Album Review: Con Todo El Mundo by Khruangbin

With their 2015 debut The Universe Smiles Upon You taking heavy inspiration from Thai funk from the 60s and 70s, the Texan trio have broadened their pallet to include sounds of the Middle East and Mediterranean funk and soul. With multiple track titles in Spanish, nods are also made to Latin America, particularly bassist Laura Lee’s Mexican heritage. In times of division in some parts of the US and beyond, Con Todo El Mundo is a refreshing project.

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Feeling stressed? Are the woes of another grey, cold winter weighing heavy on your shoulders? Do you need an escape? Do you need sunshine? Well, you could do worse than drift away with the trouble-shunning, sun-worshipping vibemasters Khruangbin. On their first album, 2015’s ‘The Universe Smiles Upon You’, the international cratedigging trio ploughed heavily into the depths of obscure Thai funk, creating a dreamy, largely instrumental sound that mixed up extreme muso geekery with their enviable talent. Three years later and they’ve spun the globe again, this time landing upon the joys of 1970s Iranian funk and soul, weaving it into straight outta Bristol 1990s breakbeats (‘Cómo Me Quieres’) and early hip-hop grooves (‘Maria Tambien’), coming on like DJ Shadow off on a backpacking gap year with Gilles Peterson.

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Texan trio Khruangbin named themselves after the Thai word for airplane, which couldn't be more appropriate for a band whose influences imply heavy passport usage. Of course, the band are inspired by Thai rock and funk from the '60s and '70s -- sounds most easily available to Western ears via releases like the Thai Beat a Go-Go compilations or anything issued by ZudRangMa Records. The group also draw from the bass pressure of vintage dub reggae, the free-spirited haziness of California psychedelia, and the gritty passion of '70s soul, with hints of Iranian pop, Afrobeat, Spaghetti Western film scores, and countless other styles.

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