Little Dragon

Little Dragon are a Swedish electronic music band from Gothenburg, formed in 1996. The band consists of Yukimi Nagano (vocals, percussion), Erik Bodin (drums), Fredrik Wallin (bass) and Håkan Wirenstrand (keyboards).

This article is about the band. For their eponymous album, see Little Dragon (album).

Little Dragon
Little Dragon in 2010. From left to right: Erik Bodin, Yukimi Nagano, Fredrik Wallin, Håkan Wirenstrand
Background information
OriginGothenburg, Sweden
Genres
Years active1996–present
Labels
Associated acts
Websitelittle-dragon.net
Members

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 and released their eponymous debut album in August 2007.[8] Their second album, Machine Dreams, was released in August 2009, and gathered favourable reviews. The third album, Ritual Union, was released in July 2011 and was ranked at number 41 on Rolling Stone list of the 50 Best Albums of 2011.[8][9] Clash placed it at number 31 on its list of The Top 40 Albums of 2011.[10]

The band's fourth studio album, Nabuma Rubberband, was released in May 2014 by Because Music and was met with critical acclaim. It received a nomination for Best Dance/Electronic Album at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards. The band's fifth studio album, Season High, was released on 14 April 2017. New Me, Same Us, the band's sixth studio album, was released on 27 March 2020.[11]

History

Little Dragon formed in 1996 in Gothenburg, Sweden. Yukimi Nagano 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, A Tribe Called Quest and Alice Coltrane.[12] The band's name was inspired by the "Little Dragon" nickname Nagano earned due to the "fuming tantrums" 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."[13]

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'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.[14] On the recommendation of his wife, Damon Albarn invited Nagano and her bandmates to feature on Gorillaz's 2010 album Plastic Beach, appearing on the tracks "Empire Ants" and "To Binge".[12] Albarn then asked Little Dragon to join Gorillaz on their Escape to Plastic Beach Tour.[4][12] In September 2011, former keyboardist Arild Werling rejoined the group on support keys during live performances.[15]

Little Dragon's fourth studio album, Nabuma Rubberband, was released on 12 May 2014 in the United Kingdom via Because Music and on 13 May in the United States via Loma Vista Recordings.[16] The album was inspired by Janet Jackson's slow jams.[3] "Klapp Klapp" was released as the album's lead single.[16] The second single, "Paris", debuted on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 programme on 8 April 2014.[17] Nabuma Rubberband received a nomination for Best Dance/Electronic Album at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards.[18]

The band's fifth studio album, Season High, was released on 14 April 2017 by Loma Vista Recordings. It has spawned the singles "High" and "Sweet".[19]

Members
  • Yukimi Nagano – vocals, percussion
  • Fredrik Wallin – keyboards, synth, bass guitar
  • Håkan Wirenstrand – keyboards
  • Erik Bodin – drums

Discography

Studio albums
List of studio albums, with selected chart positions
Title Details Peak chart positions
SWE
[20]		 AUS
[21]		 BEL
(FL)
[22]		 IRE
[23]		 FRA
[24]		 NZ
[25]		 SWI
[26]		 UK
[27]		 US
[28]		 US
Dance
[29]
Little Dragon ——————————
Machine Dreams
  • Released: 17 August 2009
  • Label: Peacefrog
  • Formats: CD, LP, digital download
 ——————————
Ritual Union
  • Released: 21 July 2011
  • Label: Peacefrog
  • Formats: CD, LP, digital download
 4791—————22784
Nabuma Rubberband
  • Released: 9 May 2014
  • Label: Because
  • Formats: CD, LP, digital download
 —4412584118336114242
Season High
  • Released: 14 April 2017
  • Label: Because
  • Formats: CD, LP, digital download
 ——————[upper-alpha 1]——1735
New Me, Same Us
  • Released: 27 March 2020
  • Label: Ninja Tune
  • Formats: CD, LP, digital download
 —————————[upper-alpha 2]5
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Remix albums
  • Nabuma Purple Rubberband (2015)[32]

