clean.
Classy Lady.
But she wasn't quiet.
She was a queen.

One day she was gone.
She died in a fight.
'Cause she was a fighter.
She was a queen.

She was a queen.
Track Name: Balls and Pins: From sand and stone
level and true
I built my house
on shifting sands.
By my hands,
a realm on Earth
and from the date,
a giant palm.
A golden shield
for every man.
In time before,
we couldn't stand.
We're the first.

And my throne
is your throne.
And the rings
on my hand
are your gold.
And my sun
is your sun
to the end.
And my bones
are your bones.
From the grain
to the sand
to the stone.

The crushing wind.
The serpent's tooth.
Bring me in
the shifting sands.
From my hands,
it fell to the ground.
A rotten date
seen in the palm.
The golden shield,
it weighed us down.
A sunken tomb.
A phantom town.
We're the last.

And my throne
is your throne.
And the rings
on my hand
are your gold.
And my sun
is your sun
to the end.
And my bones
are your bones.
From the grain
to the sand
to the stone.

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