Hindustan Times (Patna) - Hindustan Times (Patna) - Live
From Houston to Mumbai
After making a smashing debut at the Magnetic Fields last year in Rajasthan, the Houstan/ Texas, USA-based trio instrumental band, Khruangbin, is all set to make a comeback to India with their debut performance in Mumbai.
Khruangbin, which means ‘Engine Fly’ in Thai, is often described by their fans as a band that is a cross between surf rock (popularised by The Beach Boys in the 1960s) and Thai psychedelic funk. The tunes have soft vocal melodies with a groovy vibe.
But ask the band to describe their music and they find it hard. “We said we play ‘melancholy funk’ but that description doesn’t match up anymore. It is basically breakbeat drums, dubby bass and melodic guitar. We play an amalgamation of surf and funk with influences from around the world, especially Thailand, West Africa and the Middle East,” says Mark Speer, who is the guitarist of the band that also has drummer Donald Johnson and bassist Laura Lee as its members.
With such cross-cultural music influences, the band has so far released two albums, The Universe Smiles Upon You in 2015 and Con Todo El Mundo in January this year. They’re embarking on a world tour for Con Todo El Mundo, and Mumbai and Delhi feature as the pit stops in India after which they head to London.
Khruangbin may have started off with a niche fan base since their album released in 2015 but they’ve performed at some of the biggest music festivals such as the Glastonbury festival in Scotland and Dimensions festival in Croatia. And of course, Magnetic Fields propelled them into the Indian festival-goers’ conscience.
Khruangbin enjoy how different audiences react to their music. “In Istanbul we played a Turkish song that we loved, not expecting the crowd to know it. But not only did they know the song, the entire room started singing along too,” they said. This may have to do with the members growing up in Houston. Lee, Speer and Johnson say, “We feel our music is truly reflective of the city where we come from and the people that we knew growing up in Houston — Vietnamese, Indian, West African, Lebanese, Mexican and Louisiana Creole, and much more.”
But do they follow Indian musicians? The band is a selfconfessed Lata Mangeshkar fans. “We’ve featured her on many Khruangbin playlists since our inception along with Asha Puthli. They’re both highlighted on the mixes we play for crowds before each show.”