You're listening to Song Exploder, where musicians take apart their songs and piece by piece,

tell the story of how they were made.

I'm Rishikesh Herway.

This is maybe a very predictable chapter in my life story going from Indy Rockers to

Mary to a famous person to divorce and then writing a divorce record.

Deathcap for Cutie released their eighth album in March 2015.

The song El Dorado was written in the wake of a breakup between lead singer Ben Gibbert

and actress Zoe De Chanel.

In this episode, Ben talks about the metaphor of the city of El Dorado and how it fit the

story he wanted to tell.

Plus, he talks about how a few pieces of equipment ended up shaping the creative process.

My name is Ben Gibbert.

I'm the singer and guitar player in the band Deathcap for Cutie.

I found myself a couple years ago trading a number of instruments into this guitar shop

and Tacoma that a friend of mine works at.

I ended up picking up a Fender Mustang guitar and then they threw in this rhythm master

drum machine with it, which is one of those wood panel drum machines that has seven presets

on it, a tempo and a volume.

I was like, okay, well, I guess I'll take that drum machine too.

I ended up writing the majority of the songs on the record with this particular Mustang

guitar and this rhythm master drum machine.

So El Dorado started with just this drum machine and then playing this arpeggiated guitar part

...