Josh Deu is a Canadian musician who was the co-founder of

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band

Arcade Fire Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, alongside Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury, and Jeremy Gara. The band's touring line-up includes former core ...

. He and

Win Butler Edwin Farnham Butler III (born April 14, 1980) is an American-Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, and multi-instrumentalist. He co-founded the Montreal-based indie rock band Arcade Fire with Josh Deu and his wife Régine Chassagne. Early l ...

co-founded Arcade Fire in late 1999. Deu formally left the band in late 2003.

Career

Arcade Fire (1999–2003)

Deu and Win Butler began to work on both visual and musical collaborations. They formed

, with Deu and Butler initially sneaking into a practice space at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

to write and rehearse. While practising there, they met music student Régine Chassagne, whom Butler had previously seen performing. Deu noted, "Win and I played guitar. Everyone played guitar. We had a lot of music to show her, but played none of it, she ended up saying yes to joining us, and I don’t know why. Maybe there was a little spark with Win." Deu subsequently designed the band's initial website alongside Win's brother and future band member, William Butler. After a "profound spiritual experience," Deu began to prioritize filmmaking and visual - interactive projects and collaborations, and left the band in late 2003, stating: "It just didn’t feel like it fit me anymore." Deu, however, continued to collaborate with the band on promotional materials, web content, and music videos, noting in 2010: "Not everyone gets to have these experiences forming a famous rock band and then helping develop their aesthetic. I’m so blessed to have been part of who the band was at the beginning, and who they’ve become now." Regarding his friendship with Deu, Butler noted in 2004, "In the beginning, I started a band called The Arcade Fire with my best friend Josh Deu (who was the best man at my wedding this last summer, and who designed the website with my little brother Will). He was also the reason I moved to

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

(because he had gone to school up here, and had great things to say about it). He still adds little bits to a bunch of the songs and helped write the music to "Headlights" "Power Out" "Neighborhood" from our demo EP and other songs off

Funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

'']".

Personal life

Deu studied filmmaking and studio art at the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema, in

, and Harvard University Extension School in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. He was Win Butler's

best man A groomsman or usher is one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony. Usually, the groom selects close friends and relatives to serve as groomsmen, and it is considered an honor to be selected. From his groomsmen, the groom usuall ...

at his wedding to Régine Chassagne, in 2003.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deu, Josh Arcade Fire members Musicians from Montreal Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Concordia University alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Harvard Extension School alumni