Passion Pit's Michael Angelakos on public perceptions of his mental illness

Michael Angelakos is doing okay. It's three years since the Passion Pit frontman's very public suicide attempt, which occurred at a low point in a struggle with bipolar disorder - or rather, a struggle with trying to explain to the world that he was bipolar only to be accused of putting on a publicity stunt for the band's new album.

"It wasn't the explaining [about being bipolar] that was the problem," Angelakos says. "It was defending it. It put me on back footing. That had nothing to do with the way the information was conveyed. It had to do with the media's natural inclination to assume something is fake at all times."

"I don't think anyone realised what I'd been through, having to lie about [my condition] all the time," he adds.

When his illness became public, Angelakos went through the gauntlet of pitfalls that come with celebrity status. His was a chosen path, though, and one he says he was prepared for to a certain extent.

"I elected to do this," he says. "I elected to be, in a way, a public person. I'm not going to make a record and then not talk to people. That's impossible. I have to talk to people. From day one I knew it would take three, four years before people understood what was going on. In the moment, I was having to cancel shows. Gob forbid I be honest about the reasons for that. I wish some people had dealt with it differently."

Angelakos' life has taken a positive turn in the years since, now married and settled in Brooklyn with a new LP on the shelves. For more on this, as well as Angelakos' background, upbringing and songwriting, pick up the new issue of Hot Press, on newsstands now!

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