To Sound Like The World

THE MUSICAL RANGE OF KHRUANGBIN, which consists of bassist Laura Lee, guitarist Mark Speer and drummer Donald ‘DJ’ Johnson, is, to put it mildly, broad. Starting with the trio’s 2015 The Universe Smiles Upon You, their songs have incorporated Thai funk, ’60s psychedelia, Jamaican dub, Middle Eastern and West African music, surf rock, jazz fusion, R&B, disco and more. But while their latest album Mordechai is music that sounds like it came from everywhere, its roots are very much in Khruangbin’s hometown.

“In trying to sound like the world,’’ Lee says, “we hoped that it would really be reflective of Houston, which is where we’re from, because it’s such a multicultural means “engine fly.”