Safe And Sound - Dzeko And Torres’ Digital Dreamin Remix

Capital Cities is an electro-rock duo from Los Angeles, California comprising Ryan Merchant and Sebu Simonian. The first incarnation of the song appeared on an EP called Capitol Cities that the duo released independently in 2011. The group's first release, it got the attention of Capitol Records, which signed them and issued an updated version of the song as their first single in 2013. This version was also included on their debut album, In a Tidal Wave Of Mystery.

The song was created back in 2011, before Merchant and Simonian were known as Capital Cities, when the Los Angeles pair were earning their corn composing music for advertising campaigns. "It started as a little idea we came up with - it wasn't a fully fleshed-out song, per se," Merchant told Billboard magazine. "We noticed that, when we showed it to people, there was this unanimous feeling that there was something special about this music, and we started to develop it. It took 10 different versions before we finally came to what you hear on the radio now, where we decided to add a trumpet for the main bridge part, which I think was one of our best decisions on the song. And we brought out this vintage keyboard that provides the foundation for the song. So the song really took a long time to get right, because we knew it was such an important song for us."

Regarding the track's meaning, Merchant noted: "It seems like every generation feels like it's living in the worst of times, and of course there are horrible things happening, but the average person is better off now than he or she was 50 years ago. In some ways 'Safe and Sound' is an antidote to the human tendency to think in apocalyptic terms and not really look at the logic of the world around us. Things are getting better and there's a lot to be positive about."