’We play with sound’
’We play with sound’
’We play with sound’

'We play with sound'

On U2X Radio, Adam's latest musical conversation is with Laura Lee Ochoa, bassist and vocalist for Khruangbin (for listeners in North America).

19 Dec 2025

'We play with sound'

Adam Clayton welcomes Laura Lee Ochoa, bassist and vocalist for Khruangbin, an American musical trio, to the latest episode of his Sirius XM series Don't Ask Me, I'm the Bass Player.

The pair discuss life after the end of a tour, tunes that influenced their bass playing, and how neither one of them thinks of themselves as a "musician."

"I define myself as an artist rather than a musician, because I think musicians are people that can play anything and do anything, and I don't feel that's what I do," Adam said. "It's like I listen to something, I figure out how I can contribute to it, and other people witness it. And that's it for me. That's the expression."

Ochoa concurred: "I'm a hundred percent not comfortable with the term musician," she said, "but I love artists and I feel like artists actually just encompasses my spirit much more."

"Exactly," Adam continued. "We play with sound. That's what it is…it's a big playpen."


This reminded Adam of the American artist Matthew Barney and his series called 'Drawing Restraint': "He hung himself on a bungee in a room and then tried to reach the four walls of the room and make a mark with a pen. And sometimes I think that's how we are as musicians, as artists. We are struggling to make it sound the way we think it should sound, and that struggle is the essentially kind of human part of what we do."

"Yeah, because a struggle is your struggle and it's nobody else's struggle," Ochoa said. "The sound that you make is your sound, and because your sound is your voice and is your being, and as artists, that's who we are."

During the episode, Adam played several tracks Ochoa said were seminal to her as a bass player, including Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin ('69 Année Érotique'), Barrington Levy ('When Friday Comes'), The Beatles ('All My Loving'), and Deee-Lite ('Groove Is In The Heart')—that last one being among Adam's favourites. 

"What a great tune!" he enthused. 

"Other than the bridge, the song is basically just a bass line on a loop," Ochoa said. 

"Well, you know that's my kind of music," Adam laughed. 

As the Deee-Lite tune ended, he added: "We were just reminiscing there about Lady Kier and hoping that she is somewhere having a wonderful, fabulous time."

As Khruangbin were wrapping up their 10th anniversary tour, Ochoa considered the transition to life off the road when she once again could join the audience. 

"As the stages get bigger and your crowd gets farther away and you're in in-ears, there starts to be a real separation between the performer and the people watching," Ochoa said. "Some people aren't able to go out and be in the crowd, and it's nice to have that."

"That comes around again, I have to say," Adam said. "I'm sort of enjoying that experience…When your audiences are actually a different age to you. We all come out of the audience initially and they're our peer group and our friends, and then, if you stick around long enough, there's that big separation and when that separation happens, it actually gives you the freedom to go back into that audience and kind of look out."

"I love that connection," he said. "We all thrive on being part of humanity in one way or the other."

MORE NEWS

ALL NEWS
Carnaval De Luz Indie Record Store Edition
CARNAVAL DE LUZ

Limited Edition Third Man Records Yellow Vinyl of New Album Arrives November 13 at Independent Record Stores

30 SEP 2026
Central Bank Deputy Governor Vasileios Madouros presented the coin to Larry Mullen Jr.
50TH ANNIVERSARY

Central Bank of Ireland launches U2 commemorative coin marking 50 years since the band's formation.

28 SEP 2026
Fifty
50TH ANNIVERSARY

Live in Dublin fifty years on. Pat Carty was there for U2.com.

27 SEP 2026
'CARNAVAL DE LUZ' - New Album In November.
CARNAVAL DE LUZ

The band's first studio album in nine years will be released on November 13th. Silencio, second track from...

24 SEP 2026
It’s Arrived (with a surprise)
SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVES

The Days of Ash Propaganda Magazine & EP bundle is here… complete with a bonus Easter Lily edition...

17 SEP 2026
'2027 Persons of the Year'
HEARTS + MINDS

Band to be honoured by Musicares for 'five decades of musical achievement and humanitarian service'

10 SEP 2026
’Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah’
COMPILATIONS

Release of Pogues cover today, Friday, from stellar line up for '20th Century Paddy - The Songs Of...

28 AUG 2026
'Fireflies'
COLLABORATIONS

Out today!  Martin Garrix teams up with U2 on new track 'Fireflies', debuted live with Edge at Tomorrowland...

24 JUL 2026
'In a place called Mexico…'

Behind-the-scenes with band and crew on the shoot for 'Street of Dreams'.

17 JUL 2026
Street Of Dreams - The New Single is Here.
SINGLES

Listen to Street of Dreams, the first single from the band's upcoming studio album.

07 JUL 2026
’BALLROOM BOOM’
TV

'Ballroom Boom' screening at the Galway Film Fleadh this Thursday.

07 JUL 2026
What a wonder. They're calling it "The Obamalisk"
BONO

Bono and Edge performing City of Blinding Lights at the grand opening of the Obama Presidential Center in...

22 JUN 2026
SHOWING 12 OF 4770 STORIES KEEP SCROLLING FOR MORE ↓

Related Topic

LATEST COMMENTS

THE NEW ALBUM
CARNAVAL DE LUZ

The new album. Out 13 November 2026.

PRE-ORDER

SUBSCRIBE TO U2.COM

Special editorial and video, exclusive newsletters and events, 25% coupon for the shop and first access to ticket sales when the band tour.