Little Dragon are a Swedish electronic music band from Gothenburg, Sweden, formed in 1996. The band consists of Yukimi Nagano (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 "Test"/"4ever", 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 debut album Little Dragon in August 2007. 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. Clash placed it at number 31 on its list of The Top 40 Albums of 2011.
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. Their most recent album, Slugs of Love, was released on 7 July 2023.
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. 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."
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. 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". Albarn then asked Little Dragon to join Gorillaz on their Escape to Plastic Beach Tour. In September 2011, former keyboardist Arild Werling rejoined the group on support keys during live performances.
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. The album was inspired by Janet Jackson's slow jams. "Klapp Klapp" was released as the album's lead single. The second single, "Paris", debuted on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 programme on 8 April 2014. Nabuma Rubberband 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 by Loma Vista Recordings. It has spawned the singles "High" and "Sweet".
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 AUS BEL(FL) IRE FRA NZ SCO SWI UK US Little Dragon Released: 15 August 2007 Label: Peacefrog Formats: CD, LP, digital download — — — — — — — — — — 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 47 91 — — — — 61 — 22 78 Nabuma Rubberband Released: 9 May 2014 Label: Because Formats: CD, LP, digital download — 44 125 84 118 33 46 61 14 24 Season High Released: 14 April 2017 Label: Because Formats: CD, LP, digital download — — — — — — — — — 173 New Me, Same Us Released: 27 March 2020 Label: Ninja Tune Formats: CD, LP, digital download — — — — — — — — — — Slugs of Love Released: 7 July 2023 Label: Ninja Tune Formats: CD, LP, digital download — — — — — — — — — — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Remix albums Nabuma Purple Rubberband (2015) New Me, Same Us Remix (2021)
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) Opening the Door (2022) Slipping Into Color'' (with April + Vista) (2023)
Singles
As lead artist + List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name Title Year Peak chart positions Album AUS BEL(FL)Tip FRA MEX UK UKIndie USBub. USDance/Elec. "Test"/"4ever" 2006 — — — — — — — — Little Dragon "Twice"/"Test" 2007 — — — — — — — — "Constant Surprises"/"Scribbled Paper" — — — — — — — — "Recommendation" 2008 — — — — — — — — "Fortune"/"Blinking Pigs" 2009 — — — — — 25 — — Machine Dreams "Feather"/"Stranger" — — — — — — — — "My Step" — — — — — — — — "Runabout" 2010 — — — — — — — — "Nightlight" 2011 — — — — — — — — Ritual Union "Ritual Union" 16 22 — 26 76 7 12 — "Little Man" — — — — — — — — "Sunshine" 2012 — — — — — — — — "Klapp Klapp" 2014 — — — 45 — — — — Nabuma Rubberband "Paris" — — — 36 — — — — "Let Go" — — — — — — — — "Pretty Girls" — — 172 — — — — — "Pink Cloud" 2015 — — — — — — — — "High" 2017 — — — — — — — — Season High "Sweet" — — — — — — — — "Peace of Mind" — — — — — — — — rowspan="4" "Sway Daisy" 2018 — — — — — — — — "Best Friends" — — — — — — — — "Tried" — — — — — — — — "Lover Chanting" — — — — — — — — Lover Chanting EP "Hold On" 2020 — — — — — — — 35 New Me, Same Us "Are You Feeling Sad?" — — — — — — — 25 "Where You Belong" — — — — — — — 33"The Other Lover" — — — — — — — — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
As featured artist + List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name Title Year Peak chart positions Album BEL(FL)Tip MEX USDance "Empire Ants" 2010 — — — Plastic Beach "Wildfire" 2011 — — — SBTRKT "Scale It Back" 43 28 — The Less You Know, the Better "Light" 2015 — — — In Return "Bullets" 2016 — — — 99.9% "Spontaneous" 2019 — — 50 Flamagra "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Guest appearances Title Year Other artist(s) Album "Empire Ants" 2010Gorillaz 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 Welcome to Los Santos "The Festival" Mac Miller GO:OD AM "Mountains Have a Face Too" Billion One Minerva "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 "Presence" 2021 Brittany Howard Jaime (Reimagined)
Music videos Title Year Director "Twice" 2007 Johannes Nyholm "Test" "Constant Surprises" 2008 Fredrik Egerstrand "Fortune" Hideyuki Katsumata "Swimming" 2009 Yusuke Nagano "After the Rain" François Vogel "Runabout" rowspan="2" "Looking Glass" "Never Never" 2010 Ulla Tomtom "My Step" 2011 Matthew Scheuerer "When I Go Out" Emanuele Kabu "Brush the Heat" Yusuke Nagano "Brush the Heat" (AVA remix) Eleanor Brown "Crystalfilm" 2012 Daniel Wirtberg "Sunshine" Dave Ma "Klapp Klapp" 2014 Taylor Cohen "Paris" Trevor Kane "Pretty Girls" Nabil "Underbart" Grant Singer "Mirror" 2015 Florian Joahn "High" 2017 Ossian Melin "Sweet" "Celebrate" "Strobe Light" Kristin-Lee Moolman "Peace of Mind" "Lover Chanting"2018Jack Whiteley & Joe Wills "Where You Belong"2020Chris Saunders "Rush" (Lil Silva Remix)2021Timothy O’Driscoll "Frisco"2022Broken Int
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