Tycho & Benjamin Gibbard Unite for 'One Love'

2x GRAMMY® Award-nominated electronic artist Tycho and Benjamin Gibbard of 8x GRAMMY® Award-nominated Atlantic Records recording group Death Cab for Cutie have announced the release of a landmark new collaboration. "Only Love" is available now via Mom + Pop Music/Ninja Tune; an official visualizer - designed by Tycho mastermind Scott Hansen - is streaming now at YouTube.

"Only Love" stands as a powerful anthem from both artists, meticulously fusing Tycho's transcendent production and signature arrangements with Gibbard's cathartic, deeply humanist lyricism. The first new major electronic collaboration for Gibbard since his RIAA platinum-certified work in The Postal Service more than a decade ago, the track began its life after Death Cab for Cutie invited Hansen to remix their 2015 single, "The Ghosts of Beverly Hills." Though Hansen is famously selective about commissioned remixes, he fully connected with the song's lyrical melody and Gibbard's distinctive vocals. "The Ghosts of Beverly Drive (Tycho Remix)" can be heard HERE.

"I had been a fan of Ben's work for a long time when, in 2016, I had the chance to do a remix for Death Cab for Cutie's track 'The Ghosts of Beverly Drive,'" says Hansen. "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. The first time I heard the rough vocals the whole song suddenly made sense and the arrangement flowed out of that. After my early experimentations with vocals on Weather this felt like a great opportunity to put everything I had learned during that process into practice. It was certainly an honor to be able to work with such an iconic voice."

"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," says 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. Since reading Alexis' words, I've carried them as a universal truth; that the only way we preserve the people, places or things we care for is with love, not hatred. This is often easier said than done, of course. But I find myself coming back to her statement as if it were a mantra.

"I grew up hiking and camping on public lands here in Washington State and my love for them has only increased since becoming a mountain / ultra / trail runner. They were in the forefront of my mind while working on this song."

Tycho recently announced the launch of his inaugural ISO50 branded event, set for Friday, July 23 at Brooklyn, NY's Brooklyn Mirage. The Tycho-curated evening will feature six acts over six hours, headlined by Hansen himself and the East Coast debut of the new TYCHO: ISO50 show, an audio-visual immersive experience with 360-degree projection mapping.

Joining Tycho at the one-of-a-kind, outdoor event will be a number of artists who have all collaborated, remixed, toured with, and/or been staples of Tycho's groundbreaking sunrise Burning Man DJ sets, including RAC, Com Truise, Roosevelt, Heathered Pearls, and Nitemoves.

In keeping with the visual aesthetic of the ISO50 festival, the digital event poster will be tokenized and made available as an NFT. All attendees will have the exclusive opportunity to purchase the NFT for only the cost of minting and gas fees. For more information and ticket availability, please visit dice.fm HERE.

Photo Credit: Andrew Paynter

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