English indie rock band Alt-J is without its bassist, Gwil Sainsbury.
In a Twitter post early Saturday (Jan. 11), the rockers revealed that Sainsbury, the band’s bassist and guitarist since its inception, was leaving Alt-J effective immediately. However, the tweet noted that Sainsbury’s removal from the band was “purely a personal decision” and “as our best friend, we support him completely.”
With regret, Gwil is leaving alt-J. This is purely a personal decision and as our best friend we support him completely.
— ? (alt-J) (@alt_J) January 11, 2014
Alt-J is best known for “An Awesome Wave,” the band’s 2012 debut album, which won the British Mercury Prize. The album peaked at No. 80 on the Billboard 200, placing two singles in the top 20 of the Alternative Songs chart: “Breezeblocks” (No. 9) and “Tessellate” (No. 19). A third single, “Fitzpleasure,” hit No. 27.
The band also performed well-received sets at Coachella, Lollapalooza and more on the U.S. festival circuit in 2013.
A replacement has not been named.