Being part of Le Tigre left a lasting impression on JD Samson, but the experience also left the singer/songwriter with a need to go deeper. “Overall, I think when I was with Le Tigre it was more about identity and body politics,” Samson says. “When we split, I tried to continue that same direction with the 2011 release of Talk About Body. After that I felt I had changed and wanted to write more for myself, personally, than the pluralistic ‘we.’ The new album, Labor, is based on very personal and emotional aspects of my life.”
Samson will be touring the new album with her band Men this year, something she’s been doing regularly since 2000. “We’ll practise a bit more, and I also get quite intense and construct an entire new set before we do the first show,” she says. Fans can expect new costumes and new tunes on the tour but no Le Tigre favourites. “We’ll all have new costumes, and people get to hear many of the new tunes from Labor, as well as our older stuff. We’ve never done any Le Tigre songs at any show, and I think it would feel quite weird. That outfit really was about the three of us together, so trying to replicate that without Kathleen and Johanna would not feel right to me. They taught me everything I know musically, and we all remain good friends today,” she says.
The dance-focused Labor has obvisouly been influenced by Samson’s DJ career; she currently throws two sucessful parties in New York. “Both parties focus on house and disco dance music, and we get a good solid crowd of regulars at each,” she says. “The weekly ‘Scissor Sundays’ at the Rusty Knot is an afternoon party where I DJ alongside my friend Amber Valentine. ‘Pat’ is a new monthly we do over at the Union Pool in Brooklyn, which is primarily an outdoor venue with a small enclosed area. The name came from the androgynous SNL character from a few years back.”
Catch JD Samson & Men (with an opening set from Toronto’s Light Fires) Sun, Jan 26 at The Garrison, 1197 Dundas St W.
menmakemusic.com
Why you can trust Xtra
