Dhani Harrison and Nigel Godrich Preview Dragonflies Debut with “Slower”

Dhani Harrison and Nigel Godrich have announced a new band, Dragonflies, with a self-titled album set for release on 18 September. The project pairs Harrison, who has steadily built his own catalog beyond the shadow of his father’s legacy, with a producer whose name is synonymous with some of the most scrutinised records of the past three decades.

Recorded largely on tape at Godrich’s Brixton studio, the album arrives via Dark Horse Records—the label George Harrison founded in 1974 and Dhani revived in 2020. That detail places the collaboration inside a lineage without making it the point. Harrison’s work has long carried traces of his father’s melodic sense, but projects like Thenewno2 and his film scoring have carved their own space.

First single “Slower” is a dreamy, trip-hop-leaning track that nods to Portishead’s Beth Gibbons. Its video, created by Bristol-based animator RUFFMERCY, matches the song’s unhurried mood. The track suggests a record built on texture and restraint, not grand statements.

Harrison and Godrich began writing together during the pandemic, when Harrison sent Godrich material that would become his 2023 solo album Innerstanding. “He’s a machine,” Harrison said of Godrich. “He has strong opinions about what he wants to hear, and for me it’s very humbling. That’s why it’s such a new experience.” The band name, Harrison added, came from Godrich: “Dragonflies are a symbol of spiritual enlightenment. When Nigel suggested the name I was like, ‘yeah, sold, done.’”