Little Dragon are a Swedish

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

band from

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

, Sweden, formed in 1996. The band consists of

Yukimi Nagano Yukimi Eleanora Nagano (born 31 January 1982) is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She is the vocalist for the Swedish electronic group Little Dragon. Career Early career Nagano first made a record at the age of 18 with Andreas Saag (Swell Sessi ...

(vocals, percussion), Erik Bodin (drums), Fredrik Wallin (bass) and Håkan Wirenstrand (keyboards). Little Dragon's first release was the double A-side seven-inch vinyl single "Twice"/"Test", released on the Off the Wall label in 2006. The following year, the band signed with the larger British independent label

Peacefrog Records Peacefrog Records is a British independent record label based in London, England. The label produces releases in many different styles of electronic music, as well as branching out into folk and indie artists such as José González, Nouvelle ...

and released their eponymous debut album in August 2007. Their second album, ''

Machine Dreams ''Machine Dreams'' is the second studio album by Swedish electronic music band Little Dragon. It was released on 17 August 2009 by Peacefrog Records. Composition In making ''Machine Dreams'', Little Dragon focused more on making uptempo dance tr ...

'', was released in August 2009, and gathered favourable reviews. The third album, ''

Ritual Union ''Ritual Union'' is the third studio album by Swedish electronic music band Little Dragon. It was released on 25 July 2011 by Peacefrog Records. The album reached number 47 in the band's native Sweden, as well as number 28 on the UK Albums Chart ...

'', was released in July 2011 and was ranked at number 41 on ''Rolling Stone'' list of the 50 Best Albums of 2011. ''Clash'' placed it at number 31 on its list of The Top 40 Albums of 2011. The band's fourth studio album, ''

Nabuma Rubberband ''Nabuma Rubberband'' is the fourth studio album by Swedish electronic music band Little Dragon, released on 9 May 2014 by Because Music. It features collaborations with Dave from De La Soul and Robin Hannibal. The album spawned three singles: ...

'', was released in May 2014 by

Because Music Because Music is an independent record label with headquarters in Paris and London. Because Music SAS is the main label, with Because Music Ltd handling the British artist roster. Because Music was founded in 2005 by former president of Virgin F ...

and was met with critical acclaim. It received a nomination for

Best Dance/Electronic Album The Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards — a ceremony that was established in 1958 — to recording artists for quality albums in the dance music and electronica genres. Honors in several categ ...

at the

57th Annual Grammy Awards The 57th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 8, 2015, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The show was broadcast live by CBS at 5:00 p.m. PST ( UTC−8). Rapper LL Cool J hosted the show for the fourth consecutive time ...

. The band's fifth studio album, ''

Season High ''Season High'' is the fifth studio album by Swedish electronic music band Little Dragon, released on 14 April 2017 by Because Music. The song "High" was released as the first single. Singles "High" was released on 14 February 2017 as the album' ...

'', was released on 14 April 2017. ''

New Me, Same Us ''New Me, Same Us'' is the sixth studio album by Swedish electronic music band Little Dragon. It was released on 27 March 2020. Background The album is their first release through a new record deal with label Ninja Tune. Singles "Hold On" was th ...

'', the band's sixth studio album, was released on 27 March 2020.

History

Little Dragon formed in 1996 in

, Sweden.

was in her first year in high school when she met seniors Fredrik Wallin and Erik Bodin. The three of them would meet up after school to jam and play records by

De La Soul De La Soul () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1988 in the Amityville area of Long Island, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative ...

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip

and

Alice Coltrane Alice Coltrane (' McLeod; August 27, 1937January 12, 2007), also known by her adopted Sanskrit name Turiyasangitananda, was an American jazz musician and composer, and in her later years a swamini. An accomplished pianist and one of the few har ...

