Dragon Inn 3

Dragon Inn 3 operates as an electronic pop outfit fronted by Philip Dickey, who previously co-founded Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. The project fuses bright, tuneful synth pop with the shadowed atmospheres of electronic pioneers such as Giorgio Moroder and Vangelis, and it has issued two albums on American Laundromat Records: Double Line in 2018 and Trade Secrets in 2023.

Origins trace to 2012, when Dickey wrote the theme for Ghoul School, a short film directed by E.P. Marcus. Their collaboration ignited further ideas, prompting the pair to launch a band together. Dickey then brought in his sister Sharon Bowie and his wife Grace Bentley; under the Dragon Inn 3 name the trio put out the Ghoul School EP before the year ended. Although the members were dispersed across Kansas City, Los Angeles, and Springfield, Missouri, they continued refining material for a full-length release over the next six years and eventually aligned with American Laundromat Records. Their debut album, Double Line, arrived in August 2018 and merged lighthearted ’80s synth pop with the brooding tone associated with the Blade Runner soundtrack.

Five additional years elapsed before the follow-up was finished. Trade Secrets, released in 2023 and aligned in tone with the first album, incorporated contributions from outside artists, among them the Salvation Choir, a Kansas City-based Congolese rhumba ensemble, and Michigan musician Ben Collins, known for his work with Minihorse and Lightning Love.