Fellow Texans, neo-soul artist Leon Bridges and genre-bending trio Khruangbin, have teamed up to release new single "Texas Sun."
Leon Bridges hails from Fort Worth, Texas, and Khruangbin originated in Houston, and both lend these influences to the track. Khruangbin's exact genre has proved difficult to pin down. Their style has been described as psychedelic, soul, R&B, and perhaps most frequently as Thai funk, a nod to the Thai cassettes from the 60s and 70s that inspired much of their early work. Leon Bridges' brand is more clear cut, yet it is a masterful and innovative approach to modern soul music. His recognizable, easygoing vocals are a complementary partner to Khruangbin's instrumentals in this latest project.
"Texas Sun" is uncharacteristically categorical in its style. Khruangbin have recorded all of their music from a barn in the small town of Burton, Texas, but their sound travels all over, drawing inspiration from a number of places including France, Ethiopia, Thailand. But deep down, the heart of this track is unmistakably Texan- a twangy slide guitar punctuating the mellow, bluesy groove.
Khruangbin aren't especially interested in categorizing this or any other work. Their process relies on letting their expanse of influences express themselves organically in their music, without consciously attempting to emulate a specific style. Of this track and the upcoming collaborative EP Texas Sun, bassist Laura Lee said, "If you just let the music do what it's supposed to do, it will reveal itself. For us, it was opening up our world to have [Leon] in it. But all of it feels like Texas to me."
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