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Passion Pit are currently busy on the road |
A Roundhouse Pit stop, boys?
PREVIEW: ITUNES FESITVAL
Roundhouse
MICHAEL Angelakos is bewildered, overwhelmed, wide-eyed and loving every second of it.
The frontman of Passion Pit – the critics’ latest fave keyboard-indie dance outfit – is speaking as his band tumbles over the precipice of relative obscurity into the land of media darlings.
“I don’t even know where I’m going to be tomorrow,” he says, as the band hurtle towards their next gig in Bristol. “We have this life now where things are kind of being decided for us and we’re happy because they’re amazing things, but we don’t know what’s going on.”
Passion Pit, from Massacusetts, have had a hectic few weeks, playing Hyde Park and Glastonbury and supporting Franz Ferdinand during this month’s iTunes Festival, a month of huge names playing every day at the Roundhouse. Jamie T opened the event on Wednesday but there’s still Oasis, Kasabian, Graham Coxon, The Saturdays, Simple Minds, A-Ha, Kelly Rowland and more to come.
Michael said: “It’s a blur here. Things melt into each other. All of a sudden you’re being talked about by people you know and don’t know, good and bad things. It’s a growing pain.
“You’re witnessing us just now starting to move from playing small 300- 500 rooms to huge festivals with overwhelming crowds. We’re a little freaked out but completely humbled by the fact people are considering us. It’s pretty moving.”
They made waves at Glastonbury by cheekily dedicating a song – previously criticised by Jarvis Cocker – to the Pulp frontman.
“He did a little shock-jock thing which pissed off a bunch of people and we were one of those,” says Michael. “We’re huge Pulp fans and Jarvis is a really funny person. The fact he even heard of us was amazing. We thought we’d do a little touché and dedicate the song he slagged off to him. I heard he laughed it off. I don’t care if he doesn’t like it. Of all our songs it’s my least favourite.”
He also confessed: “We’re a keyboard-based band and we’re actually all guitarists. We started playing keyboards for this band and it’s funny this band’s the one getting recognition because it’s the band where we don’t play our instrument of choice. It’s ironic when you put all this work into playing one particular instrument and that ends up being the one you’re not using.
“What makes us different to a lot of keyboard bands is we approach them differently because we play them like guitars and that’s what makes our sound more percussive and I personally like it better.”
Michael says the band are huge foodies but were struggling to find some good English meals, adding.
“We’re not entirely impressed by the food selections, we’re looking for some good English cuisine,” he says.
Michael said one of their favourite places to play was Koko: “The decor alone would make someone enjoy that venue. The sound was interesting – a little cavernous. The best of both worlds – a large venue that onstage felt like a small venue. It was operatic and regal at once.”
He says he would most like to work with Beyonce’s sister Solange, adding: “Her music’s absolutely incredible. For some reason she came into my life in a very strange way.
“All the production is contemporary but retro, so smart and her voice is insane – reminds me of a young Michael Jackson.”
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