Régine Chassagne

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Régine Chassagne
Arcade fire mg 7388.jpg
Régine Chassagne on stage, July 2007
Background information
Birth name Régine Chassagne
Born (1977-08-18) 18 August 1977 (age 35)
Origin St-Lambert, Quebec, Canada
Genres indie rock, art rock, baroque pop
Instruments Vocals, accordion, drums, piano, xylophone, hurdy gurdy, recorders, keyboards
Years active 2000–present
Associated acts Arcade Fire

Régine Chassagne (French pronunciation: ​[ʁeˈʒin ʃaˈsaːɲ]; born 18 August 1977)[1] is a Haitian-Quebecoise multi-instrumentalist musician and singer, and a founding member of the band Arcade Fire. She is married to co-founder Win Butler.

Life and career [edit]

Régine Chassagne was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and grew up in St-Lambert, a suburb south of Montreal.[2][3] Her parents, who were of Haitian origin, emigrated from Haiti during the dictatorship of François Duvalier, which is alluded to in the Arcade Fire song "Haiti", in which she sings, Mes cousins jamais nés hantent les nuits de Duvalier ("My unborn cousins haunt Duvalier's nights").[4] The line is in reference to the relatives who were killed during the Jérémie Vespers massacre.

Chassagne attended the prestigious Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf before earning a B.A. in communication studies at Concordia University in 1998,[5] and went on to study jazz voice briefly at McGill University.[6] She was singing jazz at an art opening at Concordia in 2000 when Butler met her and persuaded her to join his band; after line-up changes, only the two of them were left. They married in 2003 and had their first child, a son, in April 2013.[7] She plays many instruments on stage, including the accordion, drums, xylophone, hurdy-gurdy, keyboards and organ.

Chassagne has also been involved with a medieval band called Les Jongleurs de la Mandragore,[8] and a jazz band, Azúcar. She also wrote the music for the two-minute David Uloth sketch "The Shine,"[9] and contributed to the UNICEF benefit project as part of the North American Hallowe'en Prevention Initiative, performing the song "Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?" along with Win Butler.

In Arcade Fire, Chassagne takes the lead on some songs, including Haiti, In the Backseat, and Sprawl II. She is known for playing obscure instruments such as the accordion, hurdy gurdy, and pipe organ.

References [edit]

  1. ^ Hoard, Christian (March 10, 2005). "The Fire This Time". Rolling Stone (969). pp. 59–60.  Posted in an abridged form at "The Fire This Time". rollingstone.com. February 24, 2005. Archived from the original on 2 October 2007. Retrieved 19 October 2007. 
  2. ^ Carpenter, Lorraine. (September 16, 2004). "Hot property." Montreal Mirror. Retrieved October 19, 2007.
  3. ^ "Arcade Fire talk about their music." (March 6, 2007). Radio Telefís Éireann. Retrieved March 16, 2007.
  4. ^ Hanley Bemis, Alec. (December 1, 2004). " Weddings & Funerals." LA Weekly. Retrieved October 19, 2007.
  5. ^ McDonagh, Patrick. (Fall 2006). "Musical Joy." Concordia University Magazine. Retrieved October 19, 2007.
  6. ^ "The Arcade Fire is red hot." (Winter 2004). McGill News. Retrieved October 19, 2007.
  7. ^ Michaels, Sean (29 April 2013). "Arcade Fire's Win Butler and Régine Chassagne become parents". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 April 2013. 
  8. ^ "Les Jongleurs de la Mandragore." (n.d.). Retrieved October 19, 2007.
  9. ^ "The Shine (2002)." (n.d.). The Internet Movie Database. Retrieved October 19, 2007.

External links [edit]

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