Michael Angelakos, the frontman for the synth-pop outfit Passion Pit, has been at the forefront of addressing the stigma around mental health and lack of resources for musicians for a while now.
His latest album, Tremendous Sea of Love, is being released to streaming platforms this Friday July 28th. All proceeds will be going to Stanley Center and Broad Institute, two companies doing research in mental health.
Until it is safer and healthier for us to be advocates, to be a writers, producers, and performers, I simply cannot continue making music.
— #weneedscience (@passionpit) July 24, 2017
On the five-year anniversary of Gossamer, Angelakos shared a series of tweets saying that the music industry almost killed him. Gossamer was born out of a manic episode, and he’s trying to make sure that his experience surrounding that record “doesn’t happen to me or anyone ever again.”
I love Passion Pit and I love music even more. When something would be wrong, I'd try to ignore it. Then I'd almost die. Really.
— #weneedscience (@passionpit) July 24, 2017
The tweets he sent were misinterpreted as many thought he was announcing a hiatus from music. In a new statement to Pitchfork, he clarified, “contrary to the headlines, I am not really on hiatus.” He’s focusing his work on The Wishart Group, which aims to provide support for musicians in a variety of different sectors, but mainly in mental health support. This means he’s “taking time away from being a commercialized artist.”
Angelakos’ statement was powerful, as it highlights to lack of support musicians receive from the music industry.
“I cannot continue to operate in this space, this industry, due to the way that it functions and treats people that work for it or create within it. It does nothing to promote the health required in order to produce the work it sells. The risks associated with being a commercialized artist and embarking on a typical album release, like endless promotion and touring, have nearly killed me.”
He’s trying to save people from what happened to him while being a creator under contract. Angelakos’ Twitter is a great resource for new breakthroughs, resources, and information regarding the progress and work that The Wishart Group is doing.
You can read the full statement over at Pitchfork.
Photo by Steven Brahms