Capital Cities to play Manila mall shows

2013 was a very busy year for composers/songwriters Ryan Merchant and Sebu Simonian, collectively known as Capital Cities. Aside from releasing a hit album, they were also able to play for fans all over the world, bag an MTV Video Music Award, got nominated for a Grammy, and a sold a million copies of a hit single. 

 

The Los Angeles-based duo, who found each other on classified ads website Craigslist, started out as jingle composers for ads. After nearly three years of doing mostly commercial work, they formed Capital Cities and released their first EP in 2011. 

Their widely acclaimed debut album "In a Tidal Wave of Mystery" was released in June 2013, and they haven’t stopped playing shows since. 

 

"It's a lot of fun to play shows in front of people who are excited about your music, and that's what we've been experiencing,” said Simonian at the recent Manila press conference. 

 

Made possible by Ayala Malls, the duo and a five-piece band will have a series of shows in the country.

 

"In a Tidal Wave of Mystery’s" first single, the digitally-released track “Safe and Sound”, gained a lot of exposure and steadily built a solid fan base, earning the band top spots in charts all over the world, including the number one spot on the German singles chart in 2013. 

 

The band is also getting a lot of recognition for their elaborate videos. “Safe and Sound” (which won the MTV VMA for Best Visual Effects and has recently been nominated for Best Music Video Grammy) and, “Kangaroo Court,” videos that have a dream-like, fantastical feel, are works of art in their own right. 

 

When asked about where they got the inspiration to come up with such themes, Merchant said that they see to it they enhance the musical experience further by the experience on the screen.

 

“We like to create a little world around the song so that people can engage with the music in a more thorough way—so they're not just listening to the music but they're actually bringing these visual components that let them connect more with the music.” 

 

Merchant said that it’s similar to how he connected with Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video when he was five years old—the first music video and song that he connected with. “That video was so iconic, and it really made me become obsessed with music because of the visuals and because of the music.” 

“With ‘Safe and Sound’, we wanted to have something that sort of told the story of the song and visually represented that.” 

 

Electro pop, indie electro, electronica synth-heavy dance pop, synthpop—these are just some of the terms that have been used to described the band’s music. 

 

The band said that they are looking forward to playing the four Ayala Malls shows, and gave one piece of indispensable advice: stretch before going to the show. Based on their music videos and concert footages online, it looks like fans will be in for an energetic performance and a lot of serious dancing. — KDM, GMA News

 

Capital Cities will play later today, January 11, at the Alabang Town Center at 4 p.m., and Glorietta at 7 p.m. On January 12, they will be at the Pampanga Marquee Mall at 3 p.m., and Trinoma Mall at 7 p.m.