PHOTO BY SARAH COOPER - SEEK SWEDEN
ONLY IN DREAMS
Perfect pop is no challenge for the Swedes in Little Dragon.
They might be called Little Dragon, but this Swedish electro-pop group makes music that’s anything but small.
From the spun sugar with soul of “My Step” to the Mariah Carey-meets-Friendly Fires tweeting tropical beat of “Runabout”, pop perfection comes naturally to this four-piece. In between the release of their sophomore album, Machine Dream, and a cross-country American tour, we checked in with Little Dragon to find out just how good 2009 has been. For some musical accompaniment, click here for a free download of “Blinking Pigs”.
What’s been the biggest change from 2008 to this year?
Releasing our second album, Machine Dreams! We have been playing a lot live since our debut album, and really wanted to make more uptempo songs that people could dance to. So I guess we have grown into a more electronic sound, but still mixing in soul and pop.
What’s the most memorable show you’ve played this year?
We played in China for the first time. It was pretty surreal, probably the biggest crowd we have ever experienced! It took hours to get to the festival, the driver got lost on the way, and we thought we would never arrive. After driving around on dusty roads in the middle of inner-Mongolia’s countryside, we finally saw some blinking lights in the distance. Anyway, the festival was pretty chaotic, there were 40,000 people and it ended up being quite magical, even though I’m sure nobody had heard of us! Although it does feel a bit awkward having the name Little Dragon in China.
What’s been the biggest surprise for the band this year?
We played as a support band for Q-Tip at New York’s Summerstage. After the show, we were hanging out around backstage, and suddenly P Diddy came with two hot ladies. We were just amused, observing it all, when one of the girls was like, “Hey, Little Dragon!” All of the sudden we were talking to Diddy, who had heard of us the day before and was really excited for our music. After that, we got invited to their studio in Manhattan, it was indeed a big surprise for us.
What’s been the most memorable moment for the band this year?
Our memories get a bit blurry and mixed up, and we seem to have quite different moments! Our drummer Erik is convinced that it is the pistachio ice cream with had in Forli, Italy—heavenly! Fred, our bassist, [thinks it’s] that time we all did yoga after jogging, jetlagged in L.A. [It was a] euphoric natural high. For singer Yukimi, it was the dessert at Chai Thai Restaurant in Brooklyn—sticky rice with mango! And for keyboardist Hakan, [it was] our Machine Dreams release party in our hometown Gothenburg. It was a bit stressful, especially since the fire alarm went off after three songs. Everyone had to go out in the rain and wait for the firefighters to arrive. After they came and saw that it was just the smoke machine, we continued to play. But it was quite cozy, like a sweet failure with a happy ending.
REBECCA WILLA DAVIS
Visit little-dragon.se for more info.
From the spun sugar with soul of “My Step” to the Mariah Carey-meets-Friendly Fires tweeting tropical beat of “Runabout”, pop perfection comes naturally to this four-piece. In between the release of their sophomore album, Machine Dream, and a cross-country American tour, we checked in with Little Dragon to find out just how good 2009 has been. For some musical accompaniment, click here for a free download of “Blinking Pigs”.
What’s been the biggest change from 2008 to this year?
Releasing our second album, Machine Dreams! We have been playing a lot live since our debut album, and really wanted to make more uptempo songs that people could dance to. So I guess we have grown into a more electronic sound, but still mixing in soul and pop.
What’s the most memorable show you’ve played this year?
We played in China for the first time. It was pretty surreal, probably the biggest crowd we have ever experienced! It took hours to get to the festival, the driver got lost on the way, and we thought we would never arrive. After driving around on dusty roads in the middle of inner-Mongolia’s countryside, we finally saw some blinking lights in the distance. Anyway, the festival was pretty chaotic, there were 40,000 people and it ended up being quite magical, even though I’m sure nobody had heard of us! Although it does feel a bit awkward having the name Little Dragon in China.
What’s been the biggest surprise for the band this year?
We played as a support band for Q-Tip at New York’s Summerstage. After the show, we were hanging out around backstage, and suddenly P Diddy came with two hot ladies. We were just amused, observing it all, when one of the girls was like, “Hey, Little Dragon!” All of the sudden we were talking to Diddy, who had heard of us the day before and was really excited for our music. After that, we got invited to their studio in Manhattan, it was indeed a big surprise for us.
What’s been the most memorable moment for the band this year?
Our memories get a bit blurry and mixed up, and we seem to have quite different moments! Our drummer Erik is convinced that it is the pistachio ice cream with had in Forli, Italy—heavenly! Fred, our bassist, [thinks it’s] that time we all did yoga after jogging, jetlagged in L.A. [It was a] euphoric natural high. For singer Yukimi, it was the dessert at Chai Thai Restaurant in Brooklyn—sticky rice with mango! And for keyboardist Hakan, [it was] our Machine Dreams release party in our hometown Gothenburg. It was a bit stressful, especially since the fire alarm went off after three songs. Everyone had to go out in the rain and wait for the firefighters to arrive. After they came and saw that it was just the smoke machine, we continued to play. But it was quite cozy, like a sweet failure with a happy ending.
REBECCA WILLA DAVIS
Visit little-dragon.se for more info.
This story was published on November 5, 2009.
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