Matthew Tavares Leaves BADBADNOTGOOD

He took a hiatus from touring over two years ago

BY Calum SlingerlandPublished Oct 4, 2019

Having toured and performed intermittently with the band these past few years, BADBADNOTGOOD keyboardist and co-founder Matthew Tavares has confirmed his departure from the group.

Tavares made the announcement in an Instagram post today, revealing that he has been inundated with questions about his status with the Toronto outfit "on an almost daily basis" on social media in the years since taking his touring hiatus.

"This January, after a lot of thought, I informed the band that I would be completely leaving," he wrote. "This decision did not come easy however, I had invested every waking hour into this project since I was 20 years old, and on-top of co-producing and co-writing the material I also engineered and mixed almost everything you've heard by the band and collaborated on all the graphic design and package design. My hands were on everything because the band was everything to me, I had made the guys and manager my family."

Tavares wrote that he "made the band come before everything in my life, and as the audiences started to get larger, my happiness was diminishing."

In June 2017, his BADBADNOTGOOD bandmates explained that he was taking time away from performing live to "explore songwriting and studio creativity," adding that he was still a member of the group. In Tavares's absence, BADBADNOTGOOD performed and toured with Toronto pianist James Hill on keys.

"I will not be on the next BADBAD record, or play any further shows with them," Tavares continued. "We are still on good terms. I have never been more inspired in my life and I'm so excited to share all the new music I've been making and producing with everyone. It makes me proud to look back at the legacy of music we have made, and the incredible artists we've worked with, and I'm excited to see what the guys come up with next!"

Tavares released his debut solo album Déjàvu as Matty last year, as well as worked on albums from Travis Scott, Kali Uchis and Kendrick Lamar. This year has seen him credited for work on albums by Taylor Swift and Post Malone.

You can find his full statement below.

BADBADNOTGOOD last delivered their IV album in 2016. The band have yet to announce Tavares's departure.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Two days ago I posted a Q&A on my story and to no surprise so many of the questions where "are you still in BADBAD?". Since taking a hiatus from touring over two years ago, I get messages about this on an almost daily basis, and because the dust now feels like it's settled it's time to let everyone know where I'm at. This January, after a lot of thought, I informed the band that I would be completely leaving. This decision did not come easy however, I had invested every waking hour into this project since I was 20 years old, and on-top of co-producing and co-writing the material I also engineered and mixed almost everything you've heard by the band and collaborated on all the graphic design and package design. My hands were on everything because the band was everything to me, I had made the guys and manager my family. I made the band come before everything in my life, and as the audiences started to get larger, my happiness was diminishing. I took a break from touring in 2016 and went through so many extreme internal and external shifts that lead me towards being the man I am now. It was only a matter of time before another record had to be made, and I had to make up my mind. I will not be on the next BADBAD record, or play any further shows with them. We are still on good terms. I have never been more inspired in my life and I'm so excited to share all the new music I've been making and producing with everyone. It makes me proud to look back at the legacy of music we have made, and the incredible artists we've worked with, and I'm excited to see what the guys come up with next!

A post shared by Matthew Tavares (Matty) (@matthewtavares) on

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