EDM superstar Tycho joined forces with Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard for the collaborative single “Only Love.” The song arrived via Mom + Pop Music / Ninja Tune along with a visualizer designed by Tycho (Scott Hansen).
Tycho provided the production and arrangements on which Gibbard’s trademark vocals are overlaid. The pair first teamed up in 2016 when Tycho remixed Death Cab For Cutie’s Kintsugi track “The Ghosts Of Beverly Drive.”
“Ben’s voice was a very inspiring element to work with from a production standpoint, I felt it really meshed well with the kinds of sounds and instrumentation I gravitate towards. ‘Only Love’ started life as an instrumental, but something was missing. I sent a rough demo to Ben and he recorded some vocals over it,” Hansen explained. “The first time I heard the rough vocals the whole song suddenly made sense and the arrangement flowed out of that.”
“In 2014 while reading This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate by Naomi Klein, I came across a quote from Montanan goat rancher and environmentalist Alexis Bonogofsky that moved me immensely,” added Gibbard. “Speaking about the fight to protect public lands in southeastern Montana from the mining company Arch Coal, she said: ‘(The) connection to this place and the love people have for it, that’s what Arch Coal doesn’t get. They underestimate that. They don’t understand it so they disregard it. And that’s what in the end will save that place. It’s not the hatred for the coal companies or anger, but love will save this place.’ When Scott sent me the music for ‘Only Love,’ it seemed perfect for this statement.”
Check out the “Only Love” visualizer below:
