Khruangbin at Rumsey Playfield

Mark Speer and Donald "DJ" Johnson Jr. met in 2004 while playing in a gospel band in Houston, Texas; their church employed Speer as the guitarist and Johnson as the organist. In 2007, Speer and Laura Lee met and bonded over a shared love of Afghan music and Middle Eastern architecture. In 2009, Speer taught Lee to play the bass and, in 2010, they toured with Yppah and Bonobo, with Lee on bass and Speer on guitar. Determined to create new experimental music, Speer and Lee developed their bass-heavy, psychedelic sound in a barn in Burton, Texas. Upon their return to Houston, they asked DJ to join the band as drummer to play simple break-beats under the guitar and bass. When asked to play their first gig, Lee, who was learning to speak Thai at the time, decided they should use as their name her favorite Thai word "khruangbin" (เครื่องบิน), which means "flying engine" or "airplane." Khruangbin's 2015 debut album drew from 1960s Thai music and the second in 2018 drew inspiration from music from Spain and the Middle East. Khruangbin will release Hasta el Cielo, the band’s dub version of its second album, Con Todo el Mundo, on July 12, 2019. Speer, Lee, and DJ also host AirKhruang radio shows on NTS Radio and Facebook Live.

Khruangbin headlined tonight a Summerstage concert in Rumsey Playfield in Central Park, and occasional heavy rain did not hinder the dancing shoes of the audience mesmerized by the hypnotic music. World beats swirled as Speer' guitar emulated Lee's hard, funky bass riffs and then spun into reverb-soaked surf sounds. As with many jam bands, the casual listener was unable to predict where the music was going, and often found that it was not going anywhere, but instead was locked simply into a heavy groove. Mostly instrumental, the low-fi indie sound hinged on the rhythm section's firm blueprints and Speer's improvised spacey guitar licks. Khruangbin is a thoroughly original rock band, at the moment quite unique but sure to inspire many imitators.

Setlist:

1. The Number 3
2. Friday Morning
3. Mr. White
4. Two Fish and an Elephant
5. Dern Kala
6. August 10
7. The Man Who Took My Sunglasses
8. Shades of Man
9. Balls and Pins
10. Rules
11. Lady and Man
12. Evan Finds the Third Room
13. The Infamous Bill
14. Maria También

Encore:

1. The Number 4
2. White Gloves
3. People Everywhere (Still Alive)