Little Dragon, Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Wonder Ballroom
04/10/2014 09:00 PM PDT
$28.00 - $30.00
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Little Dragon
No one in their right mind would have expected the future of soul music to come from Gothenburg, Sweden. But there it is in the dreamy, rhythmical, shifting, moody rainbow creature that is Little Dragon. Now the four-piece band, with their blend of R&B, new wave, trip-hop and even Swedish folk music, aren't a soul act per se. But noted authorities on the matter from OutKast's Big Boi and Raphael Saadiq to Damon Albarn of Gorillaz all recognize game—each has tapped the group to collaborate on recent and/or upcoming projects. It seems that the rest of the world is starting to catch on to what tastemakers from BBC's Gilles Peterson and the DJs at Los Angeles' influential KCRW have known for years.
They might have lots of boldface fans now, but Little Dragon built their name the old-fashioned way: slowly, and through word of mouth. Nagano, drummer Erik Bodin and bassist Fredrik Wallin began making music together as friends in high school, with no thought of becoming a serious, world-touring band. "Our way of spending time together was listening to or playing music," Yukimi recalls of those days in the 1990s. "We weren't so good at promoting or thinking of any kind of plan. All we knew is we wanted to just write and work as little as possible on anything else, so we'd have all of our time to do that."
After adding Håkan Wirenstrand, a keyboardist from rural Småland, and moving in together at a Gothenburg art collective known as the Seal Colonie, the group took the name Little Dragon— a reference to Nagano's fiery countenance during recording sessions. While holding odd jobs and contributing to other people's projects (Nagano has sung lead vocals on numerous dance singles, and she and Wallin have collaborated with Swedish troubadour José González) to pay the bills, the four spent all their free time together crafting songs like the propulsive "Test" and the haunting minor-key piano ballad "Twice." It was these two tracks that made up Little Dragon's first release, a 2006 vinyl-only single on tiny Off the Wall Records. Though only 1,000 copies were pressed, the record's impact was felt immediately in England, where Gilles Peterson began spinning both sides and London's Peacefrog Records commissioned the group's first album. With its unusual cover artwork (drawn by Yukimi's father in the '70s) and playful, imaginative videos (for "Twice," "Test," "Constant Surprises" and "After the Rain"), Little Dragon's self-titled debut offered a distinctive and wondrous visual aesthetic to go with its unique, enchanting sound. Despite their CD being available only as an import in the US, the group sold out clubs across the country during their first American tour in '08. A smattering of positive press clippings began likening Nagano and her understated yet unmistakable voice to such divas as Erykah Badu and Kate Bush.
Little Dragon's second album, Machine Dreams, a more uptempo set with '80s influences like OMD and Tears for Fears working their way into the mix, followed in 2009. That same year "Test," Little Dragon's very first single, was featured in an episode of primetime drama Grey's Anatomy, turning a new set of mainstream fans on to the group. An enraptured Damon Albarn meanwhile tapped Little Dragon to feature on "Empire Ants" and "To Binge" from Gorillaz' 2010 album Plastic Beach, and, as the warm-up act—along with De La Soul—for that album's arena-filling world tour. Also in 2010, the group appeared on "If You Return" from Maximum Balloon, a/k/a the solo project of Dave Sitek from TV on the Radio.
2011 saw Little Dragon start the year off with a headlining tour of the U.S. and a performance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in March, thanks to a recommendation from superfan Questlove of the Roots. In May, Yukimi appeared on the track "Just Don't" from Raphael Saadiq's Stone Rollin', a record some are already calling the album of the year. Big Boi and DJ Shadow called to invite the group to work on new music. And in July they will release Ritual Union, an album which finds the jazzy, whimsical vibes of their debut LP colliding with the more upfront and danceable sounds of Machine Dreams. Lead single "Nightlight" sounds like Badu fronting the Psychedelic Furs. "Brush The Heat," their most club-friendly track yet, is a dancefloor detonator with the most infectious cowbells since Jay-Z told us about his "99 Problems." As with each of their previous albums, Little Dragon did all of the recording themselves at the Seal Colonie, the same place where they all lived together in their early days. "We're all about writing in our space, our bubble," Yukimi says. "We haven't really recorded in any fancy studios. We'd rather be in our junkyard."
While their recordings are always impressive, it is in the live setting where the Dragon really comes alive. Seemingly loose and improvisational but actually tight as nails, Bodin, Wirenstrand and Wallin dig a deep pocket that would make James Brown proud, their organic instrumentation blending seamlessly with programmed drum loops and Nagano's dynamic vocals. Nearly as striking is the culturally diverse crowd that somehow turns up in every city. As if straight out of central casting, every Little Dragon show seems to bring out an unlikely mix of hip-hop heads in fitted caps, beautiful girls dressed for dancing, and studious musician types. "I think that's kind of ideal," Yukimi says of Little Dragon's eclectic fanbase. "That's how, if I wished for a crowd, I would want it." And no doubt, if that crowd could invent a band, Little Dragon is what they'd come up with.
Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Emerging from rampant hedonism and desperate isolation is 'II', the new album from Unknown Mortal Orchestra. Behind the cartoonish colour of this collection of soulful, mind-addled psychedelia, lurks the fact that its author, Ruban Nielson, came close to never making it at all. "There were times when I felt that if I continued as I was that I would die, or some other bad thing would happen," he admits, referring to the months following the release of Unknown Mortal Orchestra's eponymous, self-recorded debut in June 2011, and a punishing, debauched touring schedule that would have a lasting affect on the 32-year-old multi-instrumentalist and songwriter.