Compilation albums
  • Best Of (2014)[8]

Extended plays
  • Twice Remix EP (2008)[33]
  • Blinking Pigs (2010)[34]
  • Ritual Union EP (2011)[35]
  • Little Man EP (2011)[36]
  • Amazon Artist Lounge (2014)[37]
  • Klapp Klapp / Paris Remixes (2014)[38]
  • Lover Chanting (2018)

Singles

As lead artist
List of singles as featured artist, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name
Title Year Peaks Album
UK
[27]
"Test"/"4ever"[39] 2006 — Little Dragon
"Twice"/"Test"[40] 2007 —
"Constant Surprises"/"Scribbled Paper"[41] —
"Recommendation"[42] 2008 —
"Fortune"/"Blinking Pigs"[43] 2009 — Machine Dreams
"Feather"/"Stranger"[44] —
"My Step"[45] —
"Runabout"[46] 2010 —
"Nightlight"[47] 2011 — Ritual Union
"Ritual Union"[48] 76
"Little Man"[49] —
"Sunshine"[50] 2012 — Non-album single
"Klapp Klapp"[51] 2014 —[upper-alpha 3] Nabuma Rubberband
"Paris"[53] —
"Let Go"[54] —
"Pink Cloud"[55] 2015 —[upper-alpha 4]
"High"[57] 2017 — Season High
"Sweet" —
"Peace of Mind"[58]
(featuring Faith Evans)		 — Non-album singles
"Sway Daisy"[59] 2018 —
"Best Friends"[60] —
"Hold On" 2020 — New Me, Same Us
"Are You Feeling Sad?"
(featuring Kali Uchis)		 —
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Title Year Album
"Empire Ants"
(Gorillaz featuring Little Dragon)		 2010 Plastic Beach
"Wildfire"[61]
(SBTRKT featuring Little Dragon)		 2011 SBTRKT
"Scale It Back"[62]
(DJ Shadow featuring Little Dragon)		 The Less You Know, the Better
"Light"[63]
(Odesza featuring Little Dragon)		 2015 In Return
"Bullets"[64]
(Kaytranada featuring Little Dragon)		 2016 99.9%

Other charted songs
List of other charted songs, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name
Title Year Peaks Album
FRA
[24]
"Pretty Girls" 2014 172 Nabuma Rubberband

Guest appearances
Title Year Other artist(s) Album
"Empire Ants" 2010 Gorillaz Plastic Beach
"To Binge"
"If You Return" Maximum Balloon Maximum Balloon
"Thom Pettie" 2012 Big Boi, Killer Mike Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors
"Descending" Big Boi
"Higher Res" Big Boi, Jai Paul
"Wanderer" 2015 None Welcome to Los Santos
"The Festival" Mac Miller GO:OD AM
"Minerva" Billion One Minerva[65]
"Bullets" 2016 Kaytranada 99.9%
"Take a Chance" Flume Skin
"Drawn" De La Soul And the Anonymous Nobody...
"Stuck with Me" 2018 Tinashe Joyride
"Pressure" 2019 Little Simz GREY Area
"Spontaneous" Flying Lotus Flamagra

Music videos
Title Year Director Ref.
"Twice" 2007 Johannes Nyholm [66]
"Test" Unknown [67]
"Constant Surprises" 2008 Fredrik Egerstrand [66]
"Fortune" Hideyuki Katsumata [68]
"Swimming" 2009 Yusuke Nagano [69]
"After the Rain" François Vogel [66]
"Runabout" Unknown [66]
"Looking Glass" [66]
"Never Never" 2010 Ulla Tomtom [70]
"My Step" 2011 Matthew Scheuerer [71]
"When I Go Out" Emanuele Kabu [72]
"Brush the Heat" Yusuke Nagano [73]
"Brush the Heat" (AVA remix) Eleanor Brown [66]
"Crystalfilm" 2012 Daniel Wirtberg [74]
"Sunshine" Dave Ma [66]
"Klapp Klapp" 2014 Taylor Cohen [75]
"Paris" Trevor Kane [76]
"Pretty Girls" Nabil [77]
"Underbart" Grant Singer [78]
"Mirror" 2015 Florian Joahn [79]
"High" 2017 Ossian Melin [80]
"Sweet" [19]
"Celebrate"
(featuring Agge)		 [81]
"Strobe Light" Kristin-Lee Moolman [82]
"Peace of Mind"
(featuring Faith Evans)		 Unknown [83]
"Lover Chanting" 2018 Jack Whiteley & Joe Wills [84]

