American electropop band
Passion Pit
is an American
indie pop
band from
Cambridge, Massachusetts
, formed in 2007
[2]
by band members
Michael Angelakos
[1]
(lead vocals/keyboards), Ian Hultquist (Guitar/Synth),
Ayad Al Adhamy
(synth), Thom Plasse (bass), and Adam Levinsky (drums).
[3]
The band released their debut studio album
Manners
in 2009. A second studio album entitled
Gossamer
was released in 2012, which debuted at No. 4 on the
Billboard
200
and gave the band their first top 10 album.
Kindred
, the band's third studio album, was released on April 17, 2015, and was preceded by lead singles "Lifted Up (1985)", "Where the Sky Hangs", and "Until We Can't (Let's Go)". Passion Pit self-released their fourth album,
Tremendous Sea of Love
, on March 28, 2017, to Michael Angelakos'
Twitter
followers; the album was released to the public on July 28, 2017.
[4]
History
[
edit
]
Name
[
edit
]
The band culled their name from the Variety Slanguage Dictionary, a glossary of
Variety
'
s frequently used
slang
, which was provided by the Hollywood insider publication to help not-so-savvy readers decipher its content. The magazine used the term to refer to
drive-in theatres
, because of their privacy and romantic allure for teenagers.
[5]
[6]
[7]
Formation
[
edit
]
The first Passion Pit songs, which would later become the
Chunk of Change
EP, were written by Angelakos at Emerson College as a belated Valentine's Day gift to his then-girlfriend. At first, he wrote and performed all his material alone using a laptop. After one of his solo shows in the Boston area,
Ian Hultquist
, who was attending
Berklee College of Music
at the time, approached Angelakos and expressed interest in creating and playing music collaboratively.
[6]
They formed a group that consisted of Angelakos, Hultquist, Ayad Al Adhamy, Thom Plasse (bass), and Adam Lavinsky (drums). The band spent a considerable amount of time trying to flesh out a collaborative format and structure that would work best for them. Jeff Apruzzese and
Nate Donmoyer
joined the band shortly after they signed to
Frenchkiss
in 2008, replacing Plasse and Lavinsky, respectively.
[7]
[8]
In 2012, Adhamy was replaced by Xander Singh.
2007?09:
Chunk of Change
[
edit
]
The band's debut EP,
Chunk of Change
, was released on September 16, 2008.
[9]
The first four tracks were those that Angelakos had written as a gift for his girlfriend. The tracks quickly became popular throughout the
Emerson College
campus, where Angelakos was attending classes at the time, and had been passing out his own, self-produced copies. Two tracks, "
Sleepyhead
" and "Better Things", were added for the commercial release of the EP.
[10]
The same year of their debut EP's release, the band was chosen as "Best New Local Act in 2008" in the
WFNX
/
Boston Phoenix
best music poll.
[9]
The first and only single to be released from the EP, "Sleepyhead", received a good deal of exposure through its use in numerous media campaigns and advertisements, while the video for the song, directed by
The Wilderness
, was included on
Pitchfork
's Top 40 Music Videos of 2008 list.
[11]
The song contains samples of "Oro Mo Bhaidin" by Irish singer and harpist
Mary O'Hara
.
[12]
Other songs from the EP received some exposure as well. "Cuddle Fuddle" was featured in
E4
's second series of
The Inbetweeners
and "I've Got Your Number" was used in an advertisement for the cash card from
O2
,
Money in the UK
.
2009?11:
Manners
[
edit
]
The band's first full-length studio album,
Manners
, was released on May 18, 2009, in the UK and May 19, 2009, in the United States and Canada.
[13]
In celebration, the band played their record release party on the 18th in New York City on a Rocks Off boat cruise.
[14]
In a preview article,
ClashMusic.com
commented that the album "has every chance to rank as one of the year's best" and that "it reveals additional nuances with each visit: a sure-fire sign of an album with true longevity".
[15]
In order to obtain a specific background vocal accompaniment the band was looking for on
Manners
, Passion Pit enlisted the help of the
PS22 chorus
, who recorded vocals in-studio for three of the album's songs: "
The Reeling
", "
Little Secrets
", and "Let Your Love Grow Tall."
[16]
"The Reeling" was the first single to be released from the album and found success on the
Billboard
Alternative Songs
chart in the fall of 2009, where it peaked at No. 34 in October
[17]
and "Little Secrets" was the third single to be released and had success on the chart as well, topping out at No. 39. "Let Your Love Grow Tall" was never released as a single but had some exposure being used in the
sixteenth episode
of the
fourth season
of the TV series
Ugly Betty
.
