Little Dragon

With the release of their sixth album New Me, Same Us, Little Dragon find themselves at the peak of their powers. Danny Turner gathers the Swedish collective for a group chat

- Danny Turner

Formed during high school in Gothenburg, Sweden in 1996, indie-electronic group Little Dragon immediately garnered attention for their sombre yet exquisite ballad Twice. The collective comprising Yukimi Nagano, Erik Bodin, Fredrik Wallin and Håkan Wirenstran signed to Peacefrog Records for their eponymous debut album, lighting the blue touch paper on what would turn out to be an illustrious career underscored by critical acclaim.

The title of their latest album, New Me, Same Us, signifies Little Dragon’s ability to regenerate. Their joint capacity to improve themselves as musicians has been an ongoing process that now sees them more comfortable in their own skin than ever before, further emphasised by their decision to self-produce the album at their homemade Gothenburg-based studio.

Yukimi, what’s the story behind the band being named after you? Yukimi:

“Back in the day we used to have lots of passionate explosions – I spat fire once or twice and was nicknamed Little Dragon. We’re four people with lots of opinions. On some rare occasions we agree, but most of the time we disagree. It’s a beautiful thing to find solutions and new ways to communicate our differences, but I think it’s inevitable for any band to have friction.”