Review: Khruangbin / Elder Island

It took quite a long time for a crowd to amass last night at the Trinity Centre, so there was plenty of space to stretch in as local support act Elder Island played.

Katy Sargent took centre stage with a small sample pad in front of her and a much larger cello to her side. David Havard and Luke Thornton, both wearing guitars, stood on either side in front of a sprawling mess of wires, dials and various buttons that would be used to feedback vocals, echo synth lines, and mangle cello notes. This was Elder Island, an eclectic, hard to pin down electronic funk trio.

A single bassline kicked off their set, with Katy’s vocals slowly fading in over the top. Katy has an incredible voice, steeped in neo-soul and R&B heritage. She sings simple, stripped back lyrics that float and drift around on top of the instrumentals, which comprise of a persistent hi-hat/snare drum machine beat, bass and cello lines that are manipulated live to create an assortment of ethereal noises and stings.

After two tracks from their self-titled debut EP we were treated to a track from their upcoming EP Seeds In Sand, to the excitement of the audience. The track was Hotel Beds, led by Katy’s vocals up front, and underpinned by ethereal shifting synth tones and some melodic electronic xylophone that builds to a crescendo. Seeds In Sand comes out on November 11 on Metropolis Recordings.

Half an hour later it was time for our psychedelic funk headliners. Khruangbin are big fans of Bristol. I first saw them play The Lantern in February, and since then they’ve supported Father John Misty and also played the Massive Attack gig on the Downs. Clearly the Texan trio have a soft spot for the West Country. Guitarist Mark Speer at one point said “all the artists I liked ended up being from Bristol.”

Their set has a vein of loose chaos running through it. Mid-song breaks were taken to toast each other and the audience, Kinder Surprises were opened on stage (“there’s a small Mermaid inside”), and we were given a 20-minute lesson on the key to mastering funk. Guitarist Mark Speer, bassist Laura Lee and the silent stoic D.J on drums all clearly have a ton of fun on stage. It’s easy to see how much they love playing music together. Laura’s deep rhythmic bass grooves are played with a perpetual smile, and Mark often plays his guitar like a madman unable to stop talking, with a constant barrage of notes flying from his fingers.

Not that it felt hectic at all. Khruangbin must be one of the most chilled out gigs you can attend right now. Taking inspiration from the Thai funk scene of the ‘60s and ‘70s, their surf rock drifts around and envelopes the crowd like the smell of food in a Looney Toons film. D.J plays a very subtle, gentle drumbeat – no fancy fills or solos here. The bass and lead guitar often follow each other in a lilting melody, and the sparse use of repeated lyrics come together make something that stays with you long after you leave. The gig was topped off by a covers compilation of favourites from Mark’s teenage years, in a James Brown-esque funk jam.