LOS ANGELES, California – Swedish quartet Little Dragon breathes electronic life into moribund American soul music.
We could use it. The 21st-century popscape is stuffed with Lady Gaga fashion shows masquerading as music and the tabloid dramas of Rihanna and Kanye West moving units instead of hearts and minds. That sensationalism has more to do with sales than souls. Little Dragon specializes in kicking out those crutches until all that is left is haunting atmospherics that evoke Twin Peaks as much as Moloko or Cocteau Twins.
And Little Dragon seems to be working its spell nicely, judging by the hypnotized crowd at Thursday night's invite-only KCRW performance at award-winning engineer Bob Clearmountain's Berkeley Street Studios.
Anchored by Erik Bodin's propulsive drumming, Fred Wallin's multi-instrumentalism and keyboardist Håkan Wirenstrand's digital textures – then ignited by the captivating presence of vocalist Yukimi Nagano – Little Dragon simply shimmered through a short set. The songs were pulled from the band's forthcoming full-length, Ritual Union (due in July), plus addictive sophomore effort Machine Dreams and self-titled 2007 debut.
After scanning the enraptured crowd, one thing became pretty apparent: Sweden's best-kept secret will remain a secret no longer.
Movers and shakers like Gorillaz, TV on the Radio, Questlove and Raphael Saadiq have already been collaborating with members of the band. Even Diddy has dropped backstage to give props.
But Little Dragon remains relatively unknown, despite moving music and eerie videos like Machine Dreams' "Blinking Pigs" (see below). An explosive performance of that uncanny track, and nine others, in front of Clearmountain's Lynchian red curtains, leaves one wondering how long Little Dragon's anonymity will last.
Not long, if Los Angeles radio station KCRW has anything to do with it. Its fabled music program Morning Becomes Eclectic airs Little Dragon's intimate performance, as well as an intermission interview with the band conducted by DJ Garth Trinidad, on July 18, six days after Ritual Union drops. Just in time for the big time.
