Le Tigre is not about sales and service for Hewlett Packard Solutions (http://www.letigre.com) or about polo shirts; Le Tigre is a pop/dance/punk/new wave/riot grrl/hip-hop/electroclash band (one label is definitely insuffcient and each is equally unnecessary). The female trio, composed of Kathleen Hanna, Johanna Fateman, and JD Samson, has an unmatched sound. Though Hanna often is in the spotlight as the former Bikini Kill frontwoman and "pioneer of the riot grrl movement", Fateman and Samson have similarly admirable convictions for the advancement of feminism and of course, the music. Their music is an incorporation of their political views into fun dance music... or is it the other way around?

It all started when...

In 1995, Hanna and Fateman met at a Bikini Kill show in Portland, Oregon. Fateman thought Bikini Kill was "startling and great", while Hanna picked up a copy of Fateman's zine entitle Snarla and was very impressed. The two kept in touch until they were reunited in New York in 1998. Hanna, Fateman, and Samson all coincidently met at a Halloween party (though they had each met previously) and recognised an immediate chemistry. Samson was a senior at Sarah Lawrence College while she was in projectionist for Le Tigre and a couple months later became part of the band.

Who does what?

Le Tigre is not the traditional guitar-bass-drums band. As written on their website, "The structure of our collaboration varies from song to song with each of us taking the lead on beat making, lyric writing, video editing, etc at various times. We each play all different kinds of instruments on stage and while we are recording in the studio. During our live performance Jo and JD play most of the keyboard parts, JD triggers samples with drum pads, Kathleen and Jo play most of the guitar, JD and Jo sing back-up parts and most of the talking/yelling parts, and Kathleen sings the center-stage, full-on Annie-style parts."

Discography

THIS ISLAND, LP 2004
REMIX, EP 2003
FEMINIST SWEEPSTAKES, LP 2002
FROM THE DESK OF MR.LADY, EP 2001
SELF TITLED, LP 1999 http://www.letigreworld.com

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