Le Tigre

"Lots of rock music was converted into a question of
the virtuosic command of an instrument. I, on the other hand, am interested in
researching the trade side of guitar playing", said Kathleen Hanna some
time ago. She is the co-founder of the bold New York trio Le Tigre and
former in Bikini Kill group, which was the cause of some radical interventions
in the map of female popular music at the beginning of the 'nineties. In many ways,
Hanna transferred the philosophy and aesthetic of many radically feminist views
from this Riot Grrrl group to the work of Le Tigre: Do It Yourself, Energy
Before Expertise, Ideas Are Worth More than Skills…a decade ago, Bikini Kill
inspired hundreds of girls to take up the guitar. Today, Le Tigre encourages
women to turn on their samplers. On their web-site, Le Tigre use words and
pictures to present the entire collection of instruments they use, with the
intention of demystifying the creative process and encouraging girls to set
fear aside, take hold of their musical instruments, and start expressing
themselves through music.
I prefer to think of Le Tigre as conceptualists willing to take any expressive
means to materialise their own feminist-rooted art-political intentions and
realise their goals. Conceptualists in music - 'non-musicians', so to speak -
have always been the ones who used fresh ideas to open up new horizons and
venture where no one has dared before (remember Brian Eno, Yoko Ono…). Le Tigre
are the same; they combine the political in feminism and the frankness of punk
with likeable, eclectic-electronic dance pop, while refusing to get caught in
question of what is more important: music or politics. Both are equally
essential to their concept. Today, each Tigress has her very own identically
configured computer at home, which enables them perfect compatibility from a
distance and thus equal shares in creating music.

With a little luck you may find a T-shirt saying 'Kathleen
Hanna for President!' somewhere on eBay, and keeping in mind the undisputable
charisma radiating from everything Le Tigre think or do, it is easy to imagine
why the thought sounds so…hmmm, exceptionally good.
Katarina Visnar

Dj Grrrls, Radio Student - before and after the concert

Organisation: City of Women
In co-operation with: Drustvo KAPA