MEN (band)

JD Samson & MEN
MEN performing at the Commodore Ballroom.
Background information
Origin	New York City, New York, USA
Genres	Electropop LGBT music
Years active	2007–present
Labels	MEN Make Music Sony Records Columbia Records Iamsound Records Trouble Records
Website	http://www.menmakemusic.com
Members	JD Samson Michael O'Neill Tami Hart with Johanna Fateman Emily Roysdon
Past members	Ginger Brooks Takahashi

JD Samson & MEN is a Brooklyn-based band and art/performance collective that focuses on the energy of live performance and the radical potential of dance music. MEN speaks to issues such as trans awareness, wartime economies, sexual compromise, and demanding liberties through lyrical content and an exciting stage show.

The group began in 2007 as the DJ/production/remix team of Le Tigre members JD Samson and Johanna Fateman. When the duo began to write new songs, it made sense to merge their efforts with JD's other new project, Hirsute. JD and original Hirsute members Michael O'Neill (Princess, Ladybug Transistor) and Ginger Brooks Takahashi (LTTR, The Ballet) then comprised the core of MEN, with Johanna Fateman and artist Emily Roysdon contributing as writers, consultants, and producers.

In 2009 MEN self-released an EP called MEN that sold out following US tours with Peaches and Gossip. MEN also toured in the UK and Europe during this time. Their debut album Talk About Body was released on February 1, 2011 via Iamsound Records in the US and through Sony/Columbia in Europe. With the release of the album, Takahashi was subsequently replaced by Tami Hart.

Until the spring of 2012, the band was known simply as MEN, but changed the name to JD Samson & MEN for clarity and to emphasize the collaborative nature of the musical efforts on record and on stage.

In response to the arrest of members of the Russian feminist punk rock protest group Pussy Riot in 2012, JD Samson & MEN released a single and music video entitled Let Them Out Or Let Me In. JD Samson has been an active member and spokesperson of the Free Pussy Riot movement.

JD Samson & MEN released their 2nd studio album entitled Labor in October 2013, preceded by the release of two singles from the album including "All The Way Thru", for which they teamed up with French producer Yuksek. Like their 2012 EP Next, this album was self-released on the MEN Make Music label.