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Little Dragon is an electronic music band, based in Gothenburg, Sweden. It consists of Swedish-Japanese singer Yukimi Nagano (vocals, percussion) and her close high-school friends Erik Bodin (drums), Fredrick Källgren (bass), and Håkan Wirenstrand (keyboards). The first Little Dragon's release was a double A-side 7" single "Twice"/"Test", released on Off The Wall label in 2006. The following year, the band signed with the larger British indie Peacefrog Records and released their debut self-titled album Little Dragon on September 3, 2007.[3]
Since then they have been touring through Europe and also have made music videos for the songs "Test", "Twice", "Constant Surprises", "After the Rain" and "Fortune". The double A-side single "Fortune"/"Blinking Pigs" was released in the UK on January 26, 2009. Their song "Twice" is featured in Season 5 of ABC's Grey's Anatomy. In late 2009, the group was chosen as one of Beyond Race Magazine's "50 Emerging Artists", resulting in a spot in the publication's #11 issue as well as an exclusive online Q&A on the magazine's site. [4]
The band's name came from a nickname Yukimi earned in the recording studios. She would often become frustrated during recording which earned her the nickname "Little Dragon". And when the band decided on a name to go by, the nickname stuck.
Collaborations
The band members have collaborated with other artists:[5]
- Swedish electronic jazz duo Koop's albums Waltz for Koop and Koop Islands feature Nagano's vocals on several tracks.
- Drummer Erik Bodin is also the percussionist for Swedish alt-folk singer José González and Nagano sings harmony vocals on González's second album In Our Nature.
- Yukimi has also collaborated with Hird, a Nordic lounge musician as well as Swell Session, the project fronted by Swedish DJ and producer Andreas Saag.
- Yukimi, Fredrik and Håkan are featured on the Gorillaz album Plastic Beach, in tracks "Empire Ants" and "To Binge". Little Dragon are also the supporting act in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong for Gorillaz in "Gorillaz: Escape to Plastic Beach Tour".
- Little Dragon has collaborated with David Andrew Sitek, producer and member of TV On the Radio, and his solo project Maximum Balloon on the track "If You Return.".
Discography
Studio albums
- Little Dragon - 2007
- Machine Dreams - 2009
- Ritual Union - 2011 [6]
Singles
- "Twice/Test" (7" vinyl) - 2007
- "Constant Surprises" (7" vinyl) - 2008
- "Recommendation" (iTunes release) - 2008
- "Fortune"/"Blinking Pigs" - January 26, 2009
- "Feather"/"Stranger" (iTunes) 2009
References
- ^ Little Dragon NYC!! — Performance Review Little Dragon NYC!! Brooklyn Bodega March 29, 2010
- ^ Swedish-Japanese synth-pop act Little Dragon at Nectar Nov. 10 The Seattle Times November 10, 2009
- ^ See Little Dragon's page on Peacefrog Records official site
- ^ http://beyondrace.com/articles/features/2288-little-dragon
- ^ See official biography
- ^ http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/02/03/NSK11HEKEE.DTL
External links