Régine Chassagne
Régine Chassagne | |
|---|---|
| Chassagne performing with Arcade Fire in 2024 Chassagne performing with Arcade Fire in 2024 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Régine Alexandra Chassagne 19 August 1976 |
| Genres | |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 2000–present |
Spouse | |
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Régine Alexandra Chassagne (French pronunciation: [ʁeʒin ʃasaɲ]; born 19 August 1976)[1] is a Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, and multi-instrumentalist, and is a member of the band Arcade Fire.
Early life and career
[edit | edit source]Régine Alexandra Chassagne was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and grew up in St-Lambert, a suburb south of Montreal.[2][3] Her parents, who were Haitians of mixed French and African descent, moved from Haiti during the dictatorship of François Duvalier, which is alluded to in the Arcade Fire song "Haïti", 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 Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf before earning a B.A. in communication studies at Concordia University[5] in 1998,[6] and went on to study jazz voice briefly at McGill University.[7] She was singing jazz at an art opening at Concordia in 2000, when Win Butler met her and persuaded her to join his band.
Chassagne has also been involved with a medieval-themed band called Les Jongleurs de la Mandragore[8] and with Jimmy Rouleau in the jazz duo Azúcar.[9] She also wrote the music for the two-minute David Uloth short film "The Shine", and she 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.
She plays many instruments on stage, including accordion, drums, xylophone, hurdy-gurdy, keyboards, organ and guitar. In Arcade Fire, Chassagne performs lead vocals on some songs, including "Haiti", "In the Backseat", "Black Wave/Bad Vibrations", "Empty Room", "Abraham's Daughter", "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)", "Creature Comfort", "Electric Blue", and "Unconditional II (Race and Religion)".
In March 2015, Chassagne, along with Win Butler, attended the launch of music streaming service Tidal, and revealed themselves, along with other notable artists, as shareholders in the company.[10]
Personal life
[edit | edit source]Chassagne married fellow Arcade Fire member Win Butler in 2003. They have a son, born in April 2013.[11] The couple announced their separation in October 2025.[12]
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). Posted in an abridged form at Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Carpenter, Lorraine. (16 September 2004). "Hot property Archived 15 November 2006 at the Wayback Machine." Montreal Mirror. Retrieved 19 October 2007.
- ^ "Arcade Fire talk about their music." (6 March 2007). Raidió Teilifís Éireann. Retrieved 16 March 2007.
- ^ Hanley Bemis, Alec. (1 December 2004). " Weddings & Funerals Archived 12 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine." LA Weekly. Retrieved 19 October 2007.
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ McDonagh, Patrick. (Fall 2006). "Musical Joy Archived 9 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine." Concordia University Magazine. Retrieved 19 October 2007.
- ^ "The Arcade Fire is red hot Archived 12 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine." (Winter 2004). McGill News. Retrieved 19 October 2007.
- ^ "Les Jongleurs de la Mandragore." (n.d.). Retrieved 19 October 2007.
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
External links
[edit | edit source]
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- 1976 births
- Living people
- Arcade Fire members
- Canadian rock drummers
- Canadian indie rock musicians
- Concordia University alumni
- Canadian women rock singers
- Haitian Quebecers
- Canadian people of Haitian descent
- McGill University School of Music alumni
- People from Saint-Lambert, Quebec
- Singers from Montreal
- Hurdy-gurdy players
- Grammy Award winners
- Canadian women drummers
- French-language singers of Canada
- 21st-century Canadian multi-instrumentalists
- 21st-century Canadian pianists
- 21st-century Canadian keyboardists
- 21st-century Canadian drummers
- Canadian percussionists
- Canadian recorder players
- 21st-century Canadian accordionists
- Canadian women accordionists
- 21st-century Canadian women singers
- 21st-century Canadian women pianists
- 21st-century Canadian flautists