1. The First Record I Bought
The first tape I bought with my own money was The California Raisins. It had a bunch of Motown and soul songs that were supposed to be sung by the Raisins themselves. After that I bought the Edie Brickell record as well as a record by the band The Boys which were an R&B group of teenage boys from LA. I bought the latter because I saw them doing acrobatics on the beach when I went to visit my aunt in Los Angeles, and I was totally obsessed with them. I felt like I knew them.
2. The Last Record I Bought
Hmm. I don’t really buy records that much anymore, to be honest – now that I DJ so often, I’m looking to purchase the dancefloor killer, so I usually buy singles. I will be totally honest and look at my iTunes for the last song I downloaded. It was Chrissy Murderbot’s edit of ‘Born This Way’ (by Carl Bean – not Lady Gaga). She is doing a series of disco edits and this one is week six. I love the original track and really was feeling the downtempo minimal style she brought to the edit. I think it would be a great track to play at a set where I could go deeper, or a set where I was getting people in the mood but not necessarily forcing people out of their seats.
3. The First Thing I Recorded
I was in film school making experimental films when I met Le Tigre. They asked me to work with them on visuals, and by the end of the first couple weeks, I was in the band. I had done some sound recording for film, and some guitar playing as a teen, but to be honest, I wasn’t a musician at heart. I recorded a couple of songs by myself when I started, and they are some of my favourite things I have ever made. Totally unassuming, punk and vulnerable.
4. The Last Thing I Recorded
I have a new band with long-time collaborator and incredible musician, Tami Hart, called The Soft Batch. We are just starting out and had our first show last night. The band is a house/disco/jam-style project with political experimental video synced to the music.
5. The Record That Changed My Life
Ani DiFranco’s self-titled changed my life. It made me understand how lyrical content and political discourse are just as important as the melody and progression. It changed the way I saw art-making and the way I saw protest. I don’t listen to it ever, but this makes me feel like I should!
JD Samson plays The Bearded Tit in Redfern on Wednesday October 22 and Tokyo Sing Song in Newtown on Thursday October 23.
