Switched on Pop - Leon Bridges and Khruangbin Sing a Song of Texas

Episode Date: February 15, 2022

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 Discussed Leon Bridges and Khruangbin - Texas Sun, B Side, Chocolate Hills Mel Waiters - Got My Whiskey Townes Van Zandt - Columbine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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It's free for iOS users. Welcome to Switched-on Pop. I'm musicologist Nate Sloan. Leon Bridges is the sole singer hailing from Fort Worth, Texas, who burst onto the music scene in 2015 with the single Coming Home. Since then, he's established himself as an adjudice. adventurous musician whose latest album Gold Digger Sound combines retro textures with contemporary production. Crungbin is a trio out of Houston, Texas made up of Mark Spear on guitar, Laura Lee on bass and DJ Johnson on drums.

They also debuted in 2015 with the album The Universe Smiles Upon You, which introduced their unique brand of funk. dreamy psychedelia. In 2020, Bridges and Crumbin teamed up to release the EP Texas Sun, whose title track channeled spaghetti westerns 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 it is back. inverting some of its lyrical themes. We spoke with Leon Bridges and Krungbin 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. It's popping off in the Zoom room here. We are packed to the gills. And if y'all would indulge me, maybe we could do a little bit of a roll call. You could introduce yourselves. What's up, y'all is Leon Bridges, holding it down with Texas. You did.

What's up? This is Marco, hitting you all from the Bay Area. This is Laura Lee. Hello, hello. I am calling in from the Hudson Valley in New York. This is DJ, and I'm holding it down in Houston, Texas. We are gathered here from all corners of the country to discuss the release of your collaborative EP, Texas Moon. I want to dive right in by listening to a track from that project. it's called B-side. What was the genesis of this song B-side? Grumman had just kind of a jam, like a vibe,

and I kind of wanted to kind of write this song about just kind of being on the road, you know, and almost like writing a letter back to my lady back home that I'm, you know, just always thinking about her. She's always on my mind type thing. And, you know, I just try. to match just the energy that Corombin was giving, you know. And that's kind of, you know, how I approached to the tune.

Mark, how did this song come about from your side? I mean, I remember being in the studio with my bandmates and Leon, and I seem to remember kind of us, like, switching instruments around a little bit. Leon, I remember you had like an acoustic guitar, I think. Maybe you were, like, standing up, like, next to a microphone. And then we kind of, you know, took. what was like, I don't know, maybe 20, 30 minutes of just playing around and getting down to business and cutting it up and making an arrangement and refining it and turning it into a finished song. Yeah. It's very rare that you can really force creativity and not to say that it was forced by any means, but we had basically like an hour left in the studio before time ran out.

and B-side was one of those magic moments that kind of happened that way. I always like to say it's kind of what I imagine fans think that the studio is like, where we go in and you just like pick up the instrument and it magically kind of appears. And B-side happened to be one of those magic moments. I know for me, one of my favorite things was hearing Leon up in falsetto. She don't always hear him do, but it felt like a party to me. Yeah. So this was like the equivalent of a buzzer-beater in the studio.

Like you were racing against the clock and you just got it in on time. You know, I love you taking us into the studio with you. And one of the striking features when I listen to this song, and much of your collaborations together is maybe something I describe as an interlocking approach to arrangement. Vocals, guitar, bass, drums, everything fits in so perfectly with each other, almost like puzzle pieces. DJ, I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about how you go about arranging these instruments together. For me, that all starts with Mark. Mark has a process of when everything is laid out.

you listen to it all together and if something is stepping on something else you know you got a one's got to win so someone's got to take a step back at a certain point if this is happening in here let it have its moment let this have its moment everything has its space in its lane and that's pretty much how it is it really is put together like puzzle pieces at times especially with the arrangement and the mix. But the music and the song will usually tell you and dictate where it wants to go. You know, when it's right, it's right. That seems like a good opportunity to ask why you wanted to work together. Obviously, Texas Sun was a fantastic EP and a great success. So tell me what made you decide, okay, it's time to join forces once again and put another EP out into the universe.

Maybe Leon, you can speak to that. Well, we still had some tunes that we worked on during the Texas Sun sessions that we kind of put on the backrunner. And honestly, like, getting together with Corrumbin and making music has been some of my favorite experiences as far as being in a studio. And so it was just about getting together with the fam and making good art. What do you think it is that allows you for to work so seamlessly together? You know, you were talking about like puzzle pieces musically and not stepping over each other.