Notes
  1. Season High did not enter the NZ Top 40 Albums Chart, but peaked at number three on the NZ Heatseekers Singles Chart.[30]
  2. New Me, Same Us did not enter the Billboard 200, but peaked at number 55 on the Top Album Sales chart.[31]
  3. "Klapp Klapp" did not enter the UK Singles Chart, but peaked at number 73 on the UK Physical Singles Chart.[52]
  4. "Pink Cloud" did not enter the UK Singles Chart, but peaked at number 88 on the UK Physical Singles Chart.[56]
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References
  1. "Little Dragon, 'Nabuma Rubberband' (May 13th) – Spring Music Preview 2014: 27 Must-Hear Albums". Rolling Stone. 3 March 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  2. "Happening Monday: Little Dragon, Adele and more". Los Angeles Times. 15 August 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  3. Newman, Jason (14 February 2014). "Little Dragon Return With New Album 'Nabuma Rubberband'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  4. Vick, Megan (29 December 2010). "Little Dragon Preps New Album After Gorillaz Tour". Billboard. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  5. Weiss, Sam (3 October 2012). "Little Dragon Responds to Dropped Big Boi Collaboration". Complex. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  6. Murphy, Kilian (3 September 2007). "Little Dragon". Hot Press. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  7. Bachor, Ken (10 August 2011). "10 Must-Hear Artists at Outside Lands Fest: Little Dragon". Spin. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  8. "Peacefrog : Artists : Little Dragon". Peacefrog Records. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
  9. "50 Best Albums of 2011: Little Dragon, 'Ritual Union'". Rolling Stone. 7 December 2011. Archived from the original on 7 January 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  10. "The Top 40 Albums Of 2011: 40 – 31". Clash. 2 December 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  11. https://www.facebook.com/littledragonpage/videos/212293463418424/
  12. Rathe, Adam (11 April 2011). "The Rise of Little Dragon". Spin. Retrieved 23 December 2017. The band formed 15 years ago in Gothenburg, Sweden.
  13. Purdie, Ross (20 July 2011). "Little Dragon happy getting big". Nine News. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
  14. Gao, Boyuan (2009). "Little Dragon". Beyond Race Magazine. Archived from the original on 22 February 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
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  18. "Grammys 2015: Complete list of nominees". Los Angeles Times. 5 December 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
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  60. "Best Friends – Single by Little Dragon". iTunes Store. Sweden. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  61. "Wildfire (feat. Little Dragon) – Single by SBTRKT". iTunes Store. Sweden. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  62. "Scale It Back by DJ Shadow". iTunes Store. United Kingdom. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  63. "Light (feat. Little Dragon) – Single by ODESZA". iTunes Store. Sweden. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
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  74. Knight, David (12 March 2012). "Little Dragon 'Crystalfilm' by Daniel Wirtberg". Promo News. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
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  77. Gordon, Jeremy (2 July 2014). "Little Dragon Share "Pretty Girls" Video". Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  78. Gordon, Jeremy (6 November 2014). "Little Dragon Share "Underbart" Video". Pitchfork. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  79. "Little Dragon "Mirror"". YouTube. 11 August 2015. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
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  82. Dunn, Frankie (19 July 2017). "little dragon explore queer south africa in their new video". i-D. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
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