Will Butler Of Arcade Fire Announces His Departure From The Band

Earlier this week, Arcade Fire announced that they will release their first album in five years with their upcoming LP, We. The upcoming project is produced by power couple Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, along with super-producer Nigel Godrich and it’s set to be a 40-minute release with seven new tracks spread out two sides that represent a light/dark motif. While this is certainly an exciting announcement for fans, many noticed that Will Bulter, one of the founding members of Arcade and younger brother to the band’s lead vocalist Win Butler, was absent for many of the band’s promotional performances for We. Well, now we have an answer for that.

Will Butler has announced his departure from Arcade Fire. He shared the news in a series of posts on Twitter that explained what went into the decision and when it happened. “I left at the end of last year, after the new record was complete,” he wrote. “There was no acute reason beyond that I’ve changed—and the band has changed—over the last almost 20 years. Time for new things. I’m working on a new record; booking some shows this summer. I’m working on music for a David Adjmi play (which is so good). A few other projects percolating.”

Later on in his message, Butler thanked “anyone who’s come out to AF shows, or bought a record, or loves our music.” He added, “It’s meaningful to be part of your lives. Thank you to the crew, staff, management, label people, bands, artists, and friends who have helped bring our vision to life for so many years.” He also noted that “the band are still my friends and family.”

You can view additional tweets from his message below.

We is out 5/6 via Columbia. You can pre-save it here.