I think that happens with personalities too. And I think like not everybody works well together. There's so many different kinds of people. And I think sometimes you work with people and it feels clunky. It feels like you're stepping on each other and your ideas don't fit. It just fit. Right. Also, I think both of us being collectively from Texas, it's almost like when we get in the studio with Leon or when we collab with Leon,

it's that same feeling that you have when Thanksgiving rolls around and all of your cousins come over and you get to hang out with all your cousins. Leon's like a cousin. He's like our musical cousin at this point. And you know, you come over Thanksgiving and everybody's all kicking. It's like, oh, what's up, cousin? You know, it's like a reunion every year. So, yeah, every time we link up, it's that, you know, it's that feeling that Fort Worth, you know, DFW, Houston thing that we, that we have. Absolutely.

Let's go to another track from the EP called Chocolate Hills. Laura, what was the spark for Chocolate Hills? There were a number of songs in both EPs that sort of came about because Leon is constantly singing and dancing. And if there's kind of dead space or if Steve R. Engineer was rendering something, Leon will get out of guitar and start playing and singing. So Steve realized that quickly and made sure there was always a mic around Leon so that if Leon kind of started doing that, we captured it. And a few of the songs were composed by basically taking Leon's vocals from those takes and then Krungben writing around those vocals that we captured. I had Leon's guitar and elite and I had his vocal.

and I think you were kind of going between like two chords essentially. I was like this is really really cool. It's like I'm vibing with this already. I think this could be really, really great. There was a way that you sang it where it was just kind of like there was no pressure.

It was like it's a really easy sound of you singing and playing this thing. So I was like, all I really want to do is accentuate this. And just kind of maybe reharmonize a few of the chords and really outlined this kind of like trancey, hypnotic feeling that was going on and just it didn't need a lot. I think the initial arrangement I made, I don't think I was playing at all. It was just, you know, bass, drums, your voice. And I was doing my best to actually like kind of like mute out your guitar. So it's literally nothing there except for just bass, drums and voice. I really liked that.

Not beyond the song. So I figured out some of the play, which because the song is called Chocolate Hills and it makes me think of like sweets and chocolate and candy, I did my own little like kind of nod to juicy fruit by the latent tourmay. And that was the basis for my guitar part. I didn't know that.

Wow. Wow. Nice. Nice Easter egg. Well, maybe no longer, but. No longer an Easter egg. Scoop. We've got an exclusive.

Hey, look, I like food-related songs. I like food and drink-related songs. Right. And here's another great example. Chocolate Hills. Leon, what was the lyric writing process for this one like? You know, I kind of wanted to, you know, champion black women in that way and think this picture of just like my experience with her while making love, you know. Just here's the scenery, the chocolate hill.

And, you know, you just connected from reality for a little moment and, you know, doing it. Making love. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. It's a very sensual song. I feel like that sparse accompaniment that you were describing really supports it. That's what I'm saying. It doesn't need a lot.

Yeah. I found it very refreshing listening to it. It's not often that you hear, you know, gaps of like silence and space in a track. Was it, is it hard to resist the temptation to, like, put more into a song to just keep layering and overdubbing? And how do you resist that temptation? Don't ask me that. Because I'm not a fan of like, just like fill every gap with something. It just becomes so tedious and exhausting.

You know, like listen to the song. Like, who left the orchestra in here? You know what I mean? This is not the vibe. Yeah, I'm usually one like, I'll let's take that out. I think it's like my kind of, you know, with my voice, sometimes doing a lot just kind of overshadows it, you know? And the less things are going on.

the more of my voice is kind of able to shine. And I think we both kind of understand of just, you know, staying out the way. I'm a big fan of, like, just uncomfortable space on records as well. There's one part of Chocolate Hills at the end of the second verse where Leon just said, just be with me here. And I was like, we should really highlight that part. I was like, I don't feel like I should be playing anything right here. Yeah, I remember that.

And so we just took everything out. I remember the initial pause was actually like It's like okay we got to put a pause We put a pause there And Dee's like No no like longer We kept on making it longer longer Until it's like oh this here we go

That's the moment The song for me too I mean till this Till this day That's the chills moment Yeah This is Texas Moon The previous one was Texas

Sun. Do you all hear this as a kind of inverse of that first album or some, are you exploring different themes here? It was just a natural creative choice for it to be Texas boom, to kind of look in what we started. Sonically, I remember during that process, Mark was listening to Elvis's Blue Moon, which has this really cool slapback vocal effect. We basically took that and put it into Texas moon because that just sounds like nighttime. Yeah, something about it. That sound. Yeah, something about it sounds like, you know, night. So that effect made it all over the Texas Moon record. So that's one thing that I think

sonically with the vocal separates Texas Sun and Texas Moon. an inverted kind of way. Baby putting that your breath. Yeah, I kind of think I've put it on every single track. It's on everything.