The album's second single, "To Kingdom Come", was used in the
Rhapsody
commercial for its
iPhone
application.
"Sleepyhead" was the only track from
Chunk of Change
to be included on the album and was made available from iTunes for free as a discovery download in 2009. The song continued to receive additional exposure through its appearances in advertisements. It was used in the
third series
of the British teen drama
Skins
, as well as in the debut trailer for the video game
LittleBigPlanet 2
.
[18]
This led to the band's increased popularity amongst fans and players of the game, who eventually created an in-game instrumental version of the song to listen to in the
first game
. When the sequel was released, it came with the song's actual instrumental version used in the trailer.
The song "Moth's Wings" was used in the fourth episode of the
third season
of the
CW
teen drama
Gossip Girl
and in the closing credits of episode 36 of
HBO
's
Big Love
. It appeared in the
FIFA 10
video game and was included in the films
Life As We Know It
and
Wonder
. It has also been used as a background theme for
Sky Sports
coverage of the
UEFA Champions League
and as the music for a dance routine in Episode 5, Season 8, of the US television show
So You Think You Can Dance
, which received a standing ovation from the show's judges. It was also featured in two episodes of
MTV
's show
Awkward
(the pilot and Season 3 finale, respectively).
[19]
In June 2009, the band performed at the
Glastonbury Festival 2009
in
Pilton, Somerset
, England, where they dedicated the final song of their set to festival headliner
Jarvis Cocker
, who was to perform on the same stage later that same day.
[20]
Afterwards,
NME
, while favorably reviewing Passion Pit's performance, incorrectly reported the band as having dedicated their entire set to Cocker.
[21]
On April 13, 2010, the band reissued
Manners
in a deluxe edition format which contained new artwork and three additional tracks: stripped-down versions of "Sleepyhead" and "Moth's Wings" and a cover of
the Cranberries
' song "
Dreams
". The deluxe release coincided with the extension of their North American headlining tour.
[22]
The band released another cover in June 2010, this time offering up their take on
the Smashing Pumpkins
hit song "
Tonight, Tonight
" as part of a promotion with
Levi's
called "Pioneer Sessions".
[23]
In September 2010, Passion Pit toured with the English band
Muse
as their opening act for eight shows during their fall tour through parts of the US.
[24]
Following those supporting shows, the band headlined the Campus Consciousness Tour, produced by Pretty Polly Productions in collaboration with
Guster
guitarist
Adam Gardner
's non-profit organization
Reverb
. The two-week tour featured stops at twelve college campuses and, in addition to the music, focused on promoting eco-friendly lifestyles. Opening acts for the tour included
Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears
and
K. Flay
.
2011?13:
Gossamer
[
edit
]
In an August 2010 interview with
NME
, Angelakos stated that work had already begun on the follow-up to
Manners
and that the band intended to release the album in the spring of 2011.
[25]
He then said that it will be released early in 2012,
[
citation needed
]
and finally that the release date was July 24.
Days after they have been presented in the
Lollapalooza
festival in
Brazil
in March 2012,
[26]
they announced the title of the album,
Gossamer
, and that it would be released on July 24, 2012. Following its release,
Gossamer
debuted at No. 4 on the
Billboard
200
with first-week sales of 37,000 copies, a career best.
[27]
On May 7, 2012, the first track from
Gossamer
was released, called "
Take a Walk
".
[28]
On June 12, 2012, the second track from
Gossamer
was released, called "
I'll Be Alright
". The track leaked early on June 11 and was released as an NME premiere on June 8.
[29]
On July 9, 2012, a third track from
Gossamer
, called "Constant Conversations", was reviewed and featured as "best new track" by
Pitchfork
. It was released with the review as streamed content.
[30]
Gossamer
was officially released on July 20, 2012.
On July 16, 2012, Angelakos posted on the Passion Pit website that the band has cancelled the remaining July tour dates and suspended the tour in order for Angelakos to seek ongoing treatment for
bipolar disorder
.
[31]
A
Rolling Stone
interview stated that Angelakos was diagnosed at 17, undergoing therapy, hospital care, and taking medication ever since.
[32]
On October 13, 2012, they performed on
Saturday Night Live
. They played "Take a Walk" and "Carried Away."
[33]
In 2012, Passion Pit's song
"Where I Come From"
appeared on the soundtrack for the film
"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2"
.
