Arcade Fire

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Arcade Fire
Arcade Fire performing during the Neon Bible tour on May 7, 2007
Arcade Fire performing during the Neon Bible tour on May 7, 2007
Background information
Origin Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Genre(s) Indie rock
Baroque pop
Art rock
Alternative rock
Years active 2003–present
Label(s) Merge, Rough Trade, City Slang
Associated acts Bell Orchestre
Final Fantasy
Website ArcadeFire.com
Members
Win Butler
Régine Chassagne
Richard Reed Parry
William Butler
Tim Kingsbury
Sarah Neufeld
Jeremy Gara
Former members
Howard Bilerman
Josh Deu
Brendan Reed
Myles Broscoe
Dane Mills
Tim Kyle

Arcade Fire is an indie rock band based in Montreal, Quebec which is based around the husband and wife duo of Win Butler and Régine Chassagne. In 2004, their first full-length album Funeral was recorded. While the group does use the mainstay rock instruments of guitar, drums and bass guitar, they also employ an array of more eccentric musical instruments for a rock band, such as strings, accordion, various brass and harp.

Contents

[edit] History

Win Butler, the lead vocalist of Arcade Fire
Win Butler, the lead vocalist of Arcade Fire

[edit] Formation and early history (1995–2004)

The band was formed while Win Butler was at the Phillips Exeter Academy and originally consisted of Butler, Josh Deu, and Tim Kile (now of Wild Light).[1] The band's current lineup formed around the husband and wife duo of Win Butler and Régine Chassagne around mid-2003 and was solidified in late 2003 to early 2004 when their first full-length album Funeral was recorded. Before this, an eponymous EP (often referred to by fans as the Us Kids Know EP) was sold at early shows. The EP was subsequently remastered and given a full release once the band started becoming more prominent.[2]

Arcade Fire is known for their enthralling live performances as well as their use of a large number of musical instruments. In addition to mainstays guitar, drums and bass guitar, members play piano, violin, viola, cello, double bass, xylophone, keyboard, French horn, accordion, hurdy gurdy, harp and mandolin. With several able musicians, Arcade Fire takes most of their instrumental diversity on tour and band members switch instrumental duties throughout their shows. The number of instruments, along with a wide set of musical influences, has provided a substantial number of resources on which to draw during the recording process. The promise shown by the band in their live shows allowed them to land a record contract with the independent record label Merge Records.[3]

When asked about the rumour that the band's name refers to a fire in an arcade, Win Butler replied: "It's not a rumour, it's based on a story that someone told me. It's not an actual event, but one that I took to be real. I would say that it's probably something that the kid made up, but at the time I believed him."[4] The arcade in question was the Exeter arcade and bandstand in the town square of Exeter, New Hampshire, where both Butlers attended Phillips Exeter Academy preparatory school.[5]

[edit] Funeral (2004–2006)

Funeral, debuted in September 2004 in Canada and in February 2005 in the UK. The title of the debut album was chosen because of the deaths of several relatives of band members during recording. These events created a somber atmosphere which influenced songs such as "Une année sans lumière" ("A Year Without Light"), "In the Backseat" and "Haiti", Chassagne's elegy to her lost homeland.[6]

David Bowie heard the band while on tour and brought them to the attention of label owners. Still without a major label backing, the success of the band and the album, Funeral, has been acclaimed as an Internet phenomenon. After a 9.7 rating from Pitchfork, Merge Records sold out their inventory of Funeral and it became the label's first album in the Billboard 200 chart.[7] The band booked small clubs for their 2004 tour, but growing interest forced many venue changes, far beyond the band's expectations, and continued internationally into mid-2005 throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and the SummerSonic Festival in Japan. Taking much of the summer of 2005 off, the band made six key festival appearances at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, the Sasquatch! Music Festival, Lollapalooza, Reading Festival in the UK, Electric Picnic in Ireland and the Lowlands Festival in the Netherlands. Funeral made many top ten album lists for 2004, with Pitchfork, Filter and No Ripcord crowning it the album of the year. With the release of Funeral in 2005 in the UK, Japan and Australia, Arcade Fire also made many top lists for 2005. The MTV2 2005 Review hosted by Zane Lowe named Funeral Album of the Year, and NME named Funeral Number 2[8] in their list of 2005's best albums and "Rebellion (Lies)" the 2nd best track behind Hounds of Love. By November 2005, Funeral had gone gold in both Canada and the UK and sold in excess of half a million copies worldwide,[9] a phenomenal number for an independent release with minimal television or radio exposure. It has also surpassed Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane Over the Sea as the biggest selling Merge Records album to date.[10]

