Interview with Little Dragon
"Guerrilla-Media Interviews Little Dragon"
Erik: Nah, I think that has more come out of playing, just being live on stage. I guess we were a bit shy at first, you know. We were finally playing our own music instead of just being session musicians. When you’re presenting your own little baby….it hurts, in your paranoid state it feels like “Maybe they don’t like it”, it’s kind of shakey. As you play you kind of realize this is just ghosts inside my brain and… fuck it, let’s have fun.
Yukimi: You know, we’ve had a lot of different kinds of shows and sometimes we’ve had shows where people don’t resonate with us…I mean it’s varied. On those shows where it feels that way we just have fun together and try to forget about the crowd. And then you have shows where the crowd is amazing, you’re like whoa, you get all this energy from them and it gets you to a whole new level.
Yukimi: It was good, it was interesting…
Erik: I think mostly the sound for me, kept me…I was surprised actually. The guy who promoted us here says, “We’ve seen Portland, I don’t know who’s really gonna show up”. Looking out now, when we played…it was super great.
Yukimi: Yeah we were expecting like 15 people or something.
Erik: But we also know, we realized, once you go north…cause we are from the north, we know how north works; dancing is just a little bit harder with the cold. I was expected something like a Swedish crowd that can be super reserved. Then you can go to San Diego and people will be like, “Oh my God!!” more that kind of southern dinosaurs, they’re great with their own style. It’s interesting, I think it will take us some time to analyze.
Julio: I noticed that you’ve played in a reggae band and you’ve both backed up Jose Gonzales. More kind of acoustic and folk. I’m curious to hear what you think are the biggest differences between playing more electronic music toward playing acoustic folk style.
Erik: More fun
Yukimi: Well it’s always more fun playing your own music. That’s the big difference for us
Erik: Yeah that’s probably the case.
Yukimi: When we make our songs we try to sorta, it’s all just what happens in the moment. So I guess when we talk about what our influences were when we did that.
Erik: We try to keep that philosophy. Once you start playing songs live, it feels like when first you rehearse you get trapped. Then you have to break out of that bubble and feel free within the song. When we are playing with other musicians, then it’s more of their will…you’re on a lower grade.
Yukimi: A lower grade? Lol
Erik: Who knows?
Håkan: I am a composer in Sweden (jokingly)
Yukimi: The songs have a sort of structure, it’s not completely free. There is a refrain and a verse, if anyone wants to jam out we just try to follow that direction. If someone continues to play the song when it’s over, then that’s the way it is that day.
Julio: You still surprise each other?
Erik: Yeah, there were some really nice surprises today.
Yukimi: Yeah, when you play everyday you kind of don’t want to become a machine. I try to, for my own stimulation, do something different because it feels exciting.
Erik: It is like, if you come up with something good, that idea will probably come next show as well. When you play so many shows, you can’t come up with something completely new all the time. It will just drain your fantasy or imagination. I would say we are jamming, but we are still referring to something that happened yesterday maybe.
Yukimi: I mean it’s not like crazy solos like sports playing.
Yukimi: Yeah definitely. I mean the music comes first always. All the guys produce, so we have a studio together and they all have their sort of corner with their computer. They’ll be showing me ideas all the time, like Erik with drums and Hoken has something and Frederick will have something. They’re so fast, and I’m just one, I get always really inspired. Usually I just sit and listen to a song over and over again and then I’ll have a melody and some lyrics. We record it at once, and time will tell. You get a bunch of shit and a bunch of great stuff possibly.
Julio: So the lyrics come last?
Yukimi: No, lyrics and melody comes together.
Erik: Are you writing lyrics at home?
Yukimi: Not really, I just write in the studio. If Erik’s made something that sounds amazing I’m so eager to write and record that I have to sit and listen and make it.
Erik: So you’re like a rapper? Like yeah, great beat! Turn it up!
Julio: How do you see your own style and how do you define it in the current state of music? How do you guys see yourselves fitting in or do you just want to blow it all up?
Erik: Perhaps blow it up.
Yukimi: It’s nice, at the shows they’re usually really mixed. Everything from serious hip-hop dudes to electro kids.
Erik: Some old synth technicians combined with a bunch of hip-hop guys, and some indie girls and fashion people.
Yukimi: I think that’s because the music has different elements. In the beginning it was kind of difficult because everyone wanted to put it in a certain genre. In Sweden it’s very genre centric, they’re like we don’t know what this is, we forget it.
Erik: That’s great, I’d rather hear that than like lounge.
Yukimi: We’ve heard that, we were like “Yaargh no”
Erik: Then I realized people refer to lounge in different ways too. There are people that refer to lounge as some psychedelic 60’s music.
Yukimi: When I think of lounge, I think of like hotel music.
Erik: Yeah some hotel in Moscow 2005.
Yukimi: I like Electrosoul
Erik: Free range electrosoul
Yukimi: Organic free range electro dub soul
Erik: soul with a z
Yukimi: Yeah, we basically just ask people we like Jannas Nieholm, he did the puppet video for “Twice”.