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Now we're going to do a segment called Modern Classics, where we ask artists what songs they believe belong in the pop pantheon. And because all of our guests today hail from the great state of Texas, we asked them to pick some selections from Texas musical history that inspire them. So we have two really exciting tracks to dig into. And let's start with the one that Crumbin selected. It's Mel Waiters Got My Whiskey from 1997. My personal experience with the song, I played a lot of Zodico Blues and Trail Ride gigs back in the day with Jay Paul and Zatico New Breeves.

And during like set breaks, you would have the DJ that would play, you know, in between. the live music sets. And the experience of just having this record drop, this Mel Waiters record dropped. For one, the intro for me, it's such a good example of

what you want an intro of a song to be. It was like the bass, doong, doom, doom, pop, boom, sax solo. And it's just right in there with these really sunny, breezy chord changes. You know, just too cool.

all you need. And then Mel Waiters makes his entrance. And he's literally just talking about, you know, hey, I had a hard week. It's Friday. It's the weekend. I'm going to have a good time. You know, I'm going out. I'm, you know, having a good time. I got my money. I got my whiskey. Tonight, I'm getting drunk. That's it. There's nothing, yeah, nothing more to the song is just about feeling good, having a good time. Yeah. And every time that drops, it's like a, the room just, you know, everybody just, whoo. I also did a large amount of Zatico Blues Club trail ride gigs in Houston, Texas.

And this is just one of those songs. It was always on. You heard it everywhere. This hole in the wall, which is another male-oaders cut. And you know what's funny, you mentioned that they play this in between sets and they do. And it's like, it's almost like Mel Waiters knew to engineer the song to be played right at that exact time. Because you know he had experience being a radio DJ and an entertainer. He grew up singing in the church choir and at nightclubs during the same time.

So he was doing like radio DJ entertainment stuff on like military bases and around San Antonio and possibly worldwide, depending on where he might have been stationed. So the man knows how to get people who really need to have a good time, to have a good time. You know, I've played military bases. You know, in some ways, it doesn't matter what you play

because they're just glad you're there because it's like, man, we need some, me and blow some steam. This man has engineered this cut to be. It's almost like the song has always existed. Hmm. You feel me? Sounds like it's as old as the earth.

Yeah. You know, people don't. There's so much. here that's fun. That intro that you mentioned DJ, the killer sax solo right at the top, lyrical references to Marvin Gay and Marvin Cease, and about two minutes and 20 seconds in a modulation up a half step. Oh, man. Unprepared with no preparation. No, it just like comes out of nowhere and his Mel's voice goes up even before the modulation. It's like, yeah, I hear what you're saying, Mark. You hear that moment you're like, oh, this is, this guy knows what he's doing. He's a pro.

I was going to say like the cheesiness, though, sometimes it's like a fine line between cheese and not taking yourself too seriously, which is good. That's exactly what I was going to say. Yeah. And I think it's like in Houston, I mean, in Texas, but since I grew up in Houston, you know, that's what I know. And I worked at Continental Club, which is like a rockabilly blues club. There's blues everywhere. And there's a lot of sub-genres of blues and you have your like traditional blues blues and then you have your cringy lawyer blues but this is like joyous blues this is like you probably had a rough week but you're not feeling like that right now and like he's 40 when he put this out it sounds like that

like this does not sound like a young person's going out to the club song you know but that's what's so beautiful about it and so sincere. Yeah, like the cheese element, a lot of people give smooth jazz a lot of flak for being cheesy. I, for one, love smooth jazz, consider myself a smooth jazz concert. I love it. I'm old enough to admit that now because, like, I skated around, like, my early 20s and early 30s, like, trying to be cool and, like, you know, like, oh, this is cheesy, but secretly, you know, in my car jamming like Paul Taylor pleasure seeker from 1997, like on repeat.

But yeah. Everybody just go Google that right now. What is it about Got My Whiskey by Mel Waiters that makes you think this song expresses something about Texas to me? Oh, man. I mean, it certainly feels like Texas certainly puts me right there. Yeah. I mean, it sounds like whiskey, like short high heel pumps, shuffleboard, you know, you got your like dancing partner. You might be having some like barbecue out of one of those paper boats at the end of the night kind of thing. I don't know. It just sounds like that.

Yeah, he's basically, he's basically describing everything that people, like black people in Texas that go out on a Friday night. would do. Like, this song literally sounds like my aunties and uncles. Like, you know, you work hard all week. I mean, he says it in the song. You work hard all week, you know, it was time to take a break. Play me some Marvin Seasons and some Marvin Gaye. Call me later.