Arcade Fire was featured on the April 4, 2005 cover of Time Magazine's Canadian edition and hailed as a band who "helped put Canadian music on the world map". On May 1, 2005, the band performed to approximately 15,000 fans at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival.[11] In May 2005, the band signed a short-term publishing contract with EMI for Funeral and in June the band released a new single, "Cold Wind", on Six Feet Under, Vol. 2: Everything Ends, the second soundtrack album to the popular HBO series Six Feet Under. The BBC used the track "Wake Up" on an advertisement for their autumn 2005 season and the tracks "Rebellion (Lies)" and "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" on adverts in January 2006. On September 9, 2005, the band appeared on the UK/US TV special Fashion Rocks, where David Bowie joined them for "Wake Up". This recording, as well as recordings by the collaboration of Bowie's "Life on Mars" and "Five Years", were made available on the iTunes Music Store in a virtual live EP. The same trip to New York City took them to the Late Show with David Letterman and a concert in Central Park. The Central Park Show had a surprise appearance by Bowie and capped a great touring season for the band. On September 11, 2005, Arcade Fire appeared on the long-running BBC music series Top of the Pops, performing "Rebellion (Lies)" — on what was one of the band's first mainstream UK television appearances. The band also performed to a TV audience in Paris for Canal+, and the show was later screened on UK television's Channel 4. The band has scored two number one songs on MTV2 (UK) NME Chart Show, with "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)" and a three week run with "Wake Up". However, this success followed Rough Trade Records's (the label that distributes Arcade Fire's music in the UK) decision at the last minute not to release "Wake Up" on CD, and only on 7" vinyl.

Arcade Fire's song, "Wake Up", was played immediately before the Irish rock group U2 opened their concerts on their 2005-2007 Vertigo Tour; the band would subsequently open three shows for that tour, and at the third show they appeared on stage during U2's encore to join them in a cover of Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart".

Arcade Fire's album, Funeral, and their single, "Cold Wind", were respectively nominated for Grammys in the best Alternative Rock Album and Best Song Written for Television, Film, or Other Media categories (Six Feet Under, Vol. 2: Everything Ends). On April 2, 2006, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Arcade Fire received the Juno Award for Songwriters Of The Year for three songs from Funeral: "Wake Up", "Rebellion (Lies)" and "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)".[12] The band was nominated for, but not awarded, three BRIT Awards; Best International Group, Best International Album and Best International Breakthrough Act.

Arcade Fire made an appearance on the BBC show Later with Jools Holland on May 12, 2005, performing "Power Out" and "Rebellion (Lies)". On December 27, 2005, Funeral was ranked #1 on MTV2's "50 Greatest Albums of the Year" in the United Kingdom. On October 22, 2007, Funeral was ranked #8 in Bob Mersereau's book The Top 100 Canadian Albums.[13]

[edit] Neon Bible (2006–2008)

Arcade Fire performing in support of Neon Bible at the United Palace Theater on May 7, 2007
Arcade Fire performing in support of Neon Bible at the United Palace Theater on May 7, 2007

During the downtime between Funeral and the beginning of recording sessions for Neon Bible, the band purchased a defunct church in the small Quebec town of Farnham, approximately 70 kilometres (45 miles) outside of Montreal, and spent the early part of 2006 converting it into a recording studio.[14]

On June 26, 2006, Win Butler announced on the band's journal that work had been progressing on their new album and the band had committed 15 tracks to tape using a wide variety of new instruments, including a pipe organ, and that some recording had taken place in the living room of Win and Régine.[15] Butler also announced on his online diary, Win's Scrapbook, that the new album would be self-produced, saying that "after trying to decide if we should work with any producers we kind of realized that we already know how we want things to sound so we should just run after that sound as fast as we can and not rely on someone else to guide the good ship Arcade Fire." He also said the band was working with the engineers, Scott Colburn and Marcus Dravs.[16]

