Khruangbin — NPR Tiny Desk, Washington D.C., 2018

Live filmed set by the Texan trio Khruangbin at the NPR Music Tiny Desk, in Bob Boilen’s office in Washington, D.C., recorded and published in 2018. Hailing from Houston, Laura Lee (bass), Mark Speer (guitar) and Donald “DJ” Johnson (drums and piano) deliver a largely instrumental sound rooted in 1960s and ’70s Thai funk and soul, with textures drawn from Spain, Ethiopia and the Middle East. The three-song set opens with “Maria También” and “August 10,” both from the 2018 album Con Todo El Mundo, then closes with “White Gloves,” one of the band’s earliest vocal tracks, taken from their 2015 debut The Universe Smiles Upon You. Khruangbin’s music leans on Laura Lee’s warm bass and Mark Speer’s melodic, heavily reverbed guitar, building a trance-inducing, understated mood. This Tiny Desk performance captures the group’s hypnotic aesthetic, poised between minimal groove and psychedelic color. Keywords: Khruangbin, Tiny Desk, NPR, Washington, 2018, live, full concert, instrumental funk.