From the Vaults: Dyke Band Le Tigre On Their Album, Feminist Sweepstakes

This article originally appeared in the October 2001 issue of OUT

If you roll your eyes when music is described as cinematic, ease any Le Tigre song into your CD player and find out just how snugly the description fits. The proudly queer girls of Le Tigre--known for their multimedia-filled live performances--all have backgrounds steeped in the visual and performing arts. As on their previous efforts, they swirl together art and music on this month's Feminist Sweepstakes, a sonic slap in the ass that seems destined for a cult following.

Kathleen Hanna, Johanna Fateman, and J.D. Samson make up the fierce trio, and those who haven't yet caught on to Le Tigre will undoubtedly sit up and take notice of the rock-hard connection between the three band mates on Feminist Sweepstakes. It's obvious Le Tigre is still with Mr. Lady Records (run by the Butchies' Kaia Wilson and her girlfriend, Tammy Rae Carland), as the political dance tracks and sampler-punk tunes are indicative of the label's support of fresh, raw music. On Feminist, expect grungier basement recordings, lots of sub-bass, and break beats in addition to the band's signature mixes.

"This album is a collaboration in its truest form," says Samson, referring to how each band member contributes equally to the album by playing several instruments and taking turns on vocals. "We've all worked so hard on each song, and I think the record really sounds like an even mix of all three of us. Sometimes I think this record is made for toddlers--there are some songs that are that literal and that minimal.

"We audiotaped a bunch of stuff at the dyke march in New York--conversations, crowd noise--and made a dance song out of it, using sound bites," notes Samson "This record has it all: some garage-rock songs, crazy collaborations with other artists, and skits; it's a hodgepodge of sound."

This hodgepodge of sound caught the attention of Sonic Youth frontman Thurston Moore, who handpicked Le Tigre to play at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival at UCLA later this month--not exactly a small club gig.

"When we were asked to play All Tomorrow's, we were like, 'F-u-u-uck, we're on the roster with Eddie Vedder!'" Samson recalls excitedly. "This is such a sweet chance for us to strut our stuff, because, like always, we'll use multimedia in our performance-kind of a music and visual feast." Sounds absolutely delicious.