The first track officially released from Neon Bible was "Intervention" in December 2006 on iTunes. Proceeds from this release were dedicated to Partners in Health.[17] An error resulted in a second song, "Black Wave/Bad Vibrations", being on iTunes for a short time. The album was leaked to peer to peer networks on January 26, 2007 and was officially released March 5, 2007 in the UK, and March 6 in North America. Neon Bible premiered at No 1 on the Canadian Albums Chart & The Irish Album Charts and No 2 on the U.S. Billboard Top 200 charts & The UK Top 40 Album Chart for the week of March 12, 2007.[18] The album was also No. 1 on the Rock and Indie album charts. The first proper single, "Black Mirror", was announced in January 2007. Displaying echoes of British band Echo and the Bunnymen, "Black Mirror" reached the #1 spot on CBC Radio 3's R3-30 chart for five consecutive weeks, from March 22 to April 19, 2007, and was the first single by any band ever to spend more than two weeks atop that chart. The album has gained much critical acclaim (even being mooted as a strong contender for album of the year), and because of its success saw the band proclaimed the most exciting act on the earth by British music magazine Q. Paste Magazine voted it one of the five best albums of 2007. [19] Trouser Press writer Jason Reeher ranked Neon Bible "among the best indie rock recordings of all time."

Arcade Fire played on Saturday Night Live on February 24, 2007, performing "Intervention" and "Keep the Car Running".[20] Owen Pallett was not present because he was recording for his own project, Final Fantasy. During the performance one of Win Butler's guitar strings broke prompting him to rip the strings from his acoustic guitar and smash it on the floor until it shattered. On this guitar, "sak vide pa kanpe" was written in duct tape across the front. A Haitian proverb meaning "An empty sack cannot stand up" in Creole, this was a reference to the extreme poverty of Haiti, the country of origin of Régine Chassagne.

On July 10, 2007, Neon Bible was revealed as being on the shortlist for the 2007 Polaris Music Prize. Patrick Watson was announced as the winner at a gala ceremony on September 24, 2007.[21][22][23] However, due to the band's preference not to participate in compilation albums, they were the only nominee not to have a track on the Polaris promotional compilation 2007 Polaris Music Prize. Some media initially reported that the Polaris committee had snubbed the band by excluding them, leading the band and the committee to issue a joint press release confirming that the band chose not to have a track included on the album.[24]

The Neon Bible tour continued into September 2007 with 25+ dates scheduled in North America and Europe through mid-November. The band toured Australia and New Zealand for the first time in early 2008 as part of the 2008 Big Day Out festival. On October 14, 2007, Win Butler and Régine Chassagne made a surprise guest appearance at a Bruce Springsteen show in Ottawa, playing "State Trooper" and "Keep the Car Running".[25] The band has committed to give Partners in Health $1.00, £1.00 or €1.00 of every ticket sold on their upcoming European and North American tours.[26]

[edit] Present (2008–present)

In February 2008, Win Butler announced on the band's journal that the Neon Bible Tour had come to an end after one year of touring and a total of 122 shows (including 33 festivals) in 75 cities and 19 countries across the globe. The fansite, "Us Kids Know", stated that Arcade Fire had no plans for any further shows or activity in 2008.

Win Butler has been a vocal supporter of Barack Obama since the end of the New Hampshire Primary.[27] Arcade Fire performed two free concerts for Obama in Cleveland and Nelsonville, Ohio on March 2, 2008 and March 3, 2008 before the March 4 primary. The band, with Superchunk, performed another two free concerts for Obama on May 1 in Greensboro, North Carolina, and on May 2, 2008 in Carrboro, North Carolina before the state's May 6 primary.

It was rumoured that the group were working with producer Markus Dravs on the soundtrack for the upcoming Richard Kelly film The Box[28], although singer Win Butler denied the claims, before adding that he and Owen Pallett "may do an instrumental piece or two" for the film[29].

[edit] Personnel

In addition to founders Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, other members include Richard Reed Parry, William Butler, Tim Kingsbury, Sarah Neufeld and Jeremy Gara. Touring members of the band include Marika Anthony-Shaw, Colin Stetson, Kelly Pratt, Wilferd Bremmely, Owen Pallett, and Pietro Amato.

