Tycho and Benjamin Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie & The Postal Service recently shared a landmark new collaboration with single “Only Love,” followed by a high-energy beat-based remix from Austin-based producer, DJ, pianist and activist LP Giobbi. Today, a final version of the track is offered up, in collaboration with Brijean.

Brijean is Oakland-based duo Brijean Murphy and Doug Stuart, who make dance music for the mind, body and soul. They released their debut album 'Feelings' on Ghostly International in February 2021, a golden-hued dream pop tropicalia of dazzling beats and honeyed vocals. Murphy is an accomplished percussionist (Poolside, Toro Y Moi, U.S. Girls) as well as a visual artist, and multi-instrumentalist Stuart has a long history in the Bay Area music scene (Dougie Stu, Bells Atlas, Meernaa, Luke Temple). Together they create a sound of their own, evoking 70s disco, 90s house, and sly pop sensibilities.

Speaking on the new track, Murphy comments: "We [Doug and I] are fans of both Tycho and Ben Gibbard and it was wonderful to dive deep into ‘Only Love’.  We combined some of Tycho’s rich synth-driven melodies with Brijean and Gibbard’s vocals, creating a lush, house-leaning world.”

Tycho's Scott Hansen adds: “Brijean’s album 'Feelings' was one of my favorites of this year. I was hoping we’d find a way to collaborate eventually so I’m very happy to share their beautiful take of Only Love.”

“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.

“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’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."

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