INTERVIEW + STREAM + VIDEOS :: Little Dragon from Shaky Beats 2017

June 5, 2017 0 Comments

by Marina Yelensky…

Little Dragon is a Swedish electronic music band from Gothenburg, Switzerland formed about 10 years ago but friends for over 20 years.

Bio from Wikipedia.com (read our interview below): “Little Dragon was un-officially formed in 1996 in Gothenburg, Sweden. Yukimi Nagano Fredrik Wallin and Erik Bodin in high school. Yukimi was a freshman and Fredrik and Erik were seniors. The trio would meet up after school to jam. How cool is it that the early days of Little Dragon was jam sessions of De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest and Alice Coltrane?! As for the band’s name, the name was inspired by the “Little Dragon” nickname Yukimi earned during studio sessions.

Little Dragon first album release was the double A-side 7 inch single “Twice”/”Test”, released on the Off the Wall label in 2006. In 2007 Little Dragon signed with the larger British independent label Peacefrog Records. Little Dragon released their second album, Machine Dreams, in August 2009. Their third album, Ritual Union, was released in July 2011, “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” (Wikipedia). Little Dragon’s fourth studio album, Nabuma Rubberband, released in May 2014 by Because Music was well received by many. The fourth album received a nomination for Best Dance/Electronic Album at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards. 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 fourth album was inspired by Janet Jackson’s slow jams. The single released of the album was “Klapp Klapp”. The second single, “Paris”, debuted on Zane Lowe’s BBC Radio 1 program in April of 2014. The single Nabuma Rubberband received a nomination for Best Dance/Electronic Album at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards. Little Dragon’s fifth studio album, Season High, was released on 14 April 2017” by Loma Vista Recordings. The album included the singles “High” and “Sweet”. Little Dragon also has one remix album Nabuma Purple Rubberband from 2015 and one compilation album Best Of from 2014. Lets just say Little Dragon has made, written, produced, created, re-mixed and/or shared a lot with the world.

Little Dragon has a bunch of artistic and eclectic music videos for their songs including but not limited to “Test”, “Twice”, “Constant Surprises”, “After the Rain” and “Fortune”. Not only does Little Dragon have some interesting music videos but the band also has some songs that have been featured on well known American television shows. Little Dragon’s song “Twice” was featured in television shows such as Grey’s Anatomy, 90210, Revenge, The Vampire Diaries, and Being Mary Jane. In 2010 the song “Twice” was featured in the film I Will Follow and the band’s song “Scribbled Paper” was also included in the film Magic Magic.” — end Wikipedia bio

Who’s in Little Dragon?

Yukimi Nagano (vocals, percussion)

Erik Bodin (drums),

Fredrik Källgren Wallin (keyboards, bass guitar)

Håkan Wirenstrand (keyboards).

By now BeAtlanta fam, you have read a lot of Little Dragon and you know that Little Dragon has created, produced, and/or collaborated for music and video development. Little Dragon also has a few extended play items under their belt: Twice Remix EP from 2008 / Blinking Pigs from 2010 / Ritual Union EP and Little Man EP from 2011 / Amazon Artist Lounge 2014 / Klapp Klapp Paris Remixes 2014.

So there is a bit of background information on Little Dragon. A musical group that is genre-less in a free spirited way. I had a chance to sit down with Erik and Fredrik during the shaky Beats Festival:

B: How many times have you played in Atlanta?

Somewhere between 4- 6 times

B: So how long have you guys been together as a band?

We have been together as friends since 1996 but as a band since 2005.

B: How is it being a full band at an EDM Festival?

We have done it before in Miami at Ultra Festival and in Detroit. We realized that some times it is fun to be a band. You sometimes want to go out to do the DJ thing. Not all of the time but it is fun.

B: How do you keep it cool since you spend so much time together and away from your families?

We find our own different ways. It’s good to give each other space and also to communicate and to be close and hug each other. You are a bit vulnerable and fragile being out in the world. When we see each other it’s like home because I know there is someone I know and that person knows me. Try to maintain that personal space.

B: What instruments do you play other than the instruments that you play in the band?

I think that we are all over the place. We play around with a lot of different instruments.

Fredrik – I play flute, bass and play around on drums and keyboards and piano. Erik is very talented.

Erik- We sing also. I was a tenor in chamber choir.

B: How do you prepare to go on stage whether the crowd is 20 people or 20,000 people?

Just do it. You have to have the same mentality. You also have to be honest and go into the music. Sometimes if you try to make a show of it, it can go wrong. Elvis Presley mode when you want to get the crowd’s attention. It’s ok to tell the crowd ‘hey we’re a little lost here.’ The crowd helps.

B: What has been your favorite performance thus far?

Kansas. Everything in synergy. Our vibe as a group and the students. The younger crowd. The venue wasn’t that great but the crowd was amazing. Atlanta. No seriously we have had some great shows here and South Africa.

B: You have 5 albums out. What was the inspiration for the most recent album Season High released on 14 April 2017 ?

We were inspired by not making the same songs that we made before. We were trying to make something new that we haven’t heard. Going back to the local and homemade feel. We are from Gothenberg. Sometimes you get connected with great directors via skype but we were thinking… support your local lunatics. We wanted to be a bit more chic.

B: How do you stay relevant? What genre would you put yourself in?

Organic Zoo. Some of that Pre-folk music; Very rootsy. The key to stay relevant is to NOT stay relevant. You can only be yourself. That seems like the definition of relevant. Genuine and personal artists appeal to us.

B: There is a song you did with Flume – ‘Take a Chance”. I love this collaboration. How did this come about?

Flume was signed to a label and it just worked out.

B: Is it hard to collaborate with artists in other countries?

It’s very easy with technology. Music is a global thing. It’s hard to profit in your hometown. The shows back home are the hardest because you are friends with all of the people. It’s nice to collaborate with people worldwide. But the language is so deep back home.

B: Where are you going to perform next?

Going to go home a bit to recharge. Shaky Beats is our last one. We are going to do a TV show and then some Festivals in Europe. In July its back to states to Salt Lake City Utah, FIF, Lollapalooza and a bunch more.

Little Dragon Social Media:

https://www.facebook.com/littledragonpage/

https://twitter.com/littledragon?lang=en

https://www.instagram.com/littledragonflicks/

http://little-dragon.net/main/

New Album : Season High – available everywhere

https://soundcloud.com/littledragon/sweet-2

cover photo and center isle stage photo by Alive Coverage.