Victoria Legrand Explained

Victoria Legrand
Birth Name:Victoria Garance Alixe Legrand
Birth Date:28 May 1981
Birth Place:Paris, France
Origin:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Genre:Dream pop[1]
Years Active:2004–present
Current Member Of:Beach House

Victoria Garance Alixe Legrand (born May 28, 1981) is a French-American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter and keyboardist of the dream pop band Beach House.

Early life

Legrand was born in Paris, France, the daughter of painter [2] and niece of the French composer Michel Legrand and vocalist Christiane Legrand of The Swingle Singers.[3] [4] She is of partial Armenian ancestry through her father.[5] When she was six years old, she relocated with her family to the United States, where they resided in Baltimore and, later, rural Cecil County, Maryland.[6] The family subsequently moved to Philadelphia, where Legrand spent her adolescent and teenage years.[7] She is fluent in both French and English.[6]

Legrand studied piano throughout her early life and adolescence,[8] and, as a teenager, performed in a Led Zeppelin cover band.[9] She graduated from the Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania in 1999,[10] and subsequently attended Vassar College, where she majored in drama.[11] After graduating in 2003, she relocated to Paris to study acting at the International Theatre School of Jacques Lecoq.[12] After becoming "disenchanted with theater school"[13] and more interested in songwriting and in musical artists such as Le Tigre and Yo La Tengo, she dropped out of the program and returned to the United States, settling in Baltimore.[7]

Career

See main article: Beach House. In 2004, Legrand met Baltimore native Alex Scally, and they quickly formed a two-piece band.[14] Legrand often mentions how organically they work together, and how, in Scally, she found her "musical soulmate."[15] The two have recorded eight studio albums as Beach House: Beach House (2006), Devotion (2008), Teen Dream (2010), Bloom (2012), Depression Cherry (2015), Thank Your Lucky Stars (2015), 7 (2018), and Once Twice Melody (2022); as well as an EP, Become (2023).

