JD Samson

For over a decade, JD Samson has proven herself to be one of NYC’s most enduring creative forces. Since the early 2000s as a member of the feminist electro-pop band Le Tigre, Samson has gone on to work in almost every medium. A formidable songwriter, producer, visual artist and internationally renowned DJ, Samson has amassed a body of work that not only spans a variety of fields—everything from pop music and fine art to curatorial work, political activism, and fashion—but has also helped galvanize NYC’s LGBT community. She has been photographed and featured everywhere from Interview to Vogue Homme and has written for the likes of the Huffington Post and Creative Review. A valiant supporter of LGBT issues, Samson has provided a glowing example for the lesbian and gender-queer communities.

After her time in Le Tigre, Samson created a DJ/Remix/Production team called MEN, which morphed into a full-scale band releasing two albums, Talk About Body and Labor. Samson also began writing and producing for other artists, including Christina Aguilera, Cobra Starship and Pussy Riot, co-writing the song "Don't Cry Genocide" for their appearance on House of Cards. For Samson, who is equally at home writing music for major label artists and playing music at a queer house party in a Bushwick basement, the ability to follow her artistic impulses has proven to be a recipe for both success and a happy life. This same expressive openness has also led art-based projects, including collaborations with photographer Cass Bird, filmmaker Ursula Mayer and choreographer Vanessa Anspaugh and showings at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, NYC’s New Museum, Headlands Center for the Arts and the Museo Tamayo in Mexico City. In addition to her own creative endeavors, Samson co-founded and co-runs Atlas Chair, a record label aimed at serving as an incubator for emerging artists helping to develop the burgeoning careers of artists such as Baby Alpaca, Claude Violante and Avan Lava.