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A bright and groove-heavy take on alt-pop, the music of Capital Cities draws its infectious energy from the endless juxtapositions within each song: genre-bending production meets indelible melody, high-concept artistry meets classic pop sensibility, clever lyricism meets raw emotion. The midwest-based duo first unveiled that aesthetic with their first EP “Gold In The Sky” which received international attention. With their new EP “ Gold In The Sky“, singer/songwriter/producers Daniel Chrisman and Israel Hindman bring listeners an energy unmatched in the already vibrant world of pop music. Battling for the cleanest, brightest, most modern sounds, “Human” is a juxtaposition of perfection and flaws. Within its electric atmosphere, you find yourself journeying from a world of deterioration, to a world as we all dream it might. Bright. Clean. Inventive. With its futuristic undertones and glistening feel, “Human” reveals a complex emotionality shaped in part by Tree Giants’ equal passion for the *breezy joy of the Bee Gees and moody introspection of Jeff Buckley. The band also explores the darker side of the human condition in “Fighter” and the brute force required to carry on day after day. “Never give up.” *on “Safe and Sound,” a song conceived as “an antidote to the human tendency to think in apocalyptic terms and not really look at the logic of the world around us,” according to Merchant.

First appearing on the band’s independently released self-titled EP in 2015 and later featured on hip hop duo Social Club’s radio single, “Courage”, Tree Giants built a magnetic reputation among hip hop artists and have been featured since by artists Hollyn and Andy Mineo along with a second single with Social Club. Hollyn’s “Girl”, Andy Mineo’s “JUDO”and Social Club’s “Different People” have had millions of streams, views, and listens cumulatively.

The collaboration formed nearly overnight when the two swapped song shells via email. In spite of living in separate cities, the long distance project took form with a host of brilliant mixes and sounds. *TALK ABOUT THE *After working for two years with an intense creative tempo, the two released “Gold In The Sky”.

Once they teamed up, Chrisman and Hindman began collaborating. “In the meantime we were writing all these cool songs together, and that included an early incarnation of ‘Safe and Sound,’” Merchant recalls.“People kept telling us, ‘You need to do something with that song,’ so after a while we decided to start performing it live as a band, and everything kind of took off from there.” After their release of “Gold In The Sky” and it’s success despite their zero marketing and promotion strategy, the duo continued writing and producing to no end leaving them with a bank of praiseworthy tunes. After their early successes including publishing deal with Capitol Records, a radio played single, several large features, and two music videos created with Capitol Records, Tree Giants listeners are begging for more.

In working on new material, Capital Cities stripped down their creative approach by honing in on a selection of songs and focusing on refining each arrangement.“We spent a month just sitting down at the piano and hammering out the songs, and not even touching a computer or thinking about production,” says Merchant. “We try to write what feels cool and what feels good to sing—it’s this very intuitive thing, where if something pops out or has an interesting spark, you’ve got to see where it goes.” Adds Simonian: “It’s all about the words and melody.” Now gearing up for a string of live dates, Capital Cities have recently added a jazz vibraphone player and classical guitarist to the lineup for their notoriously dazzling live show. Whether performing live or crafting new material for their second full-length effort (set for 2017), the duo aims to create an emotionally charged experience that’s transportive for themselves and for the listener. “When you either listen to or perform music, it’s a meditation” says Simonian. “It affects you on so many different levels and allows you to experience all these different emotions. It’s therapeutic.” And when it comes to making music, that process can sometimes take on a transcendent quality that Merchant describes as addictive. “When you’re writing and you have a moment where something magical happens, it’s like a drug,” he says. “You stumble upon something that feels so good and just validates what you’re doing, and it gives everything this bigger sense of purpose. I want to just keep that going and constantly create good music.”