Passion Pit was formed in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2007. The initial lineup featured several aspiring musicians.
The first songs for the group were recorded by its only permanent member Michael Angelakos. He created them for his girlfriend as a gift for St. Valentine’s Day. Later, these songs became a part of an EP, Chunk of Change. The aspiring singer recorded his first tracks using his old laptop. Michael gave live performances on campus. At one of them, he was approached by Ian Hultquist, who offered the singer to create a band.
The group’s lineup featured many different artists, who came and went. Today, Angelakos and three more live musicians are part of the band. It took the artists a long time to come up with the format of the group. Eventually, in 2008, they signed a contract with Frenchkiss studio.
In September 2008, Passion Pit presented its debut EP, Chunk of Change. The album helped the artists become popular on the campus of Emerson College, which Angelakos attended. During classes, Michael gave out free records to his college mates. The single “Sleepyhead”, which was part of the album, became very popular. It was used in marketing campaigns. The music video for the song collected over 13 million views on YouTube.