"It's an exciting time, and I feel lucky to share it with you."
Guitarist, keyboardist, producer and co-founder of Vampire Weekend, Rostam Batmanglij, has announced his departure as a member of the New York indie rock band.
Posting a statement to Twitter, Batmanglij wrote that, "My identity as a songwriter + producer, I realized, needs to stand on its own."
"I can't even begin to express the joy I get from writing songs, both on my own + with others, I hold it all sacred. There is so much amazing music — all of it dear to me — on its way to you. It's an exciting time, and I feel lucky to share it with you," he wrote.
He explains he would still be collaborating on projects with Vampire Weekend and frontman Ezra Koenig, but in a later tweet, expressed his resentment for the word "quit".
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"I don't know how people could take that away from my statement, feels unfair."
— Rostam Batmanglij (@matsoR) January 26, 2016
on a serious tip: I don't like the word "quit", I don't know how people could take that away from my statement, feels unfair
— Rostam Batmanglij (@matsoR) January 26, 2016