Little Dragon returns with their new studio album New Me, Same Us, available physically and digitally on March 27th on Ninja Tune. Entirely self-produced and recorded at the pioneering Swedish four-piece’s long-term home-built studio in Gothenburg, the album is another chapter in the continuing evolution of Little Dragon.
Fronted by enigmatic and much-loved vocalist Yukimi Nagano, with multi-instrumentalists Håkan Wirenstarnd and Fredrik Wallin on keyboards and bass respectively, and Erik Bodin on drums and percussion, the group has played together since their school days in Gothenburg—where they’d meet up after class to jam and listen to records by artists like A Tribe Called Quest and Alice Coltrane. New Me, Same Us is the sound of the band going back to basics and falling back in love with their instruments to produce some of their most focused and inarguably best music of their career.
“This album has been the most collaborative for us yet, which might sound weird considering we’ve been making music together for all these years, but we worked hard at being honest, finding the courage to let go of our egos and be pieces of something bigger,” they explain. Finding new direction in their unique style of unhurried, off-kilter r’n’b, pop and electronics, they sound as rejuvenated and energized as ever. The record also finds them in a reflective mood with Yukimi’s distinctive vocals musing on transitions, longing, and saying goodbye. They note, “We are all on our own personal journeys, full of change, yet still we stand united with stories we believe in, that make us who we are.”
The band has a long history of working with boundary-pushing creatives across the worlds of art and design, including Vicki King, Lena Mačka, IB Kamara (i-D, Dazed, Vogue) and David Uzochukwu (Dior, FKA Twigs, Nike). New Me, Same Us’ artwork was produced by award-winning Swedish director, producer, screenwriter and animator Johannes Nyholm, who’s shadow puppetry short film Dreams from the Woods was previously used as the music video for Little Dragon’s song “Twice.”
For a band who are proudly left-of-centre and fiercely protective of doing things on their own terms, they have achieved no shortage of mainstream recognition. Grammy-nominated for 2014’s Nabuma Rubberband, Little Dragon have long been seen as one of the most sought-after groups to work with. Chalking up an enviable list of collaborators throughout the years, working with equally groundbreaking artists like BADBADNOTGOOD, Gorillaz, SBTRKT, Flying Lotus, Flume, Kaytranada, Big Boi (who was first put on to the band via fellow Outkast member André 3000), De La Soul, DJ Shadow, Tinashe, Mac Miller, Future, Raphael Saadiq, Faith Evans and more.