You know? Call me later. I'm not going to be a little. Call me later. Because I won't be at home. I'm going out tonight because I feel like it'll. Let's switch gears. And listen to another Texas song from Leon Bridges.

Very different vibe here. But that's great because I think it'll give us a kind of another insight into Y'all's home state. Leon's pick is Columbine by Towns Van Zant. Cut yourself, a Columbine, tear it from the stem. Now breathe upon the pond. The pedals fine. Leon, same question to you. What about this song

makes you think of Texas when you hear it? You know, I kind of, I guess, associate the, he's just like fingerpicking and dope storytelling to Texas. I first heard this song. I was on my way to Martha, Texas for the first time,

and one of my friends played it. And, you know, it just immediately resonated with me. And, you know, I kind of grew up in kind of a songwriting community. And, you know, in some way, you know, ways tried to shape my songs in the ways of, you know, a town's bandana or some of the other singer-songwriter cuts.

And for me, you know, the song just kind of represents just like being free. Watch the pedals dancing, see them twirling sing. What does it mean? You know, just like the flower is like, represents just like the fragility of life. And I guess from the song, you know, it just kind of teaches you to, you know, focus on the things that are important. And not the things that are just kind of temporary and fleeting.

I feel like that idea is supported by the structure of the song itself because it's a lot different than a, than, than typical pop song. Like you said, it's more of a folk song. It doesn't really have a chorus to speak of in the traditional sense. It's more like a ballad or something. Oh, lady like a flower fair. Someday you'll have to fall. You can find me standing there to catch you.

It's funny how I kind of subconsciously do that in my own music. you know there's certain songs that I might you just kind of kind of listen to the song and what the song needs and sometimes writing a chorus just might be too much information I also think it's a beautiful I mean just like listening to your pick and our pick you know from Texas it feels somewhat more or less of what it feels like for the two of us to come together in the studio you know it's Leon's got his guitar and he's sitting and singing and

or pulling his words out and not necessarily bringing the sax and the whiskey, but, you know. In a more general way, with the songs that you brought from Mel Waiters and Towns Van Zant with these, this pair of EPs, Texas Sun and Texas Moon, why is it important to you to rep your home state?

I don't think we can help not rep Texas in our music. Like when you're born in, Raised here, Texas is in you. And no matter where you travel, it never leaves you. Texas, I believe, is embedded deep in the consciousness of the four of us and in our hearts just due to us growing up and living in this state. And it'll always come out in the art. I think home pride is just, it's just a universal feeling. I mean, the day I moved to London, and I got a Texas tattoo as cliche as that might be. It was like, I need to remember, this is home.

I don't want anybody think that it's not. And I think everybody feels that. And it's easily the Venn diagram between the four of us is Texas. You know, when we, you know, shape the music, it's like, you know, about incorporating elements, musical elements that are unique to Texas. And for me, it's the country aspect and blues. and there's a bunch of R&B artists, you know, from Texas who probably don't care to incorporate those things in the music.

And, yes, just, you know, for me, you know, something I'm passionate about, just, you know, pretty much just carrying the torch, you know. Yeah, like I said, it always comes out in the art. I harken back to Texas Sun. I think had we not been from Texas, maybe an accordion as an instrument doesn't end up on that song at all. Yeah, I think it's also worth mentioning that while, you know, we did obviously spend time in the studio, the four of us collectively have spent more time not in Texas than in Texas.

You know, so us feeling nostalgia while on the road for home and whatever that feeling is, it's probably, you know, there's something in that. And it's a contribution I really appreciate because for me as a listener, you know, it's like, it's like y'all we're saying. It's your, you're shining a light and sounding a history and a culture and a sound that people might not associate with this kind of monolithic idea of Texas. So I think I really appreciate what y'all are doing. Thank you.

Krungben and Leon Bridges, this has been such a pleasure. Thanks for digging into Texas Moon with me today. And I wish you all the best. Thank you. It was a total pleasure. Thank you. Switch on Pop is produced by me, Nate Sloan, and songwriter Charlie Hardin. Our editor is Jolie Myers.

Our engineer is Brandon McFarland. Community Management is Abby Barr. And illustrations are by Iris Gottlie. Our executive producers are Hannah Rosen and Nashat Kurwa and we're a production

of Vulture and the Vox Media Podcast Network. You can find more episodes of our show anywhere you get podcasts and you can reach out to us and tell us

what your favorite Texas tracks are at Switched on Pop on Instagram and Twitter or our website Switchedonpop.com and our email contact

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