Capital Cities cause ground-shaking frenzy in Quezon City mall
Who would have thought that answering a Craigslist ad to make jingles for commercials would be the beginnings of electro pop super duo Capital Cities?
Ryan Merchant and Sebu Semonian met in 2008, wrote songs for companies like Hallmark and Honda and shifted their talent in making catchy music for themselves a few years later.
Their lead single “Safe and Sound,” which was part of their self-titled EP, grew steadily yet massively. They promoted it on the web, released it digitally until it randomly became a hit song in Peru.
The ground shook at Trinoma
The song has resonated with audiences worldwide that it’s been re-released on their debut studio album “In a Tidal Wave of Mystery” under Capitol Records. The song’s music video won an MTV video award for Best Visual Effects and is nominated in the 2014 Grammy Awards for Best Music Video Category.
On January 12, Capital Cities performed in front of a multitude of crazy fans who danced along to the band and jumped up and down uncontrollably—literally shaking the ground of the vast activity center of Trinoma Mall in Quezon City.
The venue was packed, from young fans who squeezed themselves in the front row barricades, to those who simply watched from the sides, to onlookers who peered down from upper floors.
The art of getting people hooked
Capital Cities’ Ryan Merchant and Sebu Semonian’s pairing is a golden one.
Because of their ability to make catchy songs through the years, they have mastered the art of how to get people hooked on their music.
Last year, they released the single “One More Minute,” a song included in “Iron Man 3: Heroes Fall,” a compilation album inspired by the movie.
Randomness a hit-making formula?
They’re set to play to a sold-out crowd at Coachella, the yearly hipster music fest in California, alongside major artists such as Muse, Arcade Fire and a reuniting hip-hop group Outkast, whose member Andre 3000 was featured in the duo’s song “Farah Fawcett Hair.”
While the song is chockfull of familiar references like Nutella, Michael Jackson’s Thriller and sunsets, all seemingly random, they’re all, like the song says, “good sh*t” that people can relate to.
Who knows? It could be a glimpse to Capital Cities’ hit-making formula.
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