Khruangbin are the latest artist to curate their own installment of the long-running Late Night Tales compilation series. Khruangbin got their first big break when Bonobo included their song “A Calf Born In Winter” on his own Late Night Tales mix in 2013, so this is a bit of a full-circle moment for them. The Texas trio pull influences from all over the world — old Southeast Asian soul records, Middle Eastern psych, African pop, Latin music — into their cosmic funk stew, and their mix includes artists from Indian, South Korea, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Belarus, and Madrid.

“We definitely wanted to cover as much global territory as possible,” Khruangbin explain. “So it was the globe and then home. We wanted to show the treasures from our hometown, or people from our hometown that the rest of the world probably doesn’t know. Then these gems from across the world, showcasing them in the same way. That’s what makes Khruangbin Khruangbin. The stubbornness about being so hometown-centric. But what makes Houston is this constant international influence; that’s the gulf stream, bringing it right into the city.”

There’s also a new Khruangbin track on their mix, a cover of Kool & The Gang’s 1974 song “Summer Madness,” plus a Khruangbin-produced banjo-and-spoken word piece by Tierney Malone and Geoffrey Muller. “‘Summer Madness’ became a staple in this medley that we play,” says drummer Donald “DJ” Johnson. “Specifically, one of my favorite things about it is the tone of the bass, which really reminds me a lot of Laura Lee’s bass which has this chunky, peanut butter, rich tone. It was always a special moment, getting to that song because, it just did something to the room, everywhere.” Listen below.

TRACKLIST:
01 Devadip Carlos Santana And Turiya Alice Coltrane – “Illuminations”
02 Brilliantes Del Veulo – “I Know That (When The Springtime Comes)”
03 Nazia Hassan – “Khushi”
04 Kelly Doyle – “DRM”
05 Sanulim – “Don’t Go”
06 Maxwell Udoh – “I Like It (Don’t Stop)”
07 David Marez – “Enséñame”
08 Gerald Lee – “Can You Feel The Love (Reprise)”
09 Justine & The Victorian Punks – “Still You”
10 George Yanagi + Nadja Band -「祭ばやしが聞こえる」のテーマ
11 Песняры – “Зачарованная моя”
12 Khruangbin – “Summer Madness” (Exclusive Kool & The Gang Cover Version)
13 Paloma San Basilio – “Contigo”
14 Roha Band – “Yetikimt Abeba”
15 Tierney Malone / Geoffrey Muller – “Transmission for Jehn: Gnossienne No 1” (Produced by Khruangbin) (Exclusive Track)

CREDIT: Tamsin Isaacs