On July 15, 2013, it was announced publicly that the band would be headlining the first ever "Coastline Festival" in
Tampa, Florida
and
West Palm Beach, Florida
with
Two Door Cinema Club
and
Matt & Kim
. Also included in the lineup are groups such as
Fitz and the Tantrums
,
The Joy Formidable
,
The Neighbourhood
,
Capital Cities
,
The Mowgli's
,
Blondfire
,
Surfer Blood
,
The Royal Concept
and
St. Lucia
.
On September 24, 2013, Passion Pit released the
Constant Conversations
EP
, originally released through Spotify, but was then made available on
iTunes
. The EP featured an alternative version of
Constant Conversations
from their 2012 album
Gossamer
, in addition to a formerly unreleased B-side called "Ruin Your Day". The final track on the EP was a remix of "
Carried Away
" by
Dillon Francis
.
[34]
2014?2016:
Kindred
[
edit
]
Passion Pit released Kindred on April 21, 2015, through
Columbia Records
.
[35]
[36]
On June 24, 2014, Angelakos announced through Twitter that Passion Pit are working on their as yet to be titled third studio album.
[37]
Angelakos confirmed that the third album would in fact be released in 2015. In anticipation of the release, the band posted several coded images to various social networking platforms. Soon after the release of the Morse code image, the official Passion Pit website, which had been under construction since the end of the 2013 tour, came back up. It is now known as "KindredTheAlbum.com". The website includes a short 13 second clip titled "That flickering light's just a flame" and a picture of Angelakos jumping in the air. On February 16, 2015, the band uploaded the lead single for the new album "Lifted Up (1985)" onto its YouTube channel. The band then followed up by releasing the names of the rest of the tracks and by announcing the album would be available for pre-order the following day (Tuesday February 17, 2015). The third track, titled "Where the Sky Hangs" was also released on the Passion Pit Vevo in the early hours of February 17, 2015. Following the release of their new album, Passion Pit had announced a tour across the United States, part of Canada, and even a stop in Tokyo, Japan. Angelakos continued to tour throughout the year until July he had slowed down due bronchitis and pneumonia. However, since then he has continued to tour and is expected to end in October.
2017?present:
Tremendous Sea of Love
[
edit
]
During February and March 2017, several new Passion Pit songs were uploaded on YouTube on the account The Wishart Group (from the name of a project started by Michael Angelakos and dedicated to supporting musicians by providing them with legal, educational and healthcare services, with a focus on mental health, a topic on which Angelakos has been especially forthcoming), foreshadowing a fourth album for 2017. All of the videos for those new songs have the same background photo (a woman wearing a white dress, located in the middle of the sea, turning around as though she had sensed she was being secretly observed from behind), as does the front cover of the album. The songs were taken down, but Angelakos announced that he will give a downloadable copy of the album for free to anyone who retweets neuroscientist Michael F. Wells' tweet on the importance of science and research.
[38]
The profits from the album will be donated to a psychiatric research institution in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
[4]
On July 11, an official release for the album was announced for July 28 on all streaming services.
[39]
The band embarked on a North American tour between January and February 2018 to promote
Tremendous Sea of Love
as well as their EP
Chunk of Change'
s 10th anniversary.
On May 14, 2019, Passion Pit teamed up with electronic duo
Galantis
for a new single "I FOUND U",
[40]
and the band released 40 tracks through their
SoundCloud
account in December 2020.
[41]
However, as of December 22, 2023, most of the tracks were no longer available.
On February 21, 2023, it was announced that Passion Pit was returning to perform live at WeHo Pride by OUTLOUD Music Festival on June 2, along with
Grace Jones
,
Carly Rae Jepsen
and others.
[42]
On April 10, 2023, Passion Pit rereleased the track "American Blood" as a single. It was previously a bonus track on the iTunes edition of
Gossamer
.
[43]
The band is due to perform at the Just Like Heaven music festival in
Pasadena, California
, on May 18, 2024, as well as on four additional dates separately, announced on March 12 throughout their social media.
Awards and accolades
[
edit
]
| This section
needs expansion
. You can help by
adding to it
.
(
April 2020
)
|
In 2012, listeners of Australia's alternative radio station
Triple J Hottest 100
voted "Take a Walk" as No. 46 of the hottest 100 tracks of the year.
[44]
They were voted Act of the Year in the 2009 Boston Music Awards.
