MBE playlist: Little Dragon’s Yukimi makes her solo debut at HQ

Little Dragon frontwoman Yukimi Nagano dropped her debut solo LP For You in March of this year, but we’ve been picking up what she’s been putting down since she shared the album’s first single — “Break Me Down” — in October of 2024. The bold and sophisticated funkiness of that one made it all the way to our Favorite Songs of 2024 list, with Morning Becomes Eclectic Producer Anna Chang offering this:

“Solo Yukimi Nagono (of Little Dragon) has arrived, and this first taste is nothing short of glorious. Her voice is a special kind of ecstasy, a balm for the soul and analeptic for the mind. Carried by the refrain of "nothing’s gonna break me down," the track is a shot of something we could all use... right about now.”

And the same can be said of the album in full. Little Dragon fans are surely taking comfort in the fact that the electro-groove soundscapes that define her day job are very much in play — For You is co-produced by LD’s Erik Bodin, who also drums in her touring band. Where she departs more noticeably from her Little Dragon trademarks, is in the openness and vulnerability of her lyrics which feel fresh and even a bit risky. Yukimi confirms this feeling in conversation with MBE host Novena Carmel, where the two caught up on the heels of Yukimi’s first North American tour as a solo artist. Hear it by scrubbing to 02:18:12 and keep listening for the pristine presentation of For You cuts “Make Me Whole,” “Stream of Consciousness,” “Sad Makeup,” “Elinam,” and “Runaway.”