Howard Bilerman, who played drums on their debut album, Funeral, has since moved on to other projects. On the Funeral shows, the touring band included horn player Pietro Amato and violinist Owen Pallett. Neufeld, Parry and Amato also play in the instrumental band Bell Orchestre. Pallett, though not listed as a band member on the band's official site nor in the album sleeve notes, has been a member of their touring line-up and, according to the album sleeve notes, did the orchestral and string arrangements with Regine for both albums. Other members of the touring band are Marika Anthony-Shaw, a violist and former Lindsay Place High School strings teacher who played on Recording a Tape the Colour of the Light with Bell Orchestre and Set Yourself on Fire by Stars, as well as horn players Colin Stetson and Kelly Pratt, who has also played with Beirut. These extra musicians bring the Neon Bible touring band to ten on-stage members.

[edit] Discography

Main article: Arcade Fire discography

[edit] Awards

Main article: List of Arcade Fire awards

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Fire and reign. The Age. Retrieved on 2008-04-29.
  2. ^ Rayner, Ben (2007-03-06). Arcade Fire still burning. The Star. Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  3. ^ Byrne, David (2007-12-18). David Byrne's Survival Strategies for Emerging Artists — and Megastars. Wired. Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  4. ^ Schreiber, Ryan (2005-02-14). Interview: The Arcade Fire. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2008-04-26.
  5. ^ Hoard, Christian (2005-02-24). The Fire This Time. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  6. ^ Sinagra, Laura (2005-09-09). The Listings: Sept. 9 -- Sept. 15; ARCADE FIRE. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  7. ^ Kot, Greg (2005-05-08). Pitchfork e-zine tells indie fans what's hot and not. Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved on 2008-04-26.
  8. ^ Dickson, Andrew (2005-12-02). NME defends album of year poll. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2008-04-26.
  9. ^ Exclusive - Arcade Fire duet with Bowie released. NME (2005-11-08). Retrieved on 2008-04-26.
  10. ^ On the Beat: David Menconi on music. The News & Observer (2007-02-22). Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  11. ^ Batman, Joseph W. (2007-03-19). Spreading Like an 'Arcade Fire'. Salt Lake Community College. Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  12. ^ Songwriter Of The Year (sponsored by SOCAN). Juno Awards. Retrieved on 2008-04-26.
  13. ^ The “Top 100″ Canadian Albums of “All Time”. Bumper Shine (2007-10-22). Retrieved on 2008-04-26.
  14. ^ "Inside the Church of Arcade Fire", Paste, April 11, 2007.
  15. ^ Arcade Fire Spill Droplets of Album Info. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2008-04-26.
  16. ^ New Arcade Fire album: producer revealed. NME (2006-07-18). Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  17. ^ Intervention On iTunes + Partners In Health Charity. Arcade Fire. Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  18. ^ Arcade Fire's Neon Bible Debuts at #2. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  19. ^ Paste Magazine issue #38
  20. ^ SNL Archives Episodes. SNL Archives (2007-02-24). Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  21. ^ Arcade Fire, Feist on Polaris short list. CBC. Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  22. ^ Feist, Fire get Polaris noms. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  23. ^ Arcade Fire, Feist And The Dears Among Polaris Nominees. Chart. Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  24. ^ Joint Statement by Arcade Fire and the Polaris Music Prize. Polaris Music Prize. Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  25. ^ Brucebase 2007. Bruce Base. Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  26. ^ Arcade Fire sparks support for PIH – Canadian band raises issues and funds. Partners In Health. Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  27. ^ Arcade Fire's Win Butler Disses Hillary, Backs Obama. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  28. ^ Arcade Fire Scoring Donnie Darko Dude's New Movie. Pitchfork. Retrieved on 2008-05-14.
  29. ^ Arcade Fire Not Scoring The Box, Enjoying Wolf Parade. Stereogum. Retrieved on 2008-05-20.

[edit] External links

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v • d • e
Arcade Fire
Win Butler · Régine Chassagne · Richard Reed Parry · William Butler · Tim Kingsbury · Sarah Neufeld · Jeremy Gara
Howard Bilerman · Josh Deu · Brendan Reed · Myles Broscoe · Dane Mills · Tim Kyle  · Marika Anthony-Shaw
Studio albums
EPs
Singles
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