Le Tigre
Le Tigre (/lə ˈtiːɡrə/, French pronunciation: [lə tiɡʁ]; French for "The Tiger") is an American electronic rock band formed by Kathleen Hanna (of Bikini Kill), Johanna Fateman and Sadie Benning in 1998 in New York City. Benning left in 2000 and was replaced by JD Samson for the rest of the group's existence. They mixed punk's directness and politics with playful samples, eclectic pop, and lo-fi electronics. The group also added multimedia and performance art elements to their live shows, which often featured support from like-minded acts such as The Need.[5]
Le Tigre | |
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Le Tigre performing in 2004 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | New York City, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active |
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| Labels | |
| Past members | Kathleen Hanna Johanna Fateman JD Samson Sadie Benning |
| Website | www |
History
1998–2000: Formation and Le Tigre
Following the breakup of Bikini Kill in 1998, Kathleen Hanna released a solo album under the pseudonym Julie Ruin and moved to New York, where she wanted to perform Julie Ruin songs live. Not wanting to perform the material alone, she recruited Johanna Fateman, whom Hanna had known since meeting at a Bikini Kill concert several years prior. Sadie Benning, who had helped Hanna make a music video for the Julie Ruin song "Aerobicide", also joined in order to help with visuals and translating the music into performable material. These performances never happened.[6]
However, while Benning was still in Chicago, Hanna and Fateman began sharing cassettes between the three band members, with songs that would eventually become material for Le Tigre. They took their name from one of many hypothetical bands made up by Hanna circa 1994.[7]
The band signed with Mr. Lady Records, who owners Hanna and Fateman met while they were in Portland, Oregon. Hanna called the signing "a logical choice" because of the label's greater political commitment over their music releases.[8]
The band's first album, Le Tigre, was in October 1999. The band's original live performances consisted of Hanna, Fateman and Sadie performing music, along with JD Samson, a roadie they had met in September 1999, who manually operated a slideshow as a visual component to their music, as the band could not afford a projector at the time.[7]
2000–2004: From The Desk of Mr. Lady EP and Feminist Sweepstakes
In 2000, Benning left the band. As the band was already into a month-long tour, they asked Samson to fill in for them during live performances. The band had already been considering increasing the involvement of Samson as possibly a backup singer or dancer, so asked her to become an official member. Hanna remarked that "JD added an undeniable flair and charisma to the live show and took to touring and recording like a fish to water."[7]
In October 2001, the band released their second album, Feminist Sweepstakes.
In 2003, Le Tigre collaborated with Chicks on Speed on their cover of Tom Tom Club's "Wordy Rappinghood" from their album 99 Cents along with other artists such as Miss Kittin, Kevin Blechdom, ADULT.'s Nicola Kuperus, and Tina Weymouth of Tom Tom Club.[9] The cover became a moderate dance hit in Europe, peaking at number five on the Belgian Dance Chart,[10] and at number sixty-six on the UK Singles Chart.[11][12]
2004–2007: major label deal, This Island and hiatus
In March 2004, Le Tigre signed with Strummer, a subsidiary of major label Universal Records,[13] a move described by Kathleen Hanna as a make-or-break for the band, who were considering breaking up due to exhaustion.[14] In June 2004, Mr. Lady closed down,[15] and the band began reissuing their back catalogue under their own label, Le Tigre Records, with distribution from Touch & Go Records.[16]
They released their debut major-label album, This Island, in October 2004. The album was a moderate success, selling over 90,000 copies in the US.[17]
The band entered a "long hiatus" in August 2007, due to the band being burnt out from touring This Island, and the band members wanting to "do their own thing".[17][18]
2010–present: Brief reunions
In 2010, Le Tigre briefly returned from a hiatus[19] to produce Christina Aguilera's "My Girls", from her sixth studio album Bionic. The track features Peaches.[20]
Le Tigre members JD Samson and Johanna Fateman collaborated with Russian activists Pussy Riot during a concert organised by Vice (magazine) in 2014, performing Le Tigre's “Deceptacon”.[21] Later, in 2015, they reunited with Pussy Riot to record a song and video for Netflix series House of Cards.[22]
In September 2016, the band announced they were reuniting just to release a "special song".[23] On October 19, 2016, Le Tigre released the song, titled "I'm With Her", and its accompanying video to voice their support of the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton.[24]
In December 2021, the band announced they would be getting together to play at This Ain't No Picnic Festival in 2022.[25]
Controversies
Involvement in Michigan Womyn's Music Festival
Le Tigre, along with several acts from Mr. Lady, played at the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival in 2001 and 2005. This festival became controversial for its "womyn-born womyn" stance and exclusion of trans women from the festival, leading critics to believe that Mr. Lady and Le Tigre were transphobic. Several acts from the label, including Le Tigre and The Butchies, received verbal harassment and death threats as a result of playing at the 2001 festival.[26]
In 2014, amid a boycott of the festival led by Equality Michigan, a group of fans dropped a banner that read "Apologise For Michigan" at a Julie Ruin concert at the Mod Club, Toronto, calling for Hanna to apologise for their performances at the festival.[27] JD Samson released a statement in response, announcing her boycott of the festival until all self-identified women were included.[28] The festival shut down in 2015.[29] Hanna has not directly addressed their participation in the festival, but in 2018 has said on Twitter that she supports trans rights.[30]
Deceptacon copyright lawsuit
In October 2021, Hanna and Fateman countersued singer-songwriter Barry Mann, who sent the band cease-and-desist letters after claiming the song "Deceptacon" was copyright infringing on his song "Who Put the Bomp (in the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)". Hanna and Fateman argued that the use of "bomp" was transformative of the song, as a critique of Mann's song.[31] They settled the case in November 2021, with the dispute “amicably resolved by a confidential settlement agreement without any public admission of liability”, according to Pitchfork.[32]
Band members
Current members
Former members
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Discography
- Le Tigre (1999)
- Feminist Sweepstakes (2001)
- This Island (2004)
References
- ^
- Kearney, Mary Celeste (July 13, 2017). Gender and Rock. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-029769-5. Retrieved November 24, 2017 – via Google Books.
