Khruangbin: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

May 16, 2018 | Bob Boilen -- It was daylight but the music was dark and moody. And despite having the office lights turned on high, it was Khruangbin's trance-inducing tone that set the mood and carried me away.

This trio from Houston, Texas is heavily inspired by 1960s and '70s funk and soul from, of all places, Thailand. That musical passion has taken them on a journey that, these days, incorporates music from Spain, Ethiopia and the Middle East. Khruangbin's largely instrumental music is grounded in Laura Lee's bass, with Mark Speer playing those melodic, richly reverbed guitar sounds and Donald "DJ" Johnson on drums and piano.

Two of the three songs performed at this Tiny Desk Concert are from their 2018 album Con Todo El Mundo, which is dedicated in part to Laura Lee's Mexican-American grandfather. He'd often ask her how much she loved him and the response that pleased him most was when she would say, "con todo el mundo," (with all the world.)

The third track in this performance is one of the band's first forays into vocals, from their 2015 debut album, The Universe Smiles Upon You. "White Gloves" gently pays homage to a "classy lady" who was "a fighter" and who "died in a fight." Its open-ended lyrics could imply a battle that was violent or an illness. It isn't clear. What is clear is the reverence in the song and in this music — music that strays from typical instrumental songs with heavy beats. This is music to sway to and to lift you beyond the day to day.

SET LIST
"Maria También"
"August 10"
"White Gloves"

CREDITS
Producers: Bob Boilen, Morgan Noelle Smith; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Morgan Noelle Smith, Kara Frame, Dani Lyman; Editor: Ben Naddaff-Hafrey; Production Assistant: Joshua Bote; Photo: Eslah Attar/NPR.

[nprmusic]

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[andrewrevell]

I heard this drummer got lost in the wilderness with no phone or watch and when they found him 3 years later he knew what second it was.

[bloodyzbub]

My guy on the drums is so in tune that every version of him in every multi-verse is doing the exact same thing at the exact same time...always.

[justusjonas]

The fact that they took the effort to build a whole human body around a drum machine to make it look like a drummer, just amazing.

[fanaticguitars]

I come back to this video from time to time to set up my watch

[tarzaan]

The drummer tells the sun exactly when to rise every morning

[nunobrou]

One of the best comment sections I've read in a long drummer.

[ILLFIGMENT]

Not many people know this but our clocks and calenders were calibrated using this drummers heartbeat

[romecensullo]

Since I’ve started listening to Khruangbin and this drummer I’ve never been late to anything

[RhettShull]

Time is a construct, and this drummer constructed it.

[fdvdsfk]

This drummer has never been in the wrong place at the wrong time

[dyn.mp]

Every month I am coming back to this video for reading drummer comments. Amazing band!

[Ben]

I envy people hearing Khruangbin for the first time.

[johnturtle]

The drummers timing cured my arrhythmia

[benmattmartinez]

The drummer kept time so well that we as a society realized we no longer need daylight savings.

[Crushenator]

Forgive me im tripping on acid, but August 10 just moved me to tears, man that was beautiful. Might just be the best player to touch a Stratocaster since Hendrix. What a beautiful Strat that is too, really a pleasure to see it played so well, they are one.
Its so great how this 11 minutes 32 seconds of time and space is here, saved in eternity for us to enjoy, and still be hit by years later. those few minutes have me captivated, what a soul massage. Music is special 💚

[Bugg]

I am leaving my comment here so that whenever someone likes it, I will receive a notification and be reminded to listen to this work of art.

[Ivobraca]

The clock in the room take a look at the drummer to check the time.

[zeshef]

Khruangbin: a man on guitar. A woman on bass. And Father Time.

[greenkostia]

I travelled back to 1955 and saw this band. When I returned to 1985 the drummer was still in time