The Arcade Fire-7 album

Arcade Fire är ett kanadensiskt indieband från Montreal, Quebec, bildat 2003. Bandet består för närvarande av Win Butler, Régine Chassagne, Richard Reed Parry, William Butler, Tim Kingsbury, Sarah Neufeld, och Jeremy Gara. Howard Bilerman spelade tidigare trummor, men lämnade bandet efter debutalbumet Funeral.

Arcade Fire har spelat i Sverige tre gånger. 15 mars 2005 på Debaser, 23 mars 2007 på Cirkus och 5 november på Annexet i Stockholm.



Arcade Fire is an indie rock band based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and fronted by the husband and wife duo of Texan Win Butler and Québécoise Régine Chassagne. The band was formed while Win Butler attended Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire, United States. The lineup changed and solidified in 2003 and 2004, during the recording of their first full-length album, Funeral.

The band is known for their live performances and their use of a large number of musical instruments; in addition to the guitar, drums, and bass guitar, the band's members also play instruments such as the piano, violin, and viola. When asked about the name of the band, lead vocalist Butler stated that it refers to a fire that supposedly occurred in Exeter Arcade.

Arcade Fire has won numerous awards, including both the Meteors 2008 Best International Album award and the Juno Awards 2008 Alternative Album of the Year award for Neon Bible. It has also been nominated by the Grammys for 2006 Best Alternative Music Album for Funeral and 2008 Best Alternative Music Album nomination for Neon Bible.

The band formed while Win Butler attended the Phillips Exeter Academy and originally consisted of Butler, Josh Deu, and Tim Kyle (now of Wild Light). The band's current lineup formed in Montreal around the husband and wife duo of Butler and Régine Chassagne around mid-2003 and was solidified in late 2003 and 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 became more well known.

In addition to instrument mainstays guitar, drums and bass guitar, members play piano, violin, viola, cello, double bass, xylophone, keyboard, French horn, accordion, hurdy gurdy, harp and mandolin. Arcade Fire takes most of their instruments on tour, and band members switch instrumental duties throughout their shows. The promise shown by the band in their live shows allowed them to land a record contract with the independent record label Merge Records.

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." The arcade in question was the Exeter arcade and bandstand in the town square of Exeter, New Hampshire, where the Butlers attended Phillips Exeter Academy preparatory school.