- "The Punk Singer: meet the original Riot Grrrl". 7 October 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- Inc, CMJ Network (11 October 2004). "CMJ New Music Report". CMJ Network, Inc. Retrieved 6 December 2017 – via Google Books.
- ^
- "The 10 Best Le Tigre Songs". 30 August 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- "Le Tigre Debut Pro-Clinton 'I'm With Her' Anthem". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- Tyler-Ameen, Daoud (27 November 2012). "Bedroom Dancing: Le Tigre By Accident". NPR. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- ^
- "Le Tigre to reunite with new one-off single". Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- "Le Tigre reunite for new pro-Hillary Clinton song "I'm With Her" — watch". 19 October 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- ^ "Le Tigre Reunite". Pitchfork. 30 September 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
- ^ 5 “Music for Everyone.” Contact - Spotify, www.spotify.com/.
- ^ "'Le Tigre' Turns 20". Stereogum. 2019-10-25. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
- ^ a b c . www.letigreworld.com. Archived from the original on 22 April 2006. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
- ^ "SPOTLIGHT". www.washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
- ^ Phares, Heather (2003). "99 Cents - Chicks on Speed". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2011-02-26.
- ^ "Ultratop.be - Chicks On Speed - Wordy Rappinghood". Ultratop (in Dutch). Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2011-02-26.
- ^ "The Official Charts Company - Chicks On Speed". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2011-02-26.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
- ^ Cohen, Jonathan (2004-03-11). "Le Tigre Inks With Strummer/Universal". Billboard. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
- ^ "Le Tigre". Pollstar. 24 January 2005. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
- ^ . 2007-09-27. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
- ^ "Le Tigre / Interviews / Silent Uproar". silentuproar.com. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
- ^ a b Peters, Mitchell (2008-02-19). "Le Tigre Members Tour Behind New Project". Billboard. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
- ^ "The Latest on Le Tigre: DVD, Teaching, DJ Dates". Pitchfork. 2007-08-20. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
- ^ "The Latest on Le Tigre: DVD, Teaching, DJ Dates". Pitchfork. 20 August 2007.
- ^ "Le Tigre Working With Christina Aguilera - Pitchfork". Pitchfork. 8 June 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
- ^ "VICE 20th Pussy Riot Performs Le Tigre's Deceptacon - YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
- ^ "Pussy Riot's "Don't Cry Genocide" Featuring Le Tigre Members Appears on "House of Cards" - Pitchfork". Pitchfork. 28 February 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
- ^ "Le Tigre Reunite | Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. 30 September 2016. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
- ^ "New Music: Le Tigre Return With Pro-Hillary "I'm With Her"". 19 October 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
- ^ "The Strokes, LCD Soundsystem, and le Tigre to Perform at 2022 This Ain't No Picnic Festival". Pitchfork. 3 December 2021.
- ^ http://eminism.org/michigan/20011007-carns.txt at the Wayback Machine (archived February 17, 2022)
- ^ Brandon Rusty (2014-04-07). "Fans demand an apology from Kathleen Hanna in Toronto Julie Ruin concert banner drop". Chart Attack. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
- ^ jdsamson. "For My Community | JD SAMSON". Retrieved 2022-02-17.
- ^ Holden, Dominic. "Michigan Music Festival That Excluded Transgender People To Shut Down". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
- ^ "Kathleen Hanna on Twitter". Twitter. 2018-10-22. from the original on 2022-12-28. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
- ^ Hussey, Allison (9 October 2021). "Le Tigre's Kathleen Hanna and Johanna Fateman Sue Over "Deceptacon" Copyright Infringement Accusation". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Kathleen Hanna and Johanna Fateman Settle Le Tigre "Deceptacon" Lawsuit". Pitchfork. 2021-11-02. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
External links
- Official website
- Le Tigre at AllMusic