Rostam Batmanglij Leaves Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend founding member Rostam Batmanglij has left the band, he announced on Twitter Tuesday.

“My identity as a songwriter + producer, I realized, needs to stand on its own,” he wrote. “Still connected to the [people] I work with, but through the songs we make together.”

Batmanglij has played keyboard and guitar for Vampire Weekend since the band first formed at New York’s Columbia University in 2006. Since then, they’ve gone on to release three albums, the most recent being 2013’s Modern Vampires of the City.

In the note, Batmanglij clarified that he and Vampire Weekend frontman Ezra Koenig will “continue to collaborate on future projects + future [Vampire Weekend] songs.” “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,” he said. “There is so much amazing music — all of it dear to me — on its way to you.”

Aside from Vampire Weekend, Batmanglij has previously scored Off Broadway play This is Our Youth, produced tracks for Charli XCX, produced and co-wrote “Warm Blood” off Carly Rae Jepsen’s acclaimed E-MO-TION, and teamed up with Ra Ra Riot. Read his note about leaving Vampire Weekend below.

This article originally appeared on Ew.com