Little Dragon

Bio

Little Dragon is a pioneering Swedish quartet fronted by the enigmatic singer Yukimi Nagano along with multi-instrumentalists Håkan Wirenstarnd (keyboards), Frederik Wallin (bass), and Erik Bodin (drums and percussions). They can count on a decennial career studded by great collaborations, important recognitions, and an original sound made of a perfect mix of R&B, hip-hop. and electronic music.

The band made its debut on the music scene in 2006 with “Test”, the band’s first single published with the independent label Off the Wall. The interest sparked by the single made it possible for the band to be noticed by the renowned label British Indie Peacefrog, with which they released their first LP, Little Dragon, in 2008. This album immediately found a niche public, but it was the use of their single “Twice” in an episode of the beloved series Grey’s Anatomy that made theirs one of the most famous names in the electro-pop panorama.

In 2009 they published Modern Dream and they were subsequently asked by Gorillaz to open their tour which brought Little Dragon to collaborate with them on their album and with many more artists such as Raphael Saadiq and SBTRKT. Their third album, Ritual Union, was released in 2001 and was positively embraced by both the critics and the public, so much that it reached the first positions of the American dance/electronic album’s Top Five chart.

For their fourth album, Nabuma Rubberband(2014), Little Dragon collaborated with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and artists like Robin Hannibal and Dave Jolicoeur. The album was entirely written and recorded in their native Gothenburg and the relentless climate of the city was part of the record’s soul, moving away from the dance sound explored with previous albums. Nabuma Rubberband was nominated at the Grammy Awards in the Best Dance/Electronic Album category.

The following two years, Little Dragon dedicated themselves mainly to collaborations like the one with Mac Miller for “The Festival” and with Odesza for “Light”. In 2017 they released Season High, the last album with the British Indie Peacefrog, and that same year they were in Italy for an extraordinary concert at the Linecheck Festival in Milan.

In 2018 they signed a record deal with the Ninja Tune Label for which they published an Ep, Lover Chanting (2018), and then an album, New Me, Same Use, in 2020. Little Dragon themselves said about their sixth artistic effort «This album was the most collaborative for us. It could seem strange having produced music together for so many years, but we worked hard to find the courage to let go of our egos and be part of something bigger».

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