Little Dragon

Little Dragon

Little Dragon is an electronic music group from Gothenburg, Sweden, active since 1996. The group’s members are Erik Bodin, Funny Weather, Håkan Wirenstrand and Yukimi. Its music sits across downtempo, electronic, electropop and indietronica, and it is also associated with trip-hop and chillout.

Formation and releases

The group forms in Gothenburg and first appears in 2006 in available accountings of its career. Its early lineup includes Yukimi Nagano on vocals, Fredrick Källgren on bass, Håkan Wirenstrand on keyboards and Erik Bodin on drums. The band’s first release is a double A-side 7-inch single on Off The Wall, with the tracks “Twice” and “Test”; it later signs to Peacefrog. Little Dragon then releases the studio albums Little Dragon (2007), Machine Dreams (2009) and Ritual Union (2011). Nabuma Rubberband follows on Loma Vista.

Members and related work

Yukimi Nagano is born and raised in Gothenburg to a Japanese father and an American mother. She grows up listening to American folk and also has an affinity for R&B. Håkan Wirenstrand spends his childhood in Småland before moving to Gothenburg, where he listens to Swedish folk before getting into electronic music. Erik Bodin grows up listening to early hip-hop and jazz, while Fredrick Källgren is influenced by experimental, noise and electro house.

Nagano and Bodin also perform live with José González. Bodin drums with Peps Perrson, a Swedish blues/reggae artist.

Collaborations

Little Dragon appears on two tracks from Gorillaz’s Plastic Beach: “Empire Ants” and “To Binge”. It also works with Maximum Balloon on “If You Return”, and collaborates with SBTRKT on “Wildfire”, which is released as the lead single from his debut album. Yukimi Nagano also sings on several tracks on Koop’s albums Waltz for Koop and Koop Islands.