Julio: Did you do the song for Grey’s Anatomy?
Yukimi: Yeah, “Twice” was used for Grey’s Anatomy…but we don’t watch so much TV.
Julio: I heard you also composed for film.
Yukimi: Yeah, Jannas Nieholm did a longer version of “Twice”, he made a short film out of it. We made music for it, it was a bit hard because it was more of a compromise, we made new music to it.
Julio: Is that available anywhere?
Yukimi: It should be, not yet but soon.
Erik: The movie was great.
Yukimi: The music was kinda like…he started poking too much.
Erik: Somebody else started the edits and stuff.
Yukimi: and then we got paid and we couldn’t say anything.
Erik: With the first video we had made the music and nobody could touch it. He just made a picture on top, we didn’t come with any stubborn arguing.
Yukimi: We weren’t like, “Could the actual girl get the package before the skeleton..”
Erik: “And that comes exactly where that Boing sound is” you know things like that. He’s a great guy, but it was a lot of compromises.
Yukimi: It was different.
Yukimi: Yeah, like with the second album. We just sort of meet in the studio almost every day and just sort of do what comes to us at the moment. We have no meetings where we try to plan what its going to be. Whatever happens in the moment and maybe there is some inspiration from our travels or whatever thoughts we are having in our minds. It’s not like a conscious choice to have a big change.
Hoken: It feels like there’s not as much change.
Yukimi: Yes, as the first to the second.
Julio: So you’ve found your home you think?
Erik: Exactly, it just has to feel that we get better at what we are doing. We are constantly in the studio and we find that the sound is always up, never down. Never let’s destroy everything, it’s let’s make it more and more beautiful.
Julio: Is there one person guiding everything?
Yukimi: Not really, everyone makes music.
Erik: You kind of glue everything together.
Yukimi: It’s very democratic, it’s just fun and play and that’s the way it should be.
Yukimi: We just hope people who are curious about new music check our sound. We have an ambition to make music that is somehow exciting and new. For us, we are somewhat bored with a lot of music now and try to stimulate ourselves with new things. If you’re open minded and curious stay posted.
Erik: And hopefully people will come along, that would be great. Instead of just finding the perfect recipe and keep on doing it over and over again. It feels like there is a lot of that music..but it’s understandable I guess.
Yukimi: I think we’re all for kind of making mistakes.
Erik: Yeah failure is great.
Info on Little Dragon's works here
Erik: Nah, I think that has more come out of playing, just being live on stage. I guess we were a bit shy at first, you know. We were finally playing our own music instead of just being session musicians. When you’re presenting your own little baby….it hurts, in your paranoid state it feels like “Maybe they don’t like it”, it’s kind of shakey. As you play you kind of realize this is just ghosts inside my brain and… fuck it, let’s have fun.
Yukimi: You know, we’ve had a lot of different kinds of shows and sometimes we’ve had shows where people don’t resonate with us…I mean it’s varied. On those shows where it feels that way we just have fun together and try to forget about the crowd. And then you have shows where the crowd is amazing, you’re like whoa, you get all this energy from them and it gets you to a whole new level.
Yukimi: It was good, it was interesting…
Erik: I think mostly the sound for me, kept me…I was surprised actually. The guy who promoted us here says, “We’ve seen Portland, I don’t know who’s really gonna show up”. Looking out now, when we played…it was super great.
Yukimi: Yeah we were expecting like 15 people or something.
Erik: But we also know, we realized, once you go north…cause we are from the north, we know how north works; dancing is just a little bit harder with the cold. I was expected something like a Swedish crowd that can be super reserved. Then you can go to San Diego and people will be like, “Oh my God!!” more that kind of southern dinosaurs, they’re great with their own style. It’s interesting, I think it will take us some time to analyze.
Julio: I noticed that you’ve played in a reggae band and you’ve both backed up Jose Gonzales. More kind of acoustic and folk. I’m curious to hear what you think are the biggest differences between playing more electronic music toward playing acoustic folk style.
Erik: More fun
Yukimi: Well it’s always more fun playing your own music. That’s the big difference for us
Erik: Yeah that’s probably the case.
Yukimi: When we make our songs we try to sorta, it’s all just what happens in the moment. So I guess when we talk about what our influences were when we did that.
Erik: We try to keep that philosophy. Once you start playing songs live, it feels like when first you rehearse you get trapped. Then you have to break out of that bubble and feel free within the song. When we are playing with other musicians, then it’s more of their will…you’re on a lower grade.
Yukimi: A lower grade? Lol
Erik: Who knows?
Håkan: I am a composer in Sweden (jokingly)
Yukimi: The songs have a sort of structure, it’s not completely free. There is a refrain and a verse, if anyone wants to jam out we just try to follow that direction. If someone continues to play the song when it’s over, then that’s the way it is that day.
