A man drives purposefully across the Texas plains on a mission, in Philip Andelman's absorbing video for Khruangbin and Leon Bridges' lovely collaboration Texan Sun.

He's on a quest, and the film combines the epic nature of his determination and pioneering spirit, with the intimacy of his relationship with his wife. And the tough reality of life on the road in West Texas also comes with an element of pure magic.  

As he explains here, Andelman was inspired to create a visual that did justice to the song. He has done exactly that.  

PHILIP ANDELMAN:

I’ve directed over a hundred music videos... and this was by far the most special shoot I’ve ever been a part of.

"From the first snippet of the song that I gleaned off the band’s Instagram post, my mind started traveling through a lifetime’s worth of cross-country adventures. The music wove its way through my memories with the ease and grace of a long-cherished car.

"Within a few hours of playing the track on an endless loop the idea for the video came to me. I then began an impassioned plea to the band, begging them to produce a visual for the track. I had never felt this transported by a song, never felt such a powerful need to shoot anything before in my life. Laura was so supportive from the onset and then my begging turned towards the incredible cast and crew we assembled, so many insanely talented people who volunteered their time and resources to make this happen.

"We travelled out to East Texas and just started driving, creating our own set of adventures as we went along: meetings with pecan farmers in Van Horn, mezcal dealers in Marfa, ranchers in Valentine. We didn’t have much gear, just a camera, some incandescent bulbs, a tripod and ratchet straps.

"We fell into a family of friends in Marfa who took us over the finish line, rustling up wardrobes and cars, a neighbour with a home to shoot in, an ex-boyfriend with a drone. We drank ranch water and ate pozole verde every day, we woke up before the sun rose and passed out after it set. We visited emergency rooms and had an actual on-set emergency when a cast member didn’t show up and we had to change the whole concept at zero hour. We got speeding tickets and then befriended the officer who gave them to us, we shot on the ranch where No Country For Old Men was filmed, and I learned just how warm and generous strangers could be.

"I’ve directed over a hundred music videos at this point, and this was by far the most special shoot I’ve ever been a part of. The music was so good it made everyone rise to the challenge of creating a story that lived up to its exceptionalism. I’m not sure we succeeded but we did our best. Calling this a labour of love would be an understatement, it was the ride of a lifetime."