Tycho & Benjamin Gibbard team up to unveil compelling new single ‘Only Love’

Out this week, 2x GRAMMY® Award–nominated electronic artist Tycho (aka Scott Hansen) and Benjamin Gibbard of 8x GRAMMY® Award nominated group Death Cab for Cutie have teamed up to unveil a new single, “Only Love”, available now via Mom + Pop Music/Ninja Tune.

Tycho, met with widespread praise by the likes of Pitchfork, Billboard, NPR and DJ Mag, and as well as amassing over half a billion streams to date, fuses his transcendent production and signature arrangements with Gibbard’s cathartic, deeply humanist lyricism that stands as a powerful anthem from both artists. Watch the official visualiser, designed by Tycho below.

The single marks Gibbard’s first new major electronic collaboration since his RIAA platinum certified work in The Postal Service more than a decade ago. The collaborative relationship began its life in 2015 after Death Cab for Cutie invited Scott to remix their single, “The Ghosts of Beverly Hills”, where Scott was compelled by the song’s lyrical melody and Ben Gibbard’s distinctive vocals, resulting in “The Ghosts of Beverly Drive (Tycho Remix)”.

Speaking on the conceptualisation of “Only Love”, Scott shares, “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.”

Ben further elaborates, “In 2014 while reading This Changes Everything: Capitalism and The Climate by Naomi Klein, I came across a quote from Montanan goat rancher and environmentalist Alexis Bonogofsky that moved me immensely. 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. And that’s what in the end will save that place. Is not the hatred for the coal companies, or anger, but love will save that place.”

“When Scott sent me the music for ‘Only Love,’ it seemed perfect for this statement. Since reading Alexis’s 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.“