Leave it to Japanese-Swedish singer Yukimi Nagano to captivate a full-house of Angeleno hipsters with her brand of organic electro-pop. During Little Dragon’s gig at the El Rey Theatre on Friday evening, the audience had reason to be enraptured.
With two full-lengths to its name, Little Dragon is Erik Bodin (drums), Fredrik Kallgren Walsh (bass), and Hakan Wirenstrand (keyboards) with Ms. Nagano. The sold-out show was a confirmation of the Gothenberg-based band’s swelling fan-base and break-through year. The quartet challenges those who wish to pigeonhole their sound, and just last week our readers nominated them as Rock Artist of the Year in the Readers Poll.
Nagano is a born performer and she seemed concentrated on delivering a stellar performance. When she would outstretch her arms way above her tiny frame, it was like she was calling the muse to come to her. She would stretch her arms out towards the audience and grind her hips–it would set off hollers and yelps from the gals and guys alike. Her syncopated hand gestures looked like something from ’90s clips of Madonna voguing, and buried beneath the synth and bass lines, is a delightful pop sound. If it were a more showy performer, she would have attempted a little moonwalk action, but Nagano is not one to tread in anyone else’s footsteps. Look no further than her airy and raw voice, alternatively delicate and imposing.
Her ensemble whispered a touch of Blade Runner, and Little Dragon’s music echoes some of the flick’s themes–technology, neon lights, loneliness, space, fuzzy edges, and finding love in this alternate universe. But the music sparkles and hums with optimism, just as Nagano’s cropped vest with its embellishments reflected the lights. Shaking her tambourine and banging Bodin’s drums acted as her call to arms. If love is a battlefield, she came prepared.
And proved victorious.
The set included top songs:”After the Rain,” “Looking Glass,” “Swimming, “Twice,” “Forever,” “Blinking Pigs,” “My Step,” and “Feather”
I knew I recognized the name. She sang on that Koop song, Summer Sun.