Artist Interviews

Q&A: MEN

By | Published on Wednesday 9 February 2011

MEN

MEN was founded in 2007 by JD Samson and Johanna Fateman, one-time members of radical fem-punk band Le Tigre. With the duo writing material while their other band was on hiatus, Samson then came together with Michael O’Neill and Ginger Brooks Takahashi to form what was to become the core MEN line-up, with Fateman continuing on as an occasional producer and artistic contributor.

Band figurehead Samson’s subtle yet attitude-filled vocal stylings came to the fore on debut single ‘Credit Card Babies’, released by Trouble Records last year. The band then dabbled in teasing electronica with next release, pop track ‘Off Our Backs’. First album ‘Talk About Body’ is now due for release next Monday, 14 Feb, through Sony/Columbia.

In the midst of a European tour, which includes a sold out NME Awards Show appearance with Sleigh Bells at London’s Heaven, also next Monday, we spoke to Samson to glean her answers to our Same Six Questions.

Q1 How did you start out making music?
I started playing the classical guitar when I was a kid but I didn’t really start writing my own music until I was actually in Le Tigre. It was an incredible punk move for me to push into that world without much classical training, but it was also really exciting to be able to have the opportunity to write on a real record so soon after the beginning of my career.

Q2 What inspired your debut album?
Freedom, collaboration, bodies, and being broke inspired a lot of the ideas that we discuss on the album. But we were inspired to make it because we all love music. We can’t stop making it and we love hearing it loud in our ears on stage.

Q3 What process do you go through in creating a track?
Every track is different. Usually we have an idea – whether it be a chord progression, a drum beat, a vocal melody, or a content idea – then we push through that and start adding the rest. We are major perfectionists so we push and push and push and push until one day we decide any more work would just be crazy. Then it’s done.

Q4 Which artists influence your work?
So many different artists and genres influence our project. We work between so many barriers. Dance music, pop music, rock music, indie music, world music, women’s music, hip hop, folk. I mean, we really we don’t put ourselves in boxes. We are ready for anything. So our influences are too many to name. We are punk and we are polished. We are MEN.

Q5 What would you say to someone experiencing your music for the first time?
I wouldn’t say anything, I don’t think. I would want them to hear it. I might say: “Close your eyes”. I might say: “Fall in love with music”. I might say: “I hope you just smoked a joint”.

Q6 What are your ambitions for your latest single, and for the future?
I think we want people to fall in love with music again. We want people to lose their ideas of what music genres are supposed to be. We want to celebrate music that has come before us and believe in the equality of women and queers.

MORE>> www.myspace.com/men



READ MORE ABOUT: