Arcade Fire

Win Butler, Régine Chassagne, Richard Parry, Tim Kingsbury, and Win'skid brother William Butler formed the Arcade Fire in summer 2003. Theexperimental indie rock quintet, who hail from Montreal, initiallybegan when the elder Butler spotted Chassagne singing jazz standards ata local art exhibit at Concordia University in their hometown. Fromthere, two became inseparable, both professionally and personally.Gathering Parry on organ, Kingsbury on bass, and the younger Butler onsynthesizer and percussion, the Arcade Fire fleshed out an eclectic mixof bossa nova, punk, and classically tinged songs. A self-titled EPappeared in 2003. That same year, the band signed with Merge andprepped for th...

Win Butler, Régine Chassagne, Richard Parry, Tim Kingsbury, and Win'skid brother William Butler formed the Arcade Fire in summer 2003. Theexperimental indie rock quintet, who hail from Montreal, initiallybegan when the elder Butler spotted Chassagne singing jazz standards ata local art exhibit at Concordia University in their hometown. Fromthere, two became inseparable, both professionally and personally.Gathering Parry on organ, Kingsbury on bass, and the younger Butler onsynthesizer and percussion, the Arcade Fire fleshed out an eclectic mixof bossa nova, punk, and classically tinged songs. A self-titled EPappeared in 2003. That same year, the band signed with Merge andprepped for their first studio album. During its recording, the banddealt with several tragedies. Chassagne's grandmother passed away inJune 2003 while the Butlers' grandfather, swing-era composer/arrangerAlvino Rey, and Parry's aunt perished within a month of each other inspring 2004. Heartache into beauty when Chassagne married Win sixmonths earlier. The Arcade Fire's debut album Funeral arrived inSeptember 2004. A headlining tour of the U.S. coincided its release. ~MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide