Capital Cities (band)

Capital Cities
Capital Cities in 2013 Left to right: Sebu Simonian, Ryan Merchant
Capital Cities in 2013
Left to right: Sebu Simonian, Ryan Merchant
Background information
OriginLos Angeles, California, US
Genres
Years active2008–present[5][2]
Labels
Members
Websitecapitalcitiesmusic.com

Capital Cities is an American pop duo from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2008 by Ryan Merchant (vocals, keyboard, guitar) and Sebu Simonian (vocals, keyboard). Their debut EP was released on June 7, 2011, with lead single "Safe and Sound" which became their only top ten hit single.

A subsequent single, "Kangaroo Court", was released on March 27, 2012.[6] The band was featured on the Pop Up #1 compilation selected by Perez Hilton that was released on August 7, 2012.[7] The band's song "Safe and Sound" charted at #1 on the US Alternative Songs chart.[8] The song was also used in a German Vodafone commercial,[9] in a television commercial in the United States and Canada for the 2014 Mazda 3, and in an Air New Zealand in-flight safety video.[10] The song "Center Stage" was featured on ESPN's First Take where they played a short segment of the retro-sounding track before going to commercial breaks.

The band's debut album, In a Tidal Wave of Mystery, was released June 4, 2013 via Capitol Records in partnership with Lazy Hooks. It was the first release of new material on Capitol with a Universal Music Group catalog number. The album debuted at number sixty-six on the Billboard 200 chart.

  1. ^ "Indie pop band Capital Cities at Ayala Malls". The Philippine STAR. December 16, 2013. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  2. ^ a b Lopez, Korina (22 June 2013). "On the Verge: Meet dance-pop duo Capital Cities". USA Today. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  3. ^ Usinger, Mike (May 23, 2013). "Capital Cities sets jingles aside for synth-pop hooks". The Georgia Straight. Vancouver Free Press. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  4. ^ Thomas, Fred. "Capital Cities Bio". AllMusic. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  5. ^ Imbong, Petier (11 January 2014). "Capital Cities: Unabashedly Cheery". Rappler. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  6. ^ "Capital Cities Drop Kangaroo Court". Billboard.com. 2012-03-29. Retrieved 2012-11-27.
  7. ^ "Pop Up! Hours Away!". PerezHilton.com. 2012-08-06. Archived from the original on 2013-10-05. Retrieved 2012-11-27.
  8. ^ "Capital Cities". Billboard.com. 2013-02-23. Retrieved 2013-02-23.
  9. ^ "Vodafone commercial in german television". tvsongs.de. 2013-04-07. Archived from the original on 2013-05-10. Retrieved 2013-04-08.
  10. ^ About New Zealand (2014-02-13), Safety in Paradise - Air New Zealand Safety Video, retrieved 2018-11-22