Michael John Angelakos (born May 19, 1987) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the frontman of the
indietronica
Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produce ...
band
Passion Pit.
Career
Passion Pit (2008–present)
The first Passion Pit songs, which would later become the ''
Chunk of Change'' EP, were written by Angelakos at
Emerson College
Emerson College is a private college with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts. It also maintains campuses in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and Well, Limburg, Netherlands (Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a ...
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 at the time, approached Angelakos and expressed interest in creating and playing music collaboratively.
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.
In 2012, Adhamy was replaced by Xander Singh.
2007–09: ''Chunk of Change''
The band's debut EP, ''
Chunk of Change'', was released on September 16, 2008.
The first four tracks were those that Angelakos had written as a gift for his girlfriend, which had already become popular throughout the
Emerson College
Emerson College is a private college with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts. It also maintains campuses in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and Well, Limburg, Netherlands (Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a ...
campus, where Angelakos was attending classes at the time, and had been passing out his own, self-produced copies.
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 The Wilderness may refer to wilderness, a natural environment.
The Wilderness may also refer to:
Film and television
* Badland Hunters, ''The Wilderness'' (2024 film), a South Korean Netflix film
Places
*The Wilderness (Virginia), a dense fores ...
, was included on
Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...
's Top 40 Music Videos of 2008 list.
The song contains samples of "Óró Mo Bháidín" by Irish singer and harpist
Mary O'Hara
Mary O'Hara (born 12 May 1935) is an Irish soprano and harpist from County Sligo. She gained attention on both sides of the Atlantic in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Her recordings of that period influenced a generation of Irish female singer ...
.
Other songs from the EP received some exposure as well. "Cuddle Fuddle" was featured in
E4's second series of ''
The Inbetweeners
''The Inbetweeners'' is a British coming-of-age television teen sitcom, which originally aired on E4 from 2008 until 2010 and was created and written by Damon Beesley and Iain Morris. The series follows the misadventures of suburban teenager ...
'' and "I've Got Your Number" was used in an advertisement for the cash card from
O2,
Money in the UK.
2009–11: ''Manners''
The band's first full-length studio album, ''
Manners
Etiquette () is the set of norms of personal behaviour in polite society, usually occurring in the form of an ethical code of the expected and accepted social behaviours that accord with the conventions and norms observed and practised by a s ...
'', was released on May 18, 2009, in the UK and May 19, 2009, in the United States and Canada. In celebration, the band played their record release party on the 18th in New York City on a Rocks Off boat cruise.
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."
"The Reeling" was the first single to be released from the album and found success on the ''Billboard''
Alternative Songs
Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...
chart in the fall of 2009, where it peaked at number 34 in October
and "Little Secrets" was the third single to be released and had success on the chart as well, topping out at number 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
''Ugly Betty'' is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which was originally broadcast on ABC. It premiered on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombian ...
''.
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 a season 3 episode of the teen-drama, ''
Skins'' and most recently in the debut trailer for
LittleBigPlanet 2
''LittleBigPlanet 2'' is a puzzle-platform game that features user-generated content. The game is developed by Media Molecule, published by Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3. It was released in January 2011. The game was released ...
,
which 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
''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series, developed for television by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, ran on The CW network for six ...
'' and in the closing credits of episode 36 of
HBO's ''
Big Love
''Big Love'' is an American drama television series that aired on HBO from March 12, 2006 to March 20, 2011. It stars Bill Paxton as the patriarch of a fundamentalist Mormon family in contemporary Utah that practices polygamy, with Jeanne T ...
''. It appeared in the ''
FIFA 10
''FIFA 10'' (titled ''FIFA Soccer 10'' in North America) is a football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts worldwide under the EA Sports label. It was released on 2 October 2009 in Europe, 1 October in A ...
'' video game and was featured in the film
''Life as We Know It'', starring
Katherine Heigl
Katherine Marie Heigl ( ; born November 24, 1978) is an American actress and former fashion model. She played Dr. Izzie Stevens on the ABC television medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'' from 2005 to 2010, a role that brought her recognition and a ...
and
Josh Duhamel
Joshua David Duhamel (; born November 14, 1972) is an American actor and former fashion model. After various modeling work, he made his acting debut as Leo du Pres on the ABC daytime soap opera ''All My Children'' and later starred as Danny Mc ...
. Additionally, the track has been used as a background theme for
Sky Sports' coverage of the
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
and as the music for a dance routine in Episode 5, Season 8, of the US television show ''
So You Think You Can Dance
''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and has ...
'', which received a standing ovation from the show's judges. It was also featured in MTV's show ''
Awkward''.
In June 2009, the band performed at the
Glastonbury Festival 2009
The 2009 Glastonbury Festival/Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts was held from 24 to 29 June 2009.
Tickets
Registration
In a similar way to previous festivals, tickets for the 2009 event required pre-registration (of a ph ...
in
Pilton, Somerset
Pilton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the A361 road in the Mendip district, 3 miles (5 km) south-west of Shepton Mallet and 6 miles (10 km) east of Glastonbury. The village has a population of 9 ...
, England, where they dedicated the final song of their set to festival headliner
Jarvis Cocker
Jarvis Branson Cocker (born 19 September 1963) is an English musician and radio presenter. As the founder, frontman, lyricist and only consistent member of the band Pulp, he became a figurehead of the Britpop genre of the mid-1990s. Following ...
, who was to perform on the same stage later that same day.
Afterwards, ''
NME'', while favorably reviewing Passion Pit's performance, incorrectly reported the band as having dedicated their entire set to Cocker.
