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Rostam

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Rostam (Music)
Rostam Batmanglij (born November 28, 1983 in Washington D. C.) is an American Indie Pop Renaissance Man, mostly known for being a member of Vampire Weekend from its inception until 2016.

While in the band, he created on the side, recording an album with Wes Miles from Ra Ra Riot titled LP (2009) under a band they called Discovery, releasing critically acclaimed solo music throughout the 2010s, and producing for other artists like Charli XCX, Frank Ocean and Carly Rae Jepsen. He would later reveal that touring disillusioned him and he'd actually left Vampire Weekend after the final promotions of Modern Vampires of the City (2013) and first went solo in public as a Pop-Star Composer for the 2014 Broadway play This Is Our Youth (although, he had session musician and songwriting credits on the band's next album, Father of the Bride (2019)).

He founded Matsor Projects and began releasing and re-releasing solo work, officially debuting with the solo album Half-Light (2017) and following it up with Changephobia in 2021 — both self-described as Kate Bush-inspired. In 2016, he and The Walkmen's Hamilton Leithauser released the collaboration album I Had a Dream That You Were Mine.

Since his Vampire Weekend departure, Batmanglij is likely somewhere in the music industry producing, remixing and songwriting for others, which has been praised as being once-in-a-generation worthy. Notably, he produced Clairo's acclaimed debut studio album Immunity (2019) and is part of HAIM's Production Posse, co-producing their third album, Women in Music, Pt. III (2020) with band member Danielle Haim and music producer Ariel Rechtshaid. He is also Zal Batmanglij's younger brother and has been a Pop-Star Composer for many of Zal's projects.

     Production credits 

Album producer

  • Clairo (Immunity)
  • Georgia (Euphoric)
  • Hamilton Leithauser and Rostam (I Had a Dream That You Were Mine)
  • HAIM (Women in Music, Pt. III, I Quit)
  • Vagabon (Sorry I Haven't Called)
  • Vampire Weekend (Vampire Weekend, Contra, Modern Vampires of the City)

Session musician

  • 99¢ by Santigold ("Outside the War": keyboards; "Who I Thought You Were": synthesizer and programming)
  • Asha's Awakening by Raveena ("Time Flies": electric guitar, synthesizers, synth bass, drum programming, electric sitar, mellotron, Wurlitzer, electric bass)
  • Barbie the Album ("Home" by HAIM: 12-string electric guitar, synthesizer, bass synthesizer, drum programmer, piano)
  • Black Hours by Hamilton Leithauser ("Alexandra": acoustic guitar, backing vocals, harmonica, piano, harpsichord, percussion; "I Retired": slide guitar, piano, electric bass, harpsichord, percussion, backing vocals)
  • Blonde by Frank Ocean ("Seigfried": keyboards)
  • Break Line by Anand Wilder & Maxwell Kardon ("Wedding Day": backing vocals)
  • E•MO•TION by Carly Rae Jepsen ("Warm Blood": drum and synth programming, keyboards, piano)
  • Everything is Recorded by Richard Russell by Everything is Recorded ("Cane (featuring Ibeyi)": synth)
  • Heard It in a Past Life by Maggie Rogers ("Fallingwater": piano, drums, programming, synthesizer, guitar, shaker, backing vocals)
  • Lychee EP by Benee ("Never Ending": electric guitar, acoustic guitar, drum programming, electric bass)
  • Melon Collie and the Infinite Radness: Part Two by Tokyo Police Club ("My House": backing vocals, keyboards)
  • New Attitude by Dirty Projectors ("Two Young Sheeps": flute and percussion)
  • R.I.P. Bonzai by Cosha (guitar, programming, synthesizer, backing vocals ["Do You Wanna Dance?", "LUV"])
  • So Sad So Sexy by Lykke Li ("Hard Rain": backing vocals, piano, programming, synthesizer)
  • Something to Tell You by HAIM (acoustic guitar ["Found It in Silence", "Water's Running Dry"], drum programming ["Kept Me Crying"], electric guitar ["Water's Running Dry"], harmonizer ["Kept Me Crying"], Moog Bass ["Water's Running Dry"], piano ["Kept Me Crying"], rhythm guitar ["Kept Me Crying"], synthesizer ["Kept Me Crying", "Found It in Silence", "Water's Running Dry"])
  • Still Run by Wet (bass, electric guitar, piano, synthesizer ["You're Not Wrong", "This Woman Loves You"], mandolin, acoustic guitar, slide guitar ["This Woman Loves You"])
  • The Loneliest Time by Carly Rae Jepsen (acoustic guitar, bass, electric guitar, piano, synthesizer ["Western Wind", "Go Find Yourself or Whatever"]; clapping, conga, drums, organ, programming, shaker, tambourine ["Western Wind"]; drum programming, Hammond B3, mandolin, percussion, sitar ["Go Find Yourself or Whatever"])
  • The Loveliest Time by Carly Rae Jepsen (drum programming, percussion, synthesizer ["After Last Night", "Shadow"]; drum machine, strings ["After Last Night"]; synth bass ["Shadow"])

Remixer


Discography

  • LP [in Discovery] (2009)
  • I Had a Dream That You Were Mine [with Hamilton Leithauser] (2016)
  • Half-Light (2017)
  • Changephobia (2021)

Pop-Star Composer credits


Don't Let It Trope to You:


Alternative Title(s): Rostam Batmanglij

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