Laura Lee Ochoa[1] (born October 14, 1986), also known as Leezy, is an American musician and singer-songwriter, best known as the bass guitarist and one of the founding members of the Grammy-nominated musical trio Khruangbin.
Laura Lee Ochoa | |
|---|---|
 Laura Lee Ochoa performing with Khruangbin at Haldern Pop (2019) | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Leezy |
| Born | October 14, 1986 Houston, Texas, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Instruments |
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| Years active | 2009–present |
| Labels | |
| Member of | Khruangbin |
Biography
editThe daughter of Mexican-American parents,[2] Ochoa played piano and guitar as a child, but picked up bass at the suggestion of (then future) bandmate Mark Speer. Ochoa met him in 2009 through friends, where they initially connected over a shared love of Afghan music. Ochoa was an art history major with a focus on art of the ancient Near East. She worked as a math teacher for six years.[3] At the time, she was interested in playing piano again and he suggested she "follow the sound of the bass", which she had never thought about doing before.[4][5] This recommendation led her to begin playing, which she says came very naturally to her.[6]
Ochoa has recorded five studio albums with Khruangbin: The Universe Smiles Upon You (2015), Con Todo el Mundo (2018), Mordechai (2020), Ali (2022) and A La Sala (2024) as well as two EPs: Texas Sun (2021) and Texas Moon (2022), both with the band and Leon Bridges. Prior to forming the group, Lee played bass on tour with Yppah.[4] In April, 2021, she collaborated with Los Angeles–based singer-songwriter Niia on the song "Not Up For Discussion."[7]
Style and stage persona
editIn Khruangbin, Ochoa performs as "Leezy", an alter-ego that helps her keep some parts of herself private: "It helps me separate from her and it helps me emotionally to put it on her, so I let her take on all of the pressure."[4] She is the band's creative director, using her training in art and architecture to set up staging and create choreography and graphic design.[8] Both she and Speer sport long black wigs while performing[9] and "Leezy" goes through many costume changes throughout a show. In 2011, she made the decision to never wear the same outfit twice on stage, estimating that she has worn 600 different outfits whilst on tour.[10] She wears two different outfits per show, a decision inspired by Elton John, who was known to change up to four outfits.[3] She is also inspired by Prince who handled choreography and played guitar at the same time.[8]
References
edit- ^ Cheng, Vivian (2020-07-11). "Khruangbin's Leap With Mordechai". Office. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
- ^ Smith, Thomas (26 June 2020). "Khruangbin: "We planned our entire world tour around Glastonbury"". NME.
- ^ a b Hoffman, Jordan (2022-08-18). "Khruangbin's Laura Lee Takes Us Under the Wig". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
- ^ a b c D'Auria, Jon (11 November 2020). "Laura Lee: Leap Of Faith". Bass Player. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- ^ Rhodes, Margaret (30 January 2018). "Khruangbin's Feel-Good Funk Is Undeniable". Vulture. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- ^ Weinberg, Silken (23 October 2020). "Follow the bass: An interview with Laura Lee of Khruangbin". Teeth Magazine. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- ^ Britto, David (21 April 2021). "Los Angeles Singer-Songwriter Niia Collaborates with Khruangbin's Laura Lee On Lush Single 'Not Up For Discussion'". Rolling Stone India. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- ^ a b Barrett, Helen (2022-09-19). "Musician Laura Leezy on her wild stage style". Financial Times. Retrieved 2022-09-26.
- ^ Vetch, Mara (12 August 2021). "Khruangbin's Laura Lee and Kadhja Bonet on Crafting the Perfect Remix". Interview Magazine. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- ^ Nguyen, Andrew (5 October 2021). "Khruangbin's Laura Lee Never Repeats an Outfit". The Cut. Retrieved 13 January 2022.