The news comes as a shock, as their third album, We Satellites, is just weeks away from being released.

In a press statement, the band said: 'With his demanding and gruelling career in the legal sector, Daniel had long wanted to take a break from the band to focus his energy on his legal profession.'

Fans will be sad to hear that the new album will not carry any guitar work from Sassoon, who decided to leave the band on April 7.

Finishing touches are currently being placed on the album which will be out late next month or in early July.

Sassoon, 33, who works as an in-house legal counsel for a multinational company, told Life!: 'The other reason is that I'm not really having fun with the band anymore. My priorities have shifted.'

The four-member band started out in 1996 as Electric Company. The members, who got to know one another at the indie music circuit, split up in 2000 before regrouping as a five-piece in 2003 as Electrico.

Singer-guitarist David Tan, 32, Sassoon, bassist Desmond Goh, 31, keyboardist Amanda Ling, 24, and drummer William Lim Jr, 30, set out to crush the stereotype that home-grown bands were substandard when compared to global acts and they succeeded.

They won the award for Top Local English Pop Song at the Composers And Authors Society of Singapore (Compass) Awards twice - in 2006 for I Want You, and last year for Good Time.

Read the full story in Tuesday's edition of The Straits Times Life!