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Little Dragon
Little Dragon in 2010. From left to right: Erik Bodin, Yukimi Nagano, Fredrik Wallin, Håkan Wirenstrand
Background information
Origin	Gothenburg, Sweden
Genres	Trip hop downtempo synth-pop electro-indie dream pop soul alternative R&B
Years active	1996–present
Labels	Off the Wall Peacefrog JVC Victor Because Loma Vista Republic Ninja Tune
Members	Yukimi Nagano Erik Bodin Fredrik Wallin Håkan Wirenstrand
Website	little-dragon.net

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 "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. 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

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

As featured artist

Other charted songs

Guest appearances

Music videos

Notes

1. Machine Dreams did not enter the Australian ARIA Albums Chart but peaked at number five on the ARIA Hitseekers Chart.
2. Ritual Union did not enter the Ultratop 200 Albums chart, but peaked at number seven on the Flemish Heatseekers chart.
3. Season High did not enter the NZ Top 40 Albums Chart, but peaked at number three on the NZ Heatseekers Singles Chart.
4. Season High did not enter the UK Albums Chart, but peaked at number 71 on the UK Album Sales Chart.
5. New Me, Same Us did not enter the UK Albums Chart, but peaked at number 37 on the UK Album Sales Chart.
6. New Me, Same Us did not enter the Billboard 200, but peaked at number 55 on the Top Album Sales chart.
7. Slugs of Love did not enter the UK Albums Chart, but peaked at number 88 on the UK Album Sales Chart.
8. "Ritual Union" did not enter the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, but peaked at number 11 on the Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales chart.
9. "Klapp Klapp" did not enter the UK Singles Chart, but peaked at number 73 on the UK Physical Singles Chart.
10. "Pink Cloud" did not enter the UK Singles Chart, but peaked at number 88 on the UK Physical Singles Chart.
11. "Peace of Mind" did not enter the Flanders Ultratop 50, but charted as an "extra tip" on the Ultratip chart.
12. "Tried" did not enter the Flanders Ultratop 50, but charted as an "extra tip" on the Ultratip chart.
13. "Lover Chanting" did not enter the Flanders Ultratop 50, but charted as an "extra tip" on the Ultratip chart.
14. "Lover Chanting" did not enter the UK Singles Chart, but peaked at number 13 on the UK Physical Singles Chart.

References

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35. "Blinking Pigs – EP by Little Dragon". iTunes Store. Sweden. November 2010. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
36. "Ritual Union (Remixes) – EP by Little Dragon". iTunes Store. Sweden. 12 September 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
37. "Little Man (Remixes) – EP by Little Dragon". iTunes Store. Sweden. 31 October 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
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45. "Twice – Single by Little Dragon". iTunes Store. Sweden. 28 August 2007. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
46. "Constant Suprises [sic] – Single by Little Dragon". iTunes Store. Sweden. 26 November 2007. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
47. "Recommendation – Single by Little Dragon". iTunes Store. Sweden. 14 July 2008. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
48. "Fortune/Blinking Pigs". Amazon. United Kingdom. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
49. "Feather (Radio Edit) by Little Dragon". iTunes Store. Sweden. 9 July 2009. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
50. "My Step by Little Dragon". iTunes Store. Sweden. 10 August 2009. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
51. "Runabout by Little Dragon". iTunes Store. Sweden. 7 June 2010. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
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55. "Little Man (Remixes) – EP by Little Dragon". iTunes Store. Sweden. 31 October 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
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60. "Let Go : Little Dragon: MP3 Downloads". Amazon. United Kingdom. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
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64. "Peace of Mind (feat. Faith Evans) – Single by Little Dragon". iTunes Store. Sweden. 29 September 2017. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
65. "Sway Daisy – Single by Little Dragon". iTunes Store. Sweden. 23 February 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
66. "Best Friends – Single by Little Dragon". iTunes Store. Sweden. 2 March 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
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69. "Where You Belong by Little Dragon on Apple Music". iTunes Store. US. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
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71. "Scale It Back by DJ Shadow". iTunes Store. United Kingdom. January 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
72. "Light (feat. Little Dragon) – Single by ODESZA". iTunes Store. Sweden. 18 August 2015. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
73. "Bullets (feat. Little Dragon) – by Kaytranada". iTunes Store. Sweden. 6 May 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
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77. "Little Dragon – Test". YouTube. 7 September 2007. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
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83. Samuel, Kiran (8 September 2011). "Video: Little Dragon, "Brush The Heat"". The Fader. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
84. Knight, David (12 March 2012). "Little Dragon 'Crystalfilm' by Daniel Wirtberg". Promo News. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
85. Pelly, Jenn (14 February 2014). "Video: Little Dragon: "Klapp Klapp"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
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87. Gordon, Jeremy (2 July 2014). "Little Dragon Share "Pretty Girls" Video". Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
88. Gordon, Jeremy (6 November 2014). "Little Dragon Share "Underbart" Video". Pitchfork. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
89. "Little Dragon "Mirror"". YouTube. 11 August 2015. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
90. Gaca, Anna (14 February 2017). "New Music: Little Dragon – "High"". Spin. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
91. Blistein, Jon (27 April 2017). "Little Dragon's 'Celebrate' Video Is a Surreal Acid Trip". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
92. Dunn, Frankie (19 July 2017). "little dragon explore queer south africa in their new video". i-D. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
93. Roberts, Christopher (29 September 2017). "Little Dragon Share Video for New Song "Peace of Mind," Which Features Faith Evans". Under the Radar. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
94. "Little Dragon - "Lover Chanting"". YouTube. 23 October 2018. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
95. "Little Dragon - "Where You Belong"". YouTube. July 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
96. "Little Dragon - "Rush (Lil Silva Remix)"". YouTube. 2 September 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
97. "Little Dragon - "Frisco"". YouTube. 29 September 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2023.

External links

• Official website
• Little Dragon at AllMusic

• 1996 establishments in Sweden
• Contemporary R&B musical groups
• Downtempo musicians
• Swedish dream pop musical groups
• Musical groups established in 1996
• Musical groups from Gothenburg
• Swedish 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
• Female-fronted musical groups