Khruangbin

April brings us new funky and exotic psychedelia from Houston's Khruangbin.  Dig on the faraway sounds of "A Love International" below, a song that sounds like sailing away into the sunset on uncharted waters, and pre-order the upcoming "A LA SALA" LP here from Dead Oceans.

Wu-Khruang

I know we're years past the "mash-up" phenomenon, but occasionally something still pops up that makes me turn my head and transform into that Leo DiCaprio in "Django Unchained" meme.  And really, you just can't go wrong mixing Wu-Tang Clan into anything, as has been demonstrated over and over again.  Anyway, the most recent comes from the Tom Caruana Remix Projects with "Wu-Khruang," this time pairing the legendary hip-hop group with the worldly psych and funk sounds of Houston's Khruangbin.  And it fucking works.  Check out "Pinky Ring" below, but then go here to listen to the whole thing and pay what you want for the download.

Khruangbin and Leon Bridges

Houston world psych band Khruangbin and Fort Worth soul and R&B singer Leon Bridges have teamed together again for the upcoming new EP "Texas Moon."  Look for plenty of funk, desert blues, exotic psychedelia, and soul.  Check out "B-Side" below and pre-order the record here from Dead Oceans.

Khruangbin Remixed

August brings us a new album from Houston's Khruangbin, this time in remix form.  "Mordechai Remixes" reworks tunes from, you guessed it, last year's "Mordechai" LP.  The band's particular brand of world psych and funk lends itself to being reworked by other artists, so this record should be cool as shit.  Check out Quantic's "Pelota (Cut a Rug Mix)" below and pre-order the album here from Dead Oceans.

Khruangbin Cover Bowie

London label BBE has put together a David Bowie tribute album called "Modern Love," and have assembled a very diverse group of artists to take part.  The album features folks like Kit Sebastian, Helado Negro, Jeff Parker, and more.  And more so than a lot of other Bowie cover albums i've heard over the years, the artists on this one morph and mutate the tunes into their own styles and repertoires yet still maintain that Bowie bloodline.  Check out Khruangbin's worldly psyche and soul version of "Right" below and get the whole thing here.

Khruangbin

It seems we're getting some more new music from Houston's Khruangbin over the summer after this February's collaborative effort with Leon Bridges.  Check out and shake your hips to the smooth and funky "Time (You and I)" below and pre-order the upcoming "Mordechai" LP here from Dead Oceans.

Khruangbin & Leon Bridges

The exotic psychedelic sounds of Khruangbin get paired with the throwback, old school soul of Leon Bridges on the upcoming collaborative "Texas Sun" EP from the two artists.  And it's a wonderful mix, some desert Americana that plays like lost gems on an old AM radio station.  Check out the title track below and pre-order the record here from Dead Oceans.

Khruangbin - Christmas Time Is Here

We're in the post-Thanksgiving/pre-Christmas days of the year, which means Christmas music will be practically inescapable for the next 4 weeks.  But that's not necessarily a bad thing, as i've mentioned before, that despite my distaste and distrust for organized religion and rampant, unhinged consumerism, i love Christmas time and the pop music it brings us.  There's some good, even great stuff out there, both classic and new.  You just have to look for it.  And so we have Houston's Khruangbin and their soulful psych groove rendition of the Vince Guaraldi classic "Christmas Time Is Here."  You know, the one from Charlie Brown.  Anyway, give it a listen below and download it here from Dead Oceans.

Khruangbin

Sometimes i forget just how big and diverse the city of Houston is.  I love Austin to death, but the cultural hub of Texas is more than likely a 3 hour drive southeast of us.  And bringing the proverbial noise is Houston 3-piece Khruangbin and their amazing blend of funk, psych, surf rock, and world vibes.  Translated from Thai, the band's name means "Engine Fly," and they keep the groove cool and humming.  New album "Con Todo El Mundo" is due in January on Dead Oceans, but listen to "Maria Tambien" below in the meantime.