A favourite at Ten Towers, Swedish band Little Dragon have just released their sixth studio album New Me, Same Us. “We are all on our own personal journeys,” the band says, “full of change, yet still we stand united with stories we believe in, that make us who we are.” The album is their most personal lyrically and their cleverly crafted ability to blend and bend genres is elevated, flowing smoothly from electronic feel-good tracks to moments of a moodier, R&B-infused sound. We asked them ten questions on the making of the album:

10 Magazine: Your album is titled 'New Me, Same Us' - What's new for you all in this chapter and what is the same?

Little Dragon: "We realised everyday is an opportunity to discover new things about yourself and also others. We have been doing a lot of hanging out and talking rather than just keep chasing momentum. We are all the same people, same old high school friends, same old nerds like always. After talking a lot we realized it's time to do things we haven't really done before. For example letting go of our egos."

10: You choose to self produce and record in a home-built studio in Gothenburg - why does this feel right?

LD: "For us it's always right to give yourself the challenge and opportunity to learn how to record, mix and write songs. It's very fulfilling and addictive. Gothenburg is where we live so it's very easy to just go to our studio on a daily basis and deep dive into the world of music."

10: What's your process? Do you guys begin with beats and then put lyrics to music or vice versa?

LD: "Music probably comes first but can also many times be the portal to poems and lyrics that you perhaps had all the time but never expressed. Time sort of disappears when making music so it's hard sometimes to afterwards know what happened first."

10: What were you feeling inspired by when making this record? Are there any musical influences to note?

LD: "I guess same old as always. The music we listened to as kids and teens still have a big place in our hearts. Jimi Hendrix, Jean Michel Jarre, Prince are of very many. When making music we mostly draw inspirations from each other rather than from the outside."

10: If you had to describe Little Dragon using only one song from the album, which would you choose? Why?

LD: "Rush. It's techno but still a distorted carnival feel. Digital and organic. Synthy and untuned."

10: Why was Kali the right fit for the single Are You Feeling Sad? How do you choose who you want to collaborate with?

LD: "We are very open to collaborate in general. This collab came like a Christmas gift. The label had sent it to Kali before Christmas. All of a sudden there was an mp3 with her vocals on it and we instantly felt the vibes."

10: Who would you still love to collaborate with?

LD: "Very, very hard question. If we can still be jamming out the four of us that would be all we would ask for."

10: Did you ever dream you'd be on this incredible trajectory when you were jamming after class in high school?

LD: "Yes that's exactly what we dreamt about. Music is our religion and an important way for us to communicate. We never really picture it being like this but for sure the dream was always to be doing music."

10: It's a crazy time in the world - how are you feeling about putting music out right now?

LD: "Life is always now. And yes the world is in a crazy state. Hopefully we can bring some joy to people with this little album of ours."

10: What do you hope people take from 'New Me, Same Us'?

LD: "Joy, happiness, tears and of course plenty of heat after dancing too much on repeat."

by Roxy Lola

Listen to 'New Me, Same Us' here