It was an utter joy to read through the mega-sized Parklife lineup (full story right here) and find that New York’s finest dance-punkers, The Rapture, would once again be making the journey out to our golden shores. But whilst we were rejoicing at the prospect of seeing the electric four-piece live onstage again, it’s come to light that the band will be traveling lighter for this tour. One member lighter, that is.

In a blog entry on the band’s website, keyboardist and saxophonist Gabriel Andruzzi announced that bassist and co-vocalist, Mattie Safer, had split from The Rapture. What’s more, he actually left the band back in April. “I’m sad to say that at the beginning of April our buddy Mattie Safer decided to leave the band. We are sad to see him go but it seems it is the best for all of us,” Andruzzi explained.

News of Safer’s split comes as a shock considering he was one of the driving forces behind The Rapture, taking frontman duties on some of the band’s bigger hits including Sister Saviour, Whoo! Alright Yeah…Uh Huh and the majority of their slept-upon Pieces Of The People We Love album. Moreover, Safer was behind The Rapture’s foray into the world of mixtapes, mixing last year’s Tapes compilation for !K7.

While the blog entry is cagey as to why Safer left the group, we can assume that his departure will allow him to focus on his burgeoning Throne Of Blood label, which has already pushed out tasty 12 inches from the likes of Zombi and Dances With White Girls.

Thankfully though, Andruzzi’s blog confirms that The Rapture will continue on despite the loss of Safer. “Luke, Vito and I have been on a creative tear. We’ve been working out of our little Brooklyn make shift studio, writing, demoing and jamming. I’m pretty damn excited to share the fruits of our labor with you. But its still gonna be a minute before we hit the studio for real. On the other hand, I am very pleased to announce that the people of the great continent of Australia will be some of the first to hear some of our new material live, when we arrive late September for Parklife,” he wrote, allaying any fears that the split would effect their festival dates.

Stay tuned to our festival page for more Parklife news!