[45]
Band members
[
edit
]
Current
Live musicians
- Chris Hartz ? drums (2013?present)
- Aaron Harrison Folb ? bass, synthesizers (2015?present)
- Giuliano Pizzulo ? guitar, synthesizers (2015?present)
- Ray Suen
? guitar, synthesizers (2015?present)
Former live musicians
- Thom Plasse ? bass (2007)
- Adam Lavinsky ? drums (2007)
- Ayad Al Adhamy
? keyboards, samples (2007?2012)
- Ian Hultquist ? guitars, keyboards (2007?2014)
[46]
- Jeff Apruzzese ? bass, synthesizers (2008?2014)
- Nate Donmoyer ? drums (2008?2013)
- Emily Greene ? keyboards, vocals (2012?2013)
[47]
- Xander Singh ? keyboards (2012?2014)
[48]
- Pete Cafarella – synthesizers (2015)
Discography
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"Passion Pit Interview"
. YouTube.com. May 24, 2014.
Archived
from the original on December 15, 2021
. Retrieved
April 24,
2015
.
- ^
Ambrose, Anthony (December 2, 2009).
"Phoenix / Passion Pit / Jack's Mannequin / Manchester Orchestra @ NYC 12/2"
. inTuneMusic. Archived from
the original
on November 12, 2012
. Retrieved
December 5,
2009
.
- ^
"Passion Pit hometown, lineup, biography"
.
Last.fm
.
- ^
a
b
Gamboa, Glenn (July 27, 2017).
"
'Tremendous Sea of Love' review: Passion Pit's album for a cause"
.
Newsday
.
- ^
"Slanguage Dictionary"
. Variety.com
. Retrieved
April 24,
2015
.
- ^
a
b
"Passion Pit: Pop Not Porno"
.
The Agit Reader
. Retrieved
December 4,
2010
.
- ^
a
b
"An interview with Passion Pit's Nate Donmoyer and Ian Hultquist"
.
The California Aggie
. April 19, 2010. Archived from
the original
on August 8, 2012
. Retrieved
January 5,
2011
.
- ^
"Kind of incredible"
. Southern Maryland Newspapers Online. September 4, 2009. Archived from
the original
on July 22, 2012
. Retrieved
January 5,
2011
.
- ^
a
b
"
Chunk of Change
release date"
. Prefix Magazine. September 8, 2008
. Retrieved
December 15,
2010
.
- ^
"Passion Pit"
. Frenchkiss Records. Archived from
the original
on October 6, 2011
. Retrieved
June 30,
2010
.
- ^
"Pitchfork Staff Lists: Top 40 Music Videos of 2008"
.
Pitchfork Media
. December 8, 2008
. Retrieved
December 29,
2010
.
- ^
"Sleepyhead Songfacts"
. Songfacts
. Retrieved
December 4,
2010
.
- ^
"Passion Pit"
.
MySpace
. Retrieved
June 30,
2010
.
- ^
"Passion Pit's Boat Show: We Wanted To Celebrate In A Different Way"
. MTV. May 19, 2009
. Retrieved
June 30,
2010
.
- ^
Diver, Mike (March 26, 2009).
"Passion Pit Album Preview"
.
Clash
. Retrieved
June 30,
2010
.
- ^
"The PS22 Chorus Records Vocals for Columbia-signed Passion Pit's Full-length CD Debut!"
.
PS22 chorus
. January 18, 2009
. Retrieved
December 10,
2010
.
- ^
"Passion Pit Chart History"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved
December 10,
2010
.
- ^
"LittleBigPlanet2 trailer"
.
GameTrailers
. Retrieved
December 10,
2010
.
- ^
[1]
Archived
September 3, 2011, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
"merry england"
. Passion Pit. June 30, 2009. Archived from
the original
on July 15, 2011
. Retrieved
December 28,
2010
.
- ^
"Passion Pit dedicate Glastonbury set to Jarvis Cocker"
.
NME
. June 27, 2009
. Retrieved
December 28,
2010
.
- ^
"Passion Pit announce deluxe album release and expanded North American tour details"
.
NME
. March 17, 2010
. Retrieved
January 2,
2011
.
- ^
"Passion Pit Covers Smashing Pumpkins For Levi's Pioneer Sessions"
.
Under the Radar
. June 23, 2010
. Retrieved
December 10,
2010
.
- ^
"Passion Pit with Muse On Sale Tomorrow"
. Passion Pit. April 23, 2010. Archived from
the original
on November 12, 2010
. Retrieved
December 10,
2010
.