Musicianship

Vocal style

Legrand possesses a contralto vocal range.[16] Some music outlets have compared her vocals to those of Nico, and Hope Sandoval's.[17]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Seattle Times. Beach House brings dream pop to the Paramount and a secret gallery show. Seattle, Washington. April 29, 2016. October 9, 2017.
  2. Web site: Nuc. Olivier. Le groupe Beach House, prĂŞt Ă  emmener l'Olympia au paradis . The group Beach House, ready to take the Olympia to paradise . fr . Le Figaro . 14 October 2018 . 23 March 2021 .
  3. News: Trucks. Rob. Interview: Victoria Legrand of Beach House. Village Voice. July 17, 2008. May 20, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160611075118/https://www.villagevoice.com/music/interview-victoria-legrand-of-beach-house-6636869. June 11, 2016.
  4. Web site: Michel Legrand. Fnac. May 20, 2016. fr.
  5. Web site: Oscar-winning 'Umbrellas of Cherbourg' composer Legrand dies. https://web.archive.org/web/20190126204916/https://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/oscar-winning-umbrellas-of-cherbourg-composer-legrand-dies-1.4270292. dead. 26 January 2019. CTV News. 26 January 2019.
  6. Web site: Beach House: About. Carpark Records. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20250708063425/https://www.carparkrecords.com/press/beach-house-2/. July 8, 2025. December 3, 2021.
  7. Web site: Beach House - Victoria Legrand - LSQ Podcast on Spotify . Spotify . January 12, 2021.
  8. Web site: Interview: Beach House's Victoria Legrand. Riverfront Times. April 3, 2009. Zaleski, Annie. October 10, 2017.
  9. Web site: Pitchfork. Beach House. March 4, 2008. December 28, 2016. Howe, Brian.
  10. Web site: Victoria Legrand '99 and her band, Beach House, have created an original score for a new short film by director Todd Cole and the fashion line Rodarte. Facebook. The Shipley School Alumni Association. August 15, 2013. live. https://archive.today/20211203052251/https://www.facebook.com/shipleyalumni/posts/victoria-legrand-99-and-her-band-beach-house-have-created-an-original-score-for-/10151644112006715/. December 3, 2021.
  11. Web site: Beach House: An Alumna's Band Returns to Campus. Vassar College. December 23, 2015.
  12. Web site: Carew. Anthony. Beach House - Artist Profile. About. December 23, 2015. September 2, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110902123554/http://altmusic.about.com/od/artists/a/beachhouse.htm. dead.
  13. Hockey-Smith . Sam . Beach House: Tidal Pull . . Andy Cohn . 80 June/July 2012. December 23, 2015 .
  14. Web site: Thought Co.. An Interview with Alex Scally of Beach House. Carew, Anthony. February 4, 2017. October 10, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171014121341/https://www.thoughtco.com/interview-alex-scally-of-beach-house-94123. October 14, 2017.
  15. Web site: O'Connell. Chris. Beach House's Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally are not a couple—so stop asking. The A.V. Club. 24 March 2010. 23 December 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150205000850/http://www.avclub.com/article/beach-houses-victoria-legrand-and-alex-scally-are--39492. February 5, 2015.
  16. Web site: Music Review: Beach House - Bloom. https://web.archive.org/web/20141217091539/http://wtsr.org/2012/06/music-review-beach-house-bloom/. December 17, 2014. WTSR 91.3FM. Heather . Koenig. October 9, 2017.
  17. News: Roth. Chloe. Beach House's Victoria Legrand Says Justin Bieber's Music Makes Her "Need To Take a Shit". 23 December 2015. SF Weekly. 27 September 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20150109031911/https://www.sfweekly.com/shookdown/2012/09/27/beach-houses-victoria-legrand-says-justin-biebers-music-makes-her-need-to-take-a-shit/?showFullText=true. January 9, 2015.
  18. News: Gallagher. Natalie. Beach House's Victoria Legrand on memory, female empowerment, and social media. City Pages. December 23, 2015. October 8, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20160529092323/https://www.citypages.com/music/beach-houses-victoria-legrand-on-memory-female-empowerment-and-social-media-6640014. May 29, 2016.
  19. News: Rowe. Sian. Beach House and the curse of the big time. December 23, 2015. The Guardian. 19 May 2012.
  20. Web site: Beach House's Victoria Legrand discusses the brilliance of Courtney Love. Far Out. May 1, 2022. Kemp. Sam. live. November 30, 2022. https://archive.today/20221130235028/https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/beach-house-the-brilliance-of-courtney-love/.
  21. ABC Rage Guest Programmer - Beach House - 23rd March 2013. March 23, 2013. 2:30. live. YouTube. ABC Rage. https://web.archive.org/web/20251218051642/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrPS2gD87B8. December 18, 2025.
  22. News: Goble . Corban . Air – "Seven Stars" (Feat. Victoria Legrand) . January 21, 2021 . Stereogum . December 6, 2011.
  23. Web site: Beach House - Beach House | Songs, Reviews, Credits|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/beach-house-mw0000556353|website=AllMusic|access-date= December 23, 2015}}

    Songwriting and influences

    Legrand and Scally write music anywhere between eight and 16 hours a day, and strive to create thoughtful music they feel strongly about.[17] Legrand often emphasizes the honesty, thoughtfulness, and authenticity Beach House tries to get across in their music. Legrand laments the references to Beach House as being "wafty, wavy, floaty, dreamy," and insists on the band's loudness and all-encompassing soundscapes they create: "We are a loud band. OK, so it's not abrasive, but it's not soft."

    Legrand has said in interviews that she wishes audiences would focus on the craft of their songwriting. She commented, "what you're feeling is the craft, that everything is there with intention," as opposed to the individual sounds that surround "the real meat of it all....There's a lot of great sounds in music, but it's not gonna necessarily make you feel something." She is protective of the identity of the band and cautiously chooses how they expose themselves to their audience.[18]

    She has remarked on her love of The Cure, the Cocteau Twins, and Gene Clark,[19] and cited Courtney Love of Hole[20] [21] as an influence.

    Discography

    See also: Beach House discography.

    Guest appearances

    TitleYearOther artist(s)AlbumContribution
    "Slow Life"2009Grizzly BearFeatured vocalist
    "Two Weeks"VeckatimestBacking vocalist
    "Seven Stars"[22] 2011AirLe voyage dans la luneLyricist, featured vocalist

    External links

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