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Little Dragon In Concert

Swedish electro group Little Dragon has been remixed countless times. Their soul-infused dance songs steal scenes in primetime TV shows. They've collaborated across genres with the likes of the Gorillaz, SBTRKT and Big Boi. But their experimental evolution is most impressive when it unfurls live — as in this set that brought down the house at Celebrate Brooklyn.

A band whose varied percussion equals its heavy synth elements, Little Dragon makes innovative fusion pop with the occasional dub creeper. In faster and choppier numbers, touring keyboardist Arild Werling (filling in for member Håkan Wirenstrand, who was back in Sweden with his family) hit all the '80s synthpop signifiers, even channeling Devo at times. While drummer Erik Bodin relentlessly kept the momentum up with both a drum set and electronic drum pad, bassist Fredrik Källgren Wallin added the structure for lead singer Yukimi Nagano's one-of-a-kind voice.

Nagano's fiery spirit mesmerized the crowd as she bounced about banging on acoustic and electronic percussion instruments many have never seen the likes of. While practically everyone couldn't help but move, Nagano brought the at-capacity Prospect Park Bandshell crowd to a standstill on the atypical slower number "Twice," which showcases her impressive lower range. Little Dragon doesn't perform the well-known trip-hop-inspired song very much anymore, but they made an exception for this show.

Set List

  • "Looking Glass"
  • "Ritual Union"
  • "Test"
  • "Brush The Heat"
  • "Shuffle A Dream"
  • "Please Turn"
  • "Runabout"
  • "Precious"
  • "Summertearz"
  • "Little Man"
  • "Nightlight"
  • "Crystalfilm"
  • "Feather"
  • "My Step"
  • "Twice"
  • Credits

    Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin. Audio Mix: Crispin Anderson/Courtesy of Little Dragon. Special thanks to Celebrate Brooklyn and BRIC Arts.

    Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

    Tags
    Martika Finch