- ^
"Passion Pit working on 'fantastic, beautiful, gorgeous new record' ? video"
.
NME
. August 23, 2010
. Retrieved
January 2,
2011
.
- ^
Mendes, Leticia (March 29, 2013).
"Em sua 2ª vez no Brasil, Passion Pit tenta conquistar publico do Killers"
.
G1
(in Portuguese). Globo.com
. Retrieved
July 29,
2013
.
- ^
Caulfield, Keith (August 1, 2012).
"Zac Brown Band Reclaims Top Spot on Billboard 200"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved
August 1,
2012
.
- ^
"[LISTEN] Passion Pit - Take A Walk"
. Indieshuffle.com. May 7, 2012
. Retrieved
April 24,
2015
.
- ^
"[LISTEN] Passion Pit - I'll Be Alright"
. Indieshuffle.com. June 11, 2012
. Retrieved
April 24,
2015
.
- ^
"Passion Pit: "Constant Conversations" | Tracks"
. Pitchfork. July 9, 2012
. Retrieved
August 17,
2012
.
- ^
Murphy, Chris (July 16, 2012).
"Passion Pit Tour: Performances Canceled, Lead Singer 'Improving Mental Health'
"
. Huffington Post
. Retrieved
December 6,
2012
.
- ^
Hyman, Dan (August 4, 2012).
"Passion Pit Singer on Battling Mental Illness and Taking New Songs on the Road"
. Rolling Stone
. Retrieved
December 6,
2012
.
- ^
"Passion Pit Get 'Carried Away' on 'SNL'
"
.
Rolling Stone
. October 14, 2012. Archived from
the original
on December 1, 2017
. Retrieved
October 20,
2012
.
- ^
"Constant Conversations EP"
.
Passion Pit
. Archived from
the original
on September 27, 2013
. Retrieved
September 24,
2013
.
- ^
Gordon, Jeremy (February 16, 2015).
"Passion Pit Detail New Album Kindred, Share "Lifted Up (1985)"
"
. Pitchfork
. Retrieved
February 18,
2015
.
- ^
Kreps, Daniel (February 16, 2015).
"Passion Pit Detail New Album 'Kindred,' Share First Single 'Lifted Up (1985)'
"
. Rolling Stone
. Retrieved
February 18,
2015
.
- ^
"?????? / passionpit: Aside from working on the new ..."
August 19, 2014. Archived from
the original
on August 19, 2014.
- ^
Gaca, Anna (March 23, 2017).
"If You Retweet Passion Pit to Support Science, You'll Also Get Their Album for Free"
. Spin
. Retrieved
March 24,
2017
.
- ^
"Passion Pit Announces Tremendous Sea of Love Official Release"
. Pitchfork. July 11, 2017
. Retrieved
July 12,
2017
.
- ^
Strauss, Matthew (May 15, 2019).
"Listen to Passion Pit and Galantis' New Song "I FOUND U"
"
.
Pitchfork
. Retrieved
May 24,
2019
.
- ^
Brayden, Kate (December 29, 2020).
"Passion Pit's Michael Angelakos shares 40 unreleased tracks to SoundCloud"
.
Hot Press
. Retrieved
July 10,
2021
.
- ^
"Grace Jones, Carly Rae Jepsen, Passion Pit & MORE to Headline WeHo Pride"
.
102.7 KIIS-FM
. Retrieved
December 23,
2023
.
- ^
"American Blood"
.
Spotify
. Passion Pit. April 10, 2023.
- ^
"Hottest 100 - 2012; triple j"
. abc.net.au. January 26, 2013
. Retrieved
April 19,
2013
.
- ^
"Boston Music Awards 2009"
.
Boston Music Awards
.
- ^
Michael Marotta (October 28, 2014).
"Talking A Walk: Passion Pit founding guitarist Ian Hultquist announces departure from the band"
. Vanyaland.com
. Retrieved
April 24,
2015
.
- ^
Peter Larsen (September 10, 2012).
"Hot Chip, Passion Pit delight fans of electronic rock at the Bowl"
. Orange County Register
. Retrieved
March 6,
2021
.
- ^
Kevin Bronson (January 6, 2015).
"Ex-Passion Pit keyboardist Xander Singh dissects all in podcast series 'Teach Xander About Music'
"
. Buzzbands.la
. Retrieved
April 24,
2015
.
External links
[
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]
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Studio albums
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Extended plays
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Singles
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Related articles
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International
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Artists
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