. The band's name was inspired by the "Little Dragon" nickname Nagano earned due to the "fuming

tantrum A tantrum, temper tantrum, lash out, meltdown, fit or hissy fit is an emotional outburst, usually associated with those in emotional distress, that is typically characterized by stubbornness, crying, screaming, violence, defiance, angry ranting ...

s" she used to throw while recording in the studio. "It's a little exaggerated, but there is some truth in it", Nagano said. "But we've grown up a bit, and I realised you can't have a fit every day because otherwise you won't be able to stand each other." Little Dragon have toured throughout Europe and has also made music videos for the songs "Test", "Twice", "Constant Surprises", "After the Rain" and "Fortune". The video for "Twice" was directed by award-winning Swedish filmmaker Johannes Nyholm. The double A-side single "Fortune"/"Blinking Pigs" was released in the UK on 26 January 2009. Little Dragon were chosen as one of ''

Beyond Race Magazine ''Beyond Race Magazine (BRM)'' is a quarterly magazine based in New York City primarily centered on independent and emerging artists, covering music, film, and other arts, such as literature, graffiti, tattooing, and visual arts. The publicatio ...

s "50 Emerging Artists" in late 2009, resulting in a spot in the publication's 11th issue as well as an exclusive online Q&A on the magazine's site. On the recommendation of his wife,

Damon Albarn Damon Albarn (; born 23 March 1968) is an English-Icelandic musician, singer-songwriter and composer, best known as the frontman and primary lyricist of the rock band Blur and as the co-creator and primary musical contributor of the virtual ...

invited Nagano and her bandmates to feature on

Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band formed in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, from London. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: 2-D (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, ...

's 2010 album '' Plastic Beach'', appearing on the tracks "Empire Ants" and "To Binge". Albarn then asked Little Dragon to join Gorillaz on their

Escape to Plastic Beach Tour The Escape to Plastic Beach Tour was a concert tour by the British alternative rock virtual band Gorillaz in support of their third studio album ''Plastic Beach''. During the tour, Damon Albarn recorded '' The Fall'', described by Albarn as a " ...

. In September 2011, former keyboardist Arild Werling rejoined the group on support keys during live performances. Little Dragon's fourth studio album, ''

'', was released on 12 May 2014 in the United Kingdom via

and on 13 May in the United States via

Loma Vista Recordings Loma Vista Recordings is a record label founded by Tom Whalley, former chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Records and Executive of A&R at Interscope Records. The label was initially a joint venture with Republic Records and is based in Beverly Hill ...

. The album was inspired by

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

slow jam A slow jam is music with rhythm and blues and soul influences. Slow jams are commonly R&B ballads or downtempo songs, and are mostly soft-sounding with heavily emotional or romantic lyrical content. The earliest known use of the term is the 1983 ...

s. "Klapp Klapp" was released as the album's lead single. The second single, "Paris", debuted on

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

programme on 8 April 2014. ''Nabuma Rubberband'' received a nomination for

at the

. The band's fifth studio album, ''

'', was released on 14 April 2017 by Loma Vista Recordings. It has spawned the singles "High" and "Sweet".

Members

– vocals, percussion * Fredrik Wallin – keyboards, synth, bass guitar * Håkan Wirenstrand – keyboards * Erik Bodin – drums

Discography

Studio albums

Remix albums

* ''Nabuma Purple Rubberband'' (2015)

Compilation albums

* ''Best Of'' (2014)

Extended plays

* ''Twice Remix EP'' (2008) * ''Blinking Pigs'' (2010) * ''Ritual Union EP'' (2011) * ''Little Man EP'' (2011) * ''Amazon Artist Lounge'' (2014) * ''Klapp Klapp / Paris Remixes'' (2014) * ''Lover Chanting'' (2018) * ''Drifting Out'' (2021)

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Other charted songs

Guest appearances

Music videos

Notes

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1996 establishments in Sweden Contemporary R&B musical groups Downtempo musicians Dream pop musical groups Musical groups established in 1996 Musical groups from Gothenburg Musical quartets Republic Records artists Swedish soul musical groups Swedish synthpop groups Trip hop groups Love Da Records artists Because Music artists Loma Vista Recordings artists Peacefrog Records artists