So how would you handle popularity? Success? Fame? I’m not just talking about people liking you or what you do, I’m talking about your name becoming synonymous with the phrase “Best of the Year.” When you’re just happy that your friends in your college town like your work and then months later everyone with a laptop is Twittering how they’re listening to your song, where do you go next? If your Passion Pit you go further. Their EP “Chunk of Change” was 2008′s gem and their debut LP “Manners” is one of 2009′s crowning achievements. A pop disco mix flying high with dark lyrics popping in and out throughout one of the most satisfying debut albums I’ve ever listened to. They couldn’t just let their album be enough though. Their video for their single “The Reeling” is nominated for a VMA this year, which is one of those things you don’t expect when you’re singing into your laptop in your bedroom. Now they’re all over the world touring and becoming one of the better live acts around now. Letter to Jane caught up with drummer Nate Donmoyer on their European tour to talk about their tour, the album, and the band’s goals for the future.

Hello, So I’d like to start with talking about the tour. You’re in the UK right now, how’s the European tour going?

Good, we just played in Reading which was really great and now we’re heading to Copenhagen. We have a couple more shows in the UK then back to the States.

How much longer are you in Europe because I know you’re going to be here in Portland in a couple weeks?

Yeah we’re here till September 11th and then we head to Colorado to play Monolith then we’re going to take some time off then get back to touring again.

So before Passion Pit had any of you done a tour before?

Yeah, just in the States, nothing too big, just a lot of DIY shows and stuff like that, nothing like what we do now, much smaller.

It’s seems that the band’s success came as a surprise. So what were your goals or aspiration in life before the band, how did you see your life unfolding for the next couple of years if Passion Pit hadn’t happened?

Oh I’d probably still be in Boston making dance music and DJing, I don’t know what I’d be doing exactly but I know I’d still be making music. Yeah the amount of success that we’ve seen has been a bit of a surprise and we’re still getting used to that.

Speaking of success, your popularity has gone beyond people just liking you. Everywhere I went or what I read this year has had Passion Pit as the staple for what is cool in 2009. It’s been like skinny jeans, plaid shirts, and Passion Pit. When it gets to that level how does that not affect you?

Ha, thanks, well we are somewhat self aware but not too much. You can’t really think about that all the time. I mean you definitely feel it, but we’re just trying to improve our live show, trying to become a better band.

Passion Pit seems works so great as a live band, with recording “Manners” did you record as a live band?

Well it was kind of. We’d play like 8 bars then loop that and play some drums and so forth. So yes it was still samples but more organic with us playing them this time.

With the production of “Manners” what sort of discussions did the band have with the producer Chris Zane? What were some concerns and goals that each of you had going into this album?

Well I had met Chris Zane once and I had never met our engineer, Alex Aldi before. I had worked with other producers before but never in a setting like this, the whole experience went better than I ever could have expected. Zane became a mentor to us, not just musically but business wise too. We became a better band because of him. We’re more streamlined now and a better band now than we were before Manners.

I got to say the use of the children’s choir really surprised me with how organic it feels on this album. Usually you only hear a children’s choir in a really sappy piano number about making a difference or in some rap song where someone like Nas is talking about oppression and then kids start singing and it’s sort of ironic because you don’t expect a child to be singing about moral decay of modern society. What made you want to use a children’s choir and was there any fear of it sound too cliché ?

Thanks, yeah that was Mike’s idea, he really wanted to have a choir on some of the songs. We were having a lot of trouble finding one and then Chris found this children’s choir (PS 22) at the last minute on Youtube and they were covering all sorts of stuff like Tori Amos songs and we got them to come in and they really delivered.

“Manners” was your first big studio album, how did you like the studio?

The studios we recorded in were amazing; to go from a bedroom with a couple mics in it to Phillip Glass’ studio in Tribeca was amazing. The place was just massive, huge halls, grand pianos, giant mixing boards, it was completely different than what we had known before.

This has been a big year for you guys. You’ve been nominated for a VMA for breakthrough video of the year with your music video for “The Reeling.” What do you think are your chances of winning?

Ha, I have no idea; I’m still kind of amazed that we were even nominated. Humble produced the video and created all those cool effects and I just hope we win it for those guys because they really deserve it.

Real quick what’s in store for Passion Pit? Have you guys started talking about any new projects or follow-ups?

I think we just want to concentrate on becoming better as a live band. We have a lot of touring ahead and we just want to play off the album for a while before we take a long time to concentrate on recording new material, I think that might be 2 or 3 years away.

(Passion Pit is a pop band from Cambridge Massachusetts. You can find more from Passion Pit at their website and Myspace)

Listen:

Passion Pit – The Reeling

Passion Pit – Sleepyhead