Little Dragon brings big neo-soul sound to intimate Nectar Lounge.(NWTicket)

Byline: Andrew Matson; Special to The Seattle Times

Sometimes big bands play little rooms, and the audience gets an unusually intimate concert.

That was the case last time Little Dragon played Seattle, just over a year ago. It will be the case again Wednesday, when the Swedish electro-soul act returns for its second concert at Nectar in Fremont.

Between Nectar shows, Little Dragon appeared on "Plastic Beach," the third album by England-based supergroup Gorillaz. On a subsequent world tour, Little Dragon singer Yukimi Nagano was one of a few guest stars who got serious spotlight time, along with Bobby Womack and De La Soul. When Gorillaz played KeyArena last November, a Seattle Times review specifically mentioned Nagano, and complimented her "woozy and mesmerizing" vocal interplay with frontman Damon Albarn.

I spoke on the phone with Little Dragon drummer Erik Bodin about the group's almost-finished third album, the anonymity of drummers, and whether or not a larger Scandinavian electro-soul movement is afoot.

Andrew Matson : You were in Seattle last November. What's changed for Little Dragon in the past year?

Erik Bodin : We are older. We are more excited. We've always been excited about what we've been doing, but we really feel we're going in the right direction. And we have a third album, we're finishing it up now. We don't know the name yet, but the music is pretty much finished.

AM : How do you feel America has responded to Little Dragon so far?

EB : We are definitely more popular in America than Sweden. America has always been our home, shown us a lot of love. America is the place.

AM : You play regularly behind two pretty famous faces: Little Dragon's Yukimi Nagano and Jose Gonzalez. Do you ever feel anonymous, or is that just part of being a drummer?

EB : Yeah, it's part of being a drummer. You hide behind the drums. I've been trying to do my best to make people notice the drummer, so my ego gets love. I try to make it as enjoyable as possible for the audience. Over time, I think all of us have really developed to be more charismatic. It's not all "we're helping Yukimi." We're all doing a little fronting.

AM : Little Dragon is happening in Sweden, Quadron is happening in Denmark: Are those groups unique to the region, or is there a larger Scandinavian electronic-soul movement?

EB : Probably unique, but it's also hard to say. We don't know much about what's going on in Sweden, just pop culture, which is a very surface kind of thing. ... But yeah, I think maybe in general the sound is going from more rock type stuff, to more synth-y type things. People want a change, I think.

Nightlife preview

Little Dragon

With Billygoat and Suntzu Sound, 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nectar Lounge, 412 N. 36th St., Seattle; $12, 21-plus (206-632-2020 or www.nectarlounge.com).

On the Internet

Little Dragon: little-dragon.se.

CAPTION(S):

Courtesy of Seek Studios: The band Little Dragon returns Wednesday for its second concert at Nectar in Fremont. (0415369320)

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