Mordechai

A little over a month ago, Khruangbin marked the impending release of Mordechai by relaunching their official playlist generator. On a website called AirKhruang, fans can specify a duration and choose from a wide range of activities, then receive a custom-generated mix via Spotify or Apple Music to enhance the vibe of whatever they find themselves doing. The song selections reflect the laid-back cosmopolitanism that has turned this largely instrumental Houston trio into theater-filling stars, with fans including both JAY-Z and your Phish-loving cousin. Generate a playlist for reading and you might be served French jazz fusion and Thai electro; choose “beach hang” instead and you might get Somalian disco and Sierra Leonean maringa. Khruangbin’s eclecticism clearly stems from real devotion to music from outside the Western pop-rock canon, and their willingness to direct listeners toward their influences shows an admirable lack of pretense about where it all comes from. But Mordechai rarely accomplishes anything these playlists don’t do better: rendering vibrant sounds from all over the world as impeccably stylish mood music.

Credit: Pitchfork