Capital Cities are a testament to how influential the Internet can be in terms of connecting music to its audience. Ryan Merchant and Sebu Simonian both caught the music bug at an early age, and never looked back. This indie-pop duo is igniting a dance craze all over the world with their hit single “Safe and Sound,” which is featured on their new album, In a Tidal Wave of Mystery.
If the music video for “Safe and Sound” is any indication, Capital Cities not only appreciate the history of music, but they also infuse their work with their obvious passion and drive. Their desire to make each song as perfect as it can be may be tedious, but it’s well worth it.
“Well, when we wrote [“Safe and Sound”], we felt like we wrote a good song,” says Simonian. “We were excited about it, so because of that, we wanted to make sure that the production of the song was just right. So, it actually took us almost two years to get it right. We demoed it at first and then we flushed it out and it was a lot more rock, the tempo was even a little bit slower. We just kept at it and then finally we ended up with the current production, which is a lot more electronic than how we first started and we added a trumpet. We just kind of experimented with it until we felt like it was just right. We had high hopes that it would spread organically and it did. First on the internet and then radio stations started picking it up, so yeah, we're excited about it!"
The music video for “Safe and Sound” features a dance-off between bands and genres from key points in music history, such as break dancing vs. the tango. The video’s eclectic combination of music mirrors the pair’s own various tastes.
“I think we listen to all sorts of things,” Merchant admits, “I love Fleetwood Mac, I love Phoenix, I love Air, Daft Punk, Michael Jackson. I mean, it's kind of all over the place. Joni Mitchell, I love Joni Mitchell. She's one of my favorite songwriters, so kind of a broad spectrum.”
After doing most of their own promotion in the beginning, Capital Cities was thrilled to partner with a major label such as Capitol Records.
“I think we're definitely in a unique situation because we did a lot of the leg work for a really long time, so we had some good legs going,” Simonian reveals. “It was great for us because they came in wanting to partner with us as opposed to taking over like a traditional record label often does. It's a very collaborative experience with them and they're really focused on helping us do the right thing with pushing the music properly, creatively, artistically and in a dedicated way.”
“It's been a very good experience—not the nightmare major label experience that you read about,” adds Merchant.
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Now that they have their wonderfully unique sound just the way they want it, this dance-invoking duo has no problem sharing the credit. When it comes to collaborations, however, Capital Cities are a lot more concerned with the integrity of the song than the famous name—such as André 3000—attached to it. (André appears on the track "Farrah Fawcett Hair.")
“I think the collaboration should be done for the sake of the song as opposed to just throwing someone on the track because you want to say, ‘featuring this person,’” Merchant shares. “Whatever the collaboration is, it should really enhance the song. That's kind of how we approach it. The singers that we work with, they don't have to be famous. If they have an amazing voice, that's what we want for a track because that's what important to us— does the song sound good? We don't care about just having a name there, but that's it ... Whatever is appropriate for the song is a good collaboration.”
Read the full interview here.