Little Dragon是来自瑞典哥德堡城市一支带电的摇滚乐队。其成员由美日混血统的主唱Yukimi Nagano,和她的高中密友Erik Bodin(鼓手),Fredrik Källgren Wallin(贝斯手),Håkan Wirenstrand(键盘手)组成。主唱Nagano从小受其母亲影响,聆听大量美国民谣,同时自己又偏爱R&B。而键盘手Håkan的童年都宅在斯维阿兰——瑞典南部一个静谧悠远的地区,受瑞典民谣熏陶,而后开始迷恋上电子乐和合成器。
乐队的作品不缺乏独立流行乐王国瑞典所应有的甜美和静远,little dragon通过电气化的方式,令节拍加速心跳却温暖犹存。2006年,乐队在厂牌Off The Wall下发行双A面单曲《Twice/Test》,并相继被独立音乐标杆厂牌Rough Trade和独立音乐杂志《One Week To Live》评选为“一周最佳单曲”和“自由思考着的灵魂的杰作”。2007年乐队签约英伦著名的独立厂牌Peaceforg并发行了他们的首张同名专辑《Little Dragon》。而在这张专辑制作出来之后,乐队其实还攒了很多未发表的歌曲,但是在乐队世界巡演后,他们有了些新的想法,想做一张“能让人跳舞”的唱片,2009年《Machine Dreams》随之诞生,这张专辑包括了经过重新混音的老歌和一些新作品,在indie pop的基础上,有意加入electronic soul的元素。
2008年,乐队MV《Twice》受到ABC电视台著名节目Grey's Anatomy的大力推荐。2009年乐队被独立音乐杂志《Beyond Race Magazine》选为50支值得期待的新生乐队。在同年little Dragon受邀参加中国的张北草原音乐节,在演出中大放异彩,其后仅靠乐迷口碑在国内小众音乐圈内得到迅速传播,并被美名曰瑞典“小龙女”。2010乐队成员Nagano,Fredrik和Håkan受邀参与了著名音乐项目Gorillaz专辑《Plastic Beach》的制作。此项目由Blur乐队的Damon Albarn发起,受邀合作的名单还包括Lou Reed,Mick Jones,Paul Simonon这样的大牌。
by Stewart Mason
An enticing blend of twee indie pop hooks and crisp electronic beats in the style first perfected by Saint Etienne's Foxbase Alpha, Little Dragon are a showcase for Swedish-Japanese singer Yukimi Nagano, a mainstay of the European downtempo and lounge scenes. Based in Gothenburg, Sweden, Nagano first broke through in 2000 and 2001 as the singer on several singles by Swell Session, the project fronted by Swedish DJ and producer Andreas Saag. She later sang lead on the club hits "Summer Sun" and "Bright Nights" for the Swedish electronica duo Koop, as well as Hird's house singles "Keep You Kimi" and "I Love You My Hope," along with several contributions to the acid jazz collective Stateless' 2003 album Art of No State and the stylistically similar Sleepwalker's 2006 album The Voyage. Little Dragon, by way of contrast, are Nagano's own band, featuring keyboardist Hakan Wirenstrand, bassist Fredrik Kallgren Wallin, and drummer Erik Bodin. Bodin is also the percussionist for Swedish alt-folkie José González; in fact, Nagano sings harmony vocals on González's second album, In Our Nature. Little Dragon debuted in 2006 with the "Test" single, on the Scandinavian label Off the Wall. The following year, Little Dragon signed with the larger British indie Peacefrog Records (Nouvelle Vague, etc.) for their self-titled debut album.