Mordechai [Morado Vinyl] [Barnes & Noble Exclusive]

by Khruangbin

Overview

Morado Vinyl Exclusively Available at Barnes & Noble. Khruangbin has always been multilingual, weaving far-flung musical languages like East Asian surf rock, Persian funk, and Jamaican dub into mellifluous harmony. But on its third album, it's finally speaking out loud. Mordechai features vocals prominently on nearly every song, a first for the mostly instrumental band. It's a shift that rewards the risk, reorienting Khruangbin's transportive sound toward a new sense of emotional directness, without losing the spirit of nomadic wandering that's always defined it. And it all started with them coming home. By the summer of 2019, the Houston group -- bassist Laura Lee Ochoa, guitarist Mark Speer, drummer DJ Johnson -- had been on tour for nearly three-and-a-half years, playing to audiences across North and South America, Europe, and Southeast Asia behind its acclaimed albums The Universe Smiles Upon You and Con Todo el Mundo. They returned to their farmhouse studio in Burton, Texas, ready to begin work on their third album. But they were also determined to slow down, to take their time and luxuriate in building something together. Musically, the band's ever-restless ear saw it pulling reference points from Pakistan, Korea, and West Africa, incorporating strains of Indian chanting boxes and Congolese syncopated guitar. But more than anything, the album became a celebration of Houston, the eclectic city that had nurtured them, and a cultural nexus where you can check out country and zydeco, trap rap, or avant-garde opera on any given night. In those years away from home, Khruangbin's members often felt like they were swimming underwater, unsure of where they were going or why they were going there. But Mordechai leads them gently back to the surface, allowing them to take a breath, look around, and find themselves again. It is a snapshot taken along a larger journey -- a moment all the more beautiful for its impermanence. And it's a memory to revisit again and again, speaking to us now more clearly than ever.

Product Details

Release Date:	10/03/2025
Label:	Dead Oceans
UPC:	0674012932064

Tracks

1. First Class
2. Time (You and I)
3. Connaissais de Face
4. Father Bird, Mother Bird
5. If There is No Question
6. Pelota
7. One to Remember
8. Dearest Alfred
9. So We Won't Forget
10. Shida

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Khruangbin   Primary Artist
Mark Speer   Congas,Dholak,Shaker,Vocals,Agogo,Bells,Guiro,Cowbell,Shekere,Triangle,Mellotron,Mini Moog,Vibraslap,Tambourine,Handclapping,Drums (Snare),Farfisa Organ,Guitar (Electric),Cabasa,Claves
John Adams   Roto Toms
Charlie Perez   Quica,Bongos,Congas,Dumbek,Shaker,Cowbell,Pandeiro,Timbales,Flexatones
Deej   Vocals,Handclapping,Piano (Electric)
Will Van Horn   Pedal Steel
Cleo Sample   Mini Moog,Organ (Hammond)
Chase Jordan   Vibraphone

Technical Credits

Laura Lee Ochoa   Group Member,Design,Artwork,Lyricist
Nate Utesch   Design,Artwork
Donald Johnson   Group Member
Mark Speer   Lyricist,Group Member
Khruangbin   Composer,Producer
Steve Christensen   Mixing,Engineer,Producer