(photo via P4K)
The world can be a funny place. Yesterday morning my friend Chris decided to put the always excellent “Atlas” by Battles on in my car right before I dropped him off. It was the first time in a while that I had played the song and I made a mental note to give Mirrored my attention this weekend. I went home a few hours later to see that Tyondai Braxton, the singer for Battles, had officially split from the band as of yesterday. Fuck me, right?
The announcement came via a post on the Warp Records Website. Braxton does his own solo work, and apparently it got in the way with Battles plan to record their follow up to Mirrored, as well as tour.
Here is the full message:
“Battles and Tyondai would like to let their fans know they have chosen to follow their own musical paths.
Due to Battles’ ambitions of finishing their second studio album followed by commitments to a full touring schedule in 2011, and Tyondai’s own commitments as a solo artist and his desire not to tour, both Battles and Tyondai have decided to move on without each other.
It is a sad but amicable split.
Battles wishes Tyondai all the best”
So the band has canceled 2 of their upcoming shows they had planned, and will continue working on their new album without a singer. This is a bummer, especially considering I just recently began obsessing over them again. However the band left us with a promising tweet saying that they are excited to play the new songs live, as they are almost done recording the new album.
If you have never heard “Atlas” it’s time for me to enlighten you:
jforjenius — 9 Aug 10
this is a sad day indeed! WTF!!? I saw them perform live in Shanghai in 2009 and though the crowd was shit(shanghai dipshits) the band was awesome and we had a long chat with Tyondai afterwards. it was a great show and it’s sad to think they won’t be all that anymore.
dangit!