Released after he swapped New Zealand for Portland and isolated himself from friends and family, Nielson's first album as Unknown Mortal Orchestra fused Barrett and Hendrix to RZA and The Beatles. Coming midway through a journey that took him from cryptic, anonymous bedroom project borne of disillusionment and private amusement, to leader of a hard-touring, hard-living band; it marked his return to music after the messy break-up of Flying Nun punks The Mint Chicks, the band he started at home with brother Kody 10 years earlier. Now, building on the break-beat, junk-shop charm Nielson soon came to be renowned for, 'II' signals the solidification of Unknown Mortal Orchestra's position as an infinitely intriguing, brave psychedelic band; unafraid to dig deeper and hit harder than the rest to lock into their intoxicating, opiate groove and bring rock'n'roll's exaggerated myths to life. Time on the road may have eaten away at Nielson both physically and mentally, but, ultimately, it conceived an album that builds thrillingly on the jagged melodies, choppy percussion and meandering guitars on his debut. 'II' was recorded nocturnally (Nielson played everything but some of the drums himself) in the converted basement of his family home in Milwaukee, Oregon – an upgrade on the yurt where he and his wife and young children first lived after moving to America. Focus, inspiration and dedication streamlined his vibrant imagination during the sessions and extra time spent on the songs (compared with his previous one-night-one-song approach) gives the instruments space to flick between woozy stumble and nimble canter, highlighting the emotional turmoil that led to the revelatory bleakness of the lyrics.
"The album has a really specific mood," he says. "It captures the way I was thinking when I was on tour and is surrealist and impressionistic. You try to fill the gap left by not having family and friends around, and you end up getting into trouble. The emotions I was trying to get into it were about relationships and drug taking." Racked with paranoia and loneliness exacerbated by recreational chemicals, Nielson was exposed to an entirely new set of influences. "With the first record I didn't have all these things to deal with, but this time I was running into a lot of situations…we were already a drug band but we were out of control, playing every day and not looking after ourselves. It's hard to be away from my wife and children, they're beautiful people, but my life at home is crazy too, I stay up all night. There are different problems, stories and weird impressions of my feelings, but this album is mainly about love affairs and how impossible it is to connect with people sometimes, and losing people."
These conflicting themes are evident immediately; on the album's sleeve is an unnerving image of Janet Farrar, the famous British witch, Wiccan, author and teacher of witchcraft. The chilling refrain of opener 'Into The Sun' sees Nielson deliver the line "Isolation can put a gun in your hand," softly, his words starkly intelligible above a warm, slow-burning melody that quickly brands itself onto your brain. His playful imagery ('I'm so lonely I've gotta eat my popcorn all alone') mirrors the melody, before a solo that borders on psychotropic ends 'II''s introduction.
'Swim And Sleep (Like A Shark)' and 'So Good At Being In Trouble' plumb even murkier depths. Of the latter, Nielson says "It's the best song I've written so far, there's something really truthful about it". Its grainy, lilting, Beatles-recalling simplicity allows delicate guitar and vulnerable, high-pitched vocals to fill a seemingly desolate sketch of Nielson's touring problems with animated, life-affirming colour; especially with the line 'Rolling alone I'm in a strange state of mind, it's a strange old state of mind.' On the swampy haze of 'Swim And Sleep (Like A Shark)' Nielson sings about escaping to an imaginary safe place at the bottom of the ocean, recalling his difficult childhood. But he explains that the apparent finality of the lyrics ('I'd fall to the bottom and I'd hide 'til the end of time) isn't as morbid as it seems. "The song is about wanting to escape, not die. I'm not scared of death because it's a release from the stress and pressures of life. It's like an opiate song, about a state between life and death, so it describes the feeling of being at the bottom of the ocean and feeling really cold, drifting in a safe place, completely separate from being a human. It's a feeling I've had since I was a kid, wanting to find a dark, cold place, crawl into it and just hide for a while until I get my energy back," he explains.
As it unfolds, 'II' does find Nielson reenergized. 'One At A Time' and 'Faded In The Morning' boast dizzying choruses and instrumentals; these crusty hunks could have been excavated from a lost 1960s treasure trove. 'Monki' unravels over seven minutes like the yarn from a stoner's cardigan with an eye-frying pattern. 'Dawn' is a minute of disconcerting noise that stands out between the nooks and crannies of the choruses, guitar solos, groove-heavy bass and drums that were recorded live by newly-recruited drummer Greg Rogove and Kody Nielson in a move away from the electronic percussion employed on album one. 'II' closes with 'Secret Xtians', a tender observational puzzle that fizzes to a satisfied end.
'II' is a precisely assembled insight into a frayed and frazzled period of a fascinating life; journeying from despair to euphoria with stops for highs, hangovers, communication failure, anger and love in between. Unknown Mortal Orchestra was once Ruban Nielson's closeted, home-recorded concern. With an album that uses his singular musical imagination and extraordinary talent to parade his emotions with unyielding honesty, it is now a fully realized, reinvigorated, mature band operating at the peak of its powers. In making 'II' Ruban Nielson has taught himself how to survive as a musician again. He's given away perhaps more than he ever intended; his musical craft and fragile mind are fully exposed. Now you know more about him than ever before. The words Unknown Mortal Orchestra have never carried so much meaning. – Ben Homewood
Venue Information
Wonder Ballroom
128 Northeast Russell Street
Portland, OR 97212
http://www.wonderballroom.com/