Victoria Legrand
Victoria Legrand Victoria Legrand performing at Coachella 2010 Background information Born (1981-05-28) May 28, 1981 (age 33) Genres Dream pop Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, keyboardist Instruments Keyboard Years active 2004–present Associated acts Beach House, Grizzly Bear Website beachhousebaltimore.com Victoria Legrand (born May 28, 1981) has been the singer-songwriter and keyboardist for the dream pop band Beach House since 2005. She was born in France, is the daughter of a painter, and the niece of French composer Michel Legrand. She was born in Paris, France, but raised in Philadelphia. She returned to Paris to study acting at the International Theatre School of Jacques Lecoq. After becoming "disenchanted with theater school in Paris," she moved back to Philadelphia in 2004. She later met Baltimore-native Alex Scally, and they quickly formed a two-piece band. Legrand often mentions how organically they work together, and how, in Scally, she found her "musical soulmate." Some music outlets have compared her vocals to those of Nico, Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval, and 1980s psychedlic rock vocalist Kendra Smith of the band Opal. Musically, she speaks about her love for the Cure, the Cocteau Twins, and Gene Clark, Neil Young, and the films of David Lynch." With Scally, Legrand has recorded four studio albums for Beach House in their hometown Baltimore, Maryland, including self-titled debut Beach House, Devotion, Teen Dream, and Bloom. Legrand has emphasized Beach House's songwriting philosophy, and motivations as musicians and artists. She and Scally write music anywhere between eight to 16 hours a day, and strive to create thoughtful music they feel strongly about. 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 wishes her audiences would focus on the craft of their songwriting. She states, "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.