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
The Cranberries were an Irish rock band formed in Limerick, Ireland. Originally named the Cranberry Saw Us, the band were formed in 1989 by lead singer Niall Quinn, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler. Quinn was ...
' song "
Dreams
A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...
". The deluxe release coincided with the extension of their North American headlining tour.
The band released another cover in June 2010, this time offering up their take on
The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chambe ...
hit song "
Tonight, Tonight" as part of a promotion with
Levi's
Levi Strauss & Co. () is an American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's () brand of denim jeans. It was founded in May 1853 when German-Jewish immigrant Levi Strauss moved from Buttenheim, Bavaria, to San Francisco, California, ...
called "Pioneer Sessions".
In September 2010, Passion Pit toured as the opening act for the English band
Muse
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...
for eight shows during their fall tour through parts of the U.S.
Following those supporting shows, the band headlined the Campus Consciousness Tour, produced by Pretty Polly Productions in collaboration with
Guster
Guster is an American alternative rock band from Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Founding members Adam Gardner, Ryan Miller, and Brian Rosenworcel began practice sessions while attending Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, and ...
guitarist
Adam Gardner
Adam Seth Gardner (born May 31, 1973) is an American guitarist and vocalist of the band Guster and a member of the Tufts University Beelzebubs.
Gardner grew up outside Morristown, New Jersey, and played for a band called Royal Flush while a stu ...
's non-profit organization
Reverb
Reverberation (also known as reverb), in acoustics, is a persistence of sound, after a sound is produced. Reverberation is created when a sound or signal is reflected causing numerous reflections to build up and then decay as the sound is abs ...
. 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.
2011–14: ''Gossamer''
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. He then said that it will be released early in 2012, and finally that the release date was July 24.
On April 24, 2012, Angelakos announced the title of the album, ''
Gossamer'', and that it would be released on July 24, 2012.
On May 7, the first track from ''Gossamer'' was released, called "
Take a Walk".
On June 12, 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.
On July 9, a third track from ''Gossamer'', called "Constant Conversations", was reviewed and featured as "best new track" by
Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...
. It was released with the review as streamed content. Gossamer was officially released on July 20, 2012.
On October 13, they performed on ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serve ...
''. They played "Take a Walk" and "Carried Away."
Angelakos,
Kill The Noise and
Fatman Scoop
Isaac Freeman III (born August 6, 1971), better known by his stage name Fatman Scoop, is an American rapper, promoter and radio personality famed for his on-stage rough, raw loud voice.
He is known for the song " Be Faithful", which topped the c ...
appeared on "
Recess", the second single and title track from American record producer
Skrillex
Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ and music producer. Growing up in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he joined the post-hardcore band From First to Last as the lead sing ...
's debut album ''
Recess''. The single was released on July 7, 2014.
2015–17: ''Kindred''
On January 29, it was revealed that a new album, ''
Kindred'', was in the making. The album was released on April 21.
On February 16, the official track listing was released.
From the start of 2015, to the album's release on April 21, the official Passion Pit blog released clues to the new song's lyrics and melodies in the form of Morse-encoded lyrics with the track number and time code the lyrics appeared at, and 4 – 10 seconds of melody for a select few songs.
2017-present: ''Tremendous Sea of Love''
On March 24 the album ''
Tremendous Sea of Love'' was self-released. This came one month after the album had been available for free in exchange for retweets of a tweet describing the importance of science and research.
The official release of the album was announced on July 11 to be on July 28.
Personal life
At seven, he started his first band, Dead Grass, and made himself a canvas tote bag as personal merchandise, emblazoned with a painting of a meadow on fire and fake band members lying about. While living in Buffalo, he developed an appreciation for
ska, forming a local ska band,
Cherry Bing. He also experimented with a number of other musical ventures throughout his years at
Nichols School, delving into different musical forms and composition expanding his musical acumen. During this time, he became proficient in putting his musical thoughts directly and quickly into sound. Within one hour, he wrote and recorded the music for a high school play. He performed onstage for that production, which was performed at the Fringe Festival in Scotland. While he attended
Emerson College
Emerson College is a private college with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts. It also maintains campuses in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and Well, Limburg, Netherlands (Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a ...
, in the 2000s, he developed a love for opera, the soprano voice, show tunes, and slowcore indie rock, continuing to compose scores for school film majors.
Angelakos married Kristina Mucci in 2013. On August 27, 2015, the couple announced that they were divorcing. In the same year, he came out as
bisexual
Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, wh ...
.
Mental health
On July 16, 2012, Angelakos posted on the Passion Pit website that the band had canceled the remaining July 2012 tour dates and suspended the tour in order for Angelakos to seek ongoing treatment for
bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...
. A ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...
'' interview stated that Angelakos was diagnosed at 17, and had been receiving
therapy, hospital care, and medication ever since. Two days later,
Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...
ran a cover story explaining the nature of Angelakos' health issues and its ties to Passion Pit's second album. It was revealed he was on suicide watch. On March 4, 2013, ''
The Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' reported about Angelakos' evident recovery as Passion Pit performed a sold-out show at
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsyl ...
on February 8, 2013. The article cited Angelakos as being "in one of the best places he's ever been".
Angelakos, with his company The Wishart Group, together with co-founder Bianca Campuued and neuroscientists David and Michael Wells, is working to bring changes in the music industry with regards to mental health.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Angelakos, Michael
1987 births
21st-century American guitarists
21st-century American male singers
American male guitarists
American male singer-songwriters
American people of Greek descent
American rock guitarists
Bisexual male musicians
Bisexual singers
Emerson College alumni
LGBT people from New Jersey
Living people
Passion Pit members
People with bipolar disorder
American bisexual musicians
American LGBT singers
20th-century American LGBT people
21st-century American LGBT people