Hasta El Cielo LP (Color)

Globetrotting Texan trio Khruangbin are set to release Hasta El Cielo, the bands glorious dub version of their second album Con Todo El Mundo. The full album has been processed anew along with two bonus dubs by renowned Jamaican producer Scientist.

The bands exotic, spacious, psychedelic funk aligns with the dub treatment particularly well. Indeed, keen fans wont find this a surprising release. Dubs of tracks from their first album The Universe Smiles Upon You appeared on limited vinyl releases of People Everywhere for Record Store Day 2016 and Zionsville on the BoogieFuturo remix 12. The especially eagle-eared will have caught a dub of Two Fish And An Elephant playing over the credits of the tracks celebrated video.

Formed of Laura Lee on bass, Mark Speer on guitar, and Donald DJ Johnson on drums; Khruangbins sounds are rooted in the deepest waters of music from around the world, infused with classic soul, dub and psychedelia. Their 2015 debut album The Universe Smiles Upon You was heavily influenced by 60s and 70s Thai cassettes the band listened to on their long car journeys to rehearsal in the Texan countryside. 2018s follow up Con Todo El Mundo, which received hugely positive critical reactions and radio play around the world, took inspiration not just from South East Asia but similarly underdiscovered funk and soul of the Mediterranean and the Middle East, particularly Iran.

For us, Dub has always felt like a prayer. Spacious, meditative, able to transport the listener to another realm. The first dub albums we listened to were records mixed by Scientist featuring the music of the Roots Radics. Laura Lee learned to play bass by listening to Scientist Wins the World Cup. His unique mixing style, with the emphasis on space and texture, creates the feeling of frozen time; it was hugely influential to us as a band. To be able to work alongside Scientist, a legend in the history of dub, is an honor. This is our dub version of Con Todo El Mundo. – Khruangbin