Julio: You still surprise each other?
Erik: Yeah, there were some really nice surprises today.
Yukimi: Yeah, when you play everyday you kind of don’t want to become a machine. I try to, for my own stimulation, do something different because it feels exciting.
Erik: It is like, if you come up with something good, that idea will probably come next show as well. When you play so many shows, you can’t come up with something completely new all the time. It will just drain your fantasy or imagination. I would say we are jamming, but we are still referring to something that happened yesterday maybe.
Yukimi: I mean it’s not like crazy solos like sports playing.
Yukimi: Yeah definitely. I mean the music comes first always. All the guys produce, so we have a studio together and they all have their sort of corner with their computer. They’ll be showing me ideas all the time, like Erik with drums and Hoken has something and Frederick will have something. They’re so fast, and I’m just one, I get always really inspired. Usually I just sit and listen to a song over and over again and then I’ll have a melody and some lyrics. We record it at once, and time will tell. You get a bunch of shit and a bunch of great stuff possibly.
Julio: So the lyrics come last?
Yukimi: No, lyrics and melody comes together.
Erik: Are you writing lyrics at home?
Yukimi: Not really, I just write in the studio. If Erik’s made something that sounds amazing I’m so eager to write and record that I have to sit and listen and make it.
Erik: So you’re like a rapper? Like yeah, great beat! Turn it up!
Julio: How do you see your own style and how do you define it in the current state of music? How do you guys see yourselves fitting in or do you just want to blow it all up?
Erik: Perhaps blow it up.
Yukimi: It’s nice, at the shows they’re usually really mixed. Everything from serious hip-hop dudes to electro kids.
Erik: Some old synth technicians combined with a bunch of hip-hop guys, and some indie girls and fashion people.
Yukimi: I think that’s because the music has different elements. In the beginning it was kind of difficult because everyone wanted to put it in a certain genre. In Sweden it’s very genre centric, they’re like we don’t know what this is, we forget it.
Erik: That’s great, I’d rather hear that than like lounge.
Yukimi: We’ve heard that, we were like “Yaargh no”
Erik: Then I realized people refer to lounge in different ways too. There are people that refer to lounge as some psychedelic 60’s music.
Yukimi: When I think of lounge, I think of like hotel music.
Erik: Yeah some hotel in Moscow 2005.
Yukimi: I like Electrosoul
Erik: Free range electrosoul
Yukimi: Organic free range electro dub soul
Erik: soul with a z
Yukimi: Yeah, we basically just ask people we like Jannas Nieholm, he did the puppet video for “Twice”.
Julio: Did you do the song for Grey’s Anatomy?
Yukimi: Yeah, “Twice” was used for Grey’s Anatomy…but we don’t watch so much TV.
Julio: I heard you also composed for film.
Yukimi: Yeah, Jannas Nieholm did a longer version of “Twice”, he made a short film out of it. We made music for it, it was a bit hard because it was more of a compromise, we made new music to it.
Julio: Is that available anywhere?
Yukimi: It should be, not yet but soon.
Erik: The movie was great.
Yukimi: The music was kinda like…he started poking too much.
Erik: Somebody else started the edits and stuff.
Yukimi: and then we got paid and we couldn’t say anything.
Erik: With the first video we had made the music and nobody could touch it. He just made a picture on top, we didn’t come with any stubborn arguing.
Yukimi: We weren’t like, “Could the actual girl get the package before the skeleton..”
Erik: “And that comes exactly where that Boing sound is” you know things like that. He’s a great guy, but it was a lot of compromises.
Yukimi: It was different.
Yukimi: Yeah, like with the second album. We just sort of meet in the studio almost every day and just sort of do what comes to us at the moment. We have no meetings where we try to plan what its going to be. Whatever happens in the moment and maybe there is some inspiration from our travels or whatever thoughts we are having in our minds. It’s not like a conscious choice to have a big change.
Hoken: It feels like there’s not as much change.
Yukimi: Yes, as the first to the second.
Julio: So you’ve found your home you think?
Erik: Exactly, it just has to feel that we get better at what we are doing. We are constantly in the studio and we find that the sound is always up, never down. Never let’s destroy everything, it’s let’s make it more and more beautiful.
Julio: Is there one person guiding everything?
Yukimi: Not really, everyone makes music.
Erik: You kind of glue everything together.
Yukimi: It’s very democratic, it’s just fun and play and that’s the way it should be.
Yukimi: We just hope people who are curious about new music check our sound. We have an ambition to make music that is somehow exciting and new. For us, we are somewhat bored with a lot of music now and try to stimulate ourselves with new things. If you’re open minded and curious stay posted.
Erik: And hopefully people will come along, that would be great. Instead of just finding the perfect recipe and keep on doing it over and over again. It feels like there is a lot of that music..but it’s understandable I guess.
Yukimi: I think we’re all for kind of making mistakes.
Erik: Yeah failure is great.
Info on Little Dragon's works here
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