Passion Pit is an American electronic band from Cambridge, Massachusetts. Formed in 2007, the group consists of Michael Angelakos (lead vocals/keyboards), Ian Hultquist (keyboards/guitar), Ayad Al Adhamy (synth/samples), Jeff Apruzzese (bass) and Nate Donmoyer (drums).

History
 

Formation

Passion Pit formed in late 2007. Originally, Michael Angelakos had started "Passion Pit" as a project in order to write a few songs for his girlfriend as a Valentine's Day present. Angelakos lived in Buffalo, NY, where his music was first heard. The group is widely followed throughout the city, with their music appearing in local eateries, such as Elmwood Taco & Subs, in addition to the actual band's home city of Boston. In 2008, after playing only a handful of shows, they were voted Best New Act in the The Boston Phoenix's Best Music Poll. Soon thereafter the band was signed to the New York City-based Frenchkiss Records and Columbia in the UK.

CMJ Music Marathon 2008 named Passion Pit one of the top bands resulting in an MTV feature. Passion Pit placed ninth in BBC's Sound of 2009 list of up-and-coming acts.
 

Chunk of Change (2007–2008)

The band's debut EP Chunk of Change was released on September 16, 2008. The first four tracks were a Valentine's Day gift from Angelakos to his then-girlfriend that became popular throughout Emerson College, which Angelakos was attending. Tracks 5 and 6, "Sleepyhead" and "Better Things," were added to the commercial release, with recordings engineered by Ian Hultquist. The song "Sleepyhead" contains samples of the song "Óró Mo Bháidín" by Irish singer and harpist Mary O'Hara. "Sleepyhead" has gained media exposure through its use in a Canadian PSP advertisement, a commercial for comedy movies in the U.K., as well as in MTVs 'What the Flip?' campaign. Pitchfork included the "Sleepyhead" music video, directed by The Wilderness, in its top 40 music videos of 2008 list. "Sleepyhead" was also used as the music in Five USA/Fiver Promo - Seriously Funny Movies Advert in 2009.

On February 24, 2009, the American iTunes store released "Sleepyhead" as a discovery download song.

Following the band's exposure on the BBC's Sound of 2009, Sleepyhead has started to receive airplay on NME TV in the UK.
 

Manners (2009-present)

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. In celebration, the band played their record release party on the 18th in New York City on a Rocks Off boat cruise.  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".

The band's live performances have also been received well, having opened for bands such as Death Cab for Cutie, RJD2, Girl Talk, and These New Puritans.

On April 21, 2009, Passion Pit released the official video for "The Reeling", the first single from Manners, on their YouTube page. The band is slated to appear in Josh Schwartz's online show 'Rockville' in 2009 which will air exclusively on TheWB.com.

On June 11 2009, they performed live at the 2009 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, TN.

On July 6 2009, Passion Pit performed a live performance at the iTunes Festival '09 alongside Franz Ferdinand.

Also in July 2009 Passion Pit recorded their hit song, "Sleepyhead" on Myspace Transmissions, and performed in Chicago, Illinois at Lollapalooza 2009.

On October 4, 2009, Passion Pit performed at the Austin City Limits music festival in Austin, Texas.