Little Dragon

Little Dragon

I normally like to keep my eye on the musical talent coming out of Scandinavia, and Sweden in particular has been bringing the goods for the last few years. Names such as The Knife, Sahara Hotnights, Jens Lekman, Robyn and Peter Bjorn & John have all had great success the world over (and on my ipod), but it seems that when Little Dragon released their debut album in 2007 I was temporarily living under a rock.

My lovely friends Kirsty and Paul introduced me to this 4-piece from Gothenburg a few days ago, and I'm now hooked. Check out this wonderful video for "After the Rain" from their first album:

And one of my favourites, "Constant Surprises"

Little Dragon produce gorgeous, jazzy electro-pop that is somewhat tricky to categorise. Their debut album is for the most part electronica and R&B, whereas Machine Dreams (released this year) evokes something more upbeat, with synthy and sonic sounds. Over the top of their smooth beats soar Yukimi Nagano's soulful, breezy vocals, which are the real star of Little Dragon's sound. For me her voice brings to mind other sassy female crooners like Erykah Badu and Roisin Murphy. Beautiful stuff. And as a band, don't they look good in matching geometric tops?

You can find out more about Little Dragon at their website, which is a piece of art in itself. Or just go out and buy the albums.

E.