Electro-pop has really been the sound of the year, with acts such as La Roux, Little Boots and Empire of the Sun emerging from the usual generic background noise. And in response the music industry has lapped it all up, with much of this emerging talent being labelled as ‘the next big thing’, although rarely is that the actual case, and instead these promising acts often fade back into the background. However, this summer has seen one relatively new band emerge, and so far they look to stay at the forefront if what’s been said so far is to be believed. With critical acclaim following both their EP Chunk of Change and their recent debut album Matters, Passion Pit look set for big things, despite the fact they’ve only been around for a few years.
Despite all of this sudden success, sitting with me by the bar at The Leadmill in Sheffield are two oddly humble members of Passion Pit, guitarist Ian Hultquist and drummer Nate Donmoyer. The rest of Passion Pit consist of frontman Michael Angelakos, Ayad Al Adahamy who plays synthesizer and bassist Jeff Apruzzese. In regards to their success, it hasn’t really changed them at all. Instead, they feel they just happened to be, ‘lucky with the timing of its release’, and it ‘could have easily happened to anyone’. It’s amazing that something with so much hype behind it can be so calm about it at the same time. If anything, it demonstrates the potential that this band have, the fact that they don’t let something like this go to their head, whilst in the case of Johnny Borrell, frontman of Razorlight, a massive twat was born.
The story behind Passion Pit isn’t what we’re used to. Rather than the usual story of a group of friends starting up a band together, we instead find frontman Michael Angelakos writing songs in his bedroom for a Valentines gift with only his laptop. The electronic theme that is key to Passion Pit’s sound was inspired by the music scene behind Boston Massachusetts where, ‘popular nights out were often electronic dance clubs’. However, it wasn’t till Michael moved to Boston, New York that his music was being heard as it began to grow in notoriety. It wasn’t long till Michael found himself performing these first few songs on stage, although still, ‘it was only him and his laptop’. Eventually, one of his friends Ian Hultquist asked whether Michael had put any thought into having a band up on stage with him rather than just his laptop. And with that, Passion Pit were created.
Although they haven’t let the praise that has followed their musical releases go to their heads, that doesn’t mean they haven’t found it to be quite surprising, especially the fan base they have managed to develop within the UK. The idea of performing in front of a sold out crowd on the other side of the Atlantic is, ‘still quite a shock to the system’. Especially as they’ve also managed to pull in large crowds whilst playing at two major festivals in the UK. Their performance at Glastonbury Festival meant they had the privilege of seeing Bruce Springsteen, who they were, ‘watching from the sides’, however they felt that the crowd at Reading Festival meant it was, ‘a more amazing experience’. Apart from festivals, they’ve supported the likes of Death Cab For Cutie, These New Puritans and Girl Talk, who aren’t massively successful but each have their own large followings, whilst on their current tour they have had The Joy Formidable supporting them, a current up and coming band from the British music scene.
However, Michael has always been the singer/song-writer of the group, and so sometimes it is easy to view the rest of the band as simply that. A backing band for Michael’s little project. At first, this might sound harsh, but Ian and Nate agree with it to an extent. Jokingly suggesting that, ‘that’s how we’ve always seen it’, they agree that Michael has always been key to the development of Passion Pit, as shown through the fact that recent debut Manners is based on Michael, ‘dealing with himself’ as well as, ‘his views and interactions with other people’, hence the title Manners. Ian and Nate do believe they have a degree of input with the music, as they are the band after all, but really Passion Pit has been, ‘Michael’s thing from the very start’.
Asking whether Ian or Nate could describe Passion Pit in one word, although a rather cliché interview question, Nate suggests, ‘Bubble, because it might pop at any second’. And really there isn’t any better choice of word. With the amount of pressure and expectations now put upon them by the success of their musical releases and live performances, its surprising that they haven’t either crushed under the pressure or let it all go to their heads. Or, it could be taken to mean the success that Passion Pit is on the brink of. Either way, Passion Pit are one of those bands that look as if they have the ability to be around for quite some time, and it will be interesting to watch them develop and adapt to the expectations that will inevitably be put on them. Currently, in regards to their second album, they find themselves mostly joking about it, although they reckon, ‘we’ll have something by next fall’. Many bands before have come out with stunning debut albums, but many also then fail to produce that same level of quality ever again. Although its been said time and time again about Passion Pit, this second album will be crucial, and will test whether they truely stand up to the hype.