To foster creativity, I think a little pressure can be good, but stress isn't good. Knowing that you have a defined window of time and you're going to dedicate your attention to it is a positive - but you can't think of it as needing a track that's going to change your life.
Yukimi NaganoI think we're a little bit protective in that way. You're always trying to balance between what's spreading the word about the band and what's good money and what's a shitty look. Is this good for the longevity of the band? Do people even care these days? We care, but do we care more about the money? We've had a lot of discussions about things. It gets us into a lot of fights, but it also makes you question your own morals in a really good way.
Yukimi NaganoKeeping your sanity is sometimes stalling the business aspect of things and being OK with saying no to certain things. Sometimes I just need to be home and write in my diary every day and take long walks. Or just dancing - I have a few dancer friends, and I go to their places and drink tea, and put on these long electronic mixes; maybe smoke a joint, you know? I like to be in nature, and swim in the Swedish sea, and spend time with family.
Yukimi NaganoI never listen to any of my music after it comes out, unless I hear it in a cafe or whatever. I'll think, "I forgot how it was so slow or how minimal it felt compared to how it's become live," because you start having a relationship to the songs live. After an album is finished, I really let go.
Yukimi NaganoI think that kind of balance comes with the process of growing together as a band, the Little Dragon. We love to write, we love to create, we love to play live, and I think we love and appreciate what we have together. How that evolves, and how we balance it, is something that's come with time. At the start we were all like, "Tour tour tour. We just want to play. That's all we want to do."
Yukimi NaganoMaybe it's easier to have that desire guest-spot-packed album, for example, you're a rapper and you need someone to sing the hook. I guess for us, it just kind of feels like we want to explore ourselves more. That sounds kind of cheesy, but I don't know. I have a lot of artists whose music I have this perfect relationship with, and I don't really feel like I need to meet them or get to know them or write with them because of it.
Yukimi Nagano