Formed in Gothenberg, Sweden in 1996, electro-pop band, Little Dragon consists of Yukimi Nagano (vocals, percussion), Erik Bodin (drums), Fredrik Kallgren Wallin (bass) and Hakan Wirenstrand (keyboards). Naming themselves after Nagano’s nickname that she received for throwing tantrums in the studio, the name stuck.
Little Dragon debuted in 2006 with the double A-side singles, “Twice” and “Test,” released on 7” inch vinyl on their former label, Off the Wall. Their second album, ‘Machine Dreams’, was released with the British indie label, Peacefrog Records 3 years later. ‘Machine Dreams’ garnered favorable reviews. Yet, it wasn’t until 2011, when their third album ‘Ritual Union’, the band was met with commercial and critical success and ranked 41 in 50 best albums of 2011 by Rolling Stone.
In addition, the Swedish 4 piece have collaborated with their fair share of big names including Big Boi, Gorillaz, SBTRKT and De La Soul. Nagano tells about their collaboration with Big Boi, stating, “We actually met his impostor at a shabby bowling lane one night in Rome. He introduced himself as Big Boi and said he wanted to collaborate but there was something quite suspicious about him. It could have been his Italian accent but, heck, we never heard the man speak before. When we then mentioned this in an interview we got contacted by the real Big Boi’s attorney, Mr. Daniel Cane. He was on the hunt for the italian Big Boi- Then one thing led to another.We hung around in Stankonia studios, drank juice, got elevated and smoked cigars. At some point we must have made some music but none of us have any memory of this. The funny thing is that he sometimes slipped out some Italian phrases.”
Now their fourth album, ‘Season High’ was released on April 14, 2017 met with many accolades and critical success. The band is currently on tour across North America alongside rapper Goldlink and the band Glass Animals.