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Gunship (band)

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Gunship
OriginUnited Kingdom
GenresSynthwave
Years active2010–present
LabelsHorsie in the Hedge
MembersAlex Westaway
Dan Haigh
Alex Gingell
Websitegunshipmusic.com

Gunship (stylised as GUNSHIP) is a British synthwave band formed in 2014 by Dan Haigh and Alex Westaway and later joined by drummer Alex Gingell.[1] Gunship's music has been described as "influenced by the soundtracks of 80s film, television shows, video games & cartoons"[2] and "a neon soaked, late night, sonic getaway drive, dripping with luscious analog synthesizers, cinematic vocals and cyberpunk values, exploding from the front cover of a dusty plastic VHS case which has lain forgotten since 1984."[3] The band are credited with helping to popularise the synthwave scene and evolving it by adding rock song structure and extensive use of vocals to a predominantly instrumental genre. [citation needed]

History

After Alex Westaway and Dan Haigh's other musical act, Fightstar, went on hiatus in 2010, Westaway and Haigh decided to focus on other musical ventures, including forming Gunship. They are joined by their long-time collaborator and close friend, Alex Gingell. Their debut release, self-titled Gunship, was released in 2015 to positive reception. Their follow up, Dark All Day, was released 5 October 2018.

Musical style

Gunship have a reputation for creating innovative and interesting music videos[4][5][6] and collaborated with film director John Carpenter on their music video for "Tech Noir", a claymation homage to 1980s nostalgia, co-written and directed by Gunship and Lee Hardcastle. John Carpenter is quoted as describing them as "nice and cool." and that "Tech Noir" is "One of my favorite songs of the year. Gunship rules." He also went on to say "It would be fun to collaborate with Gunship."[7][8] They also created the "first music video made in the GTA 5 Rockstar editor"[9] for their song "The Mountain" and made another entirely from pixel art with Jason Tammemagi for the song "Revel in Your Time".[10]

Reception

The band's self-titled debut album received outstanding reviews from both electronic and rock press alike[11] and was credited with sounding simultaneously like "they dropped straight out of the decade itself."[12] and for its crisp modern production[13] "first of all, the production on this album is absolutely pristine – every fuzzy, reverb-soaked layer of analogue synthesizer sounds perfectly placed in the mix, balanced by melodramatic drum patterns that always stay true to their influence rather than taking a more standard EDM trajectory." mixed by producer Carl Bown[14] "It could easily earn a place in synthwave history as one of the first crossover albums".[15] In a commentary about the band, a critic wrote, "There's no doubt the level of effort they put into everything resonates deeply in the 80s retro community and beyond".[16]

Dark All Day Album

‘Dark All Day’ is a musical expansion of the band’s sound which sees them exploring darker and more cinematic material in tandem with a renewed focus on the killer hooks and pop sensibility Gunship are known for. The album features notable collaborations with Kat Von D (tattoo artist and entrepreneur), Richard K Morgan (Author - Altered Carbon), and Tim Cappello (The Lost Boys) and Wil Wheaton. The band wrote a tribute to Ernest Cline's 'Ready Player One' novel entitled 'Art3mis & Parzival' and created an accompanying pixel art video which Ernest himself described as 'Bad Ass!'[17] The band physically appeared for the first time in their videos in the video for the album's title track 'Dark All Day', a video which pays homage to fiction's various vampire slayers, including Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Blade, Seth Gecko and The Frog Brothers.[18]

Equipment and gear

Gunship have a large collection of synthesizers and use a combination of vintage and modern synths to achieve their sound including the Juno 106, DSI Prophet 12, DSI Prophet 6, MOOG Minimoog, MOOG Mother 32, and various Oberheim units.[19]

Collaborators (GUNSHIP album)

The first Gunship album featured collaborations with:[20]

Collaborators (Dark All Day album)

The second Gunship album featured collaborations with:

Members

  • Alex Westaway – vocals, multi-instruments
  • Dan Haigh – multi-instruments
  • Alex Gingell – multi-instruments

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with year released and chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions
UK
[22] 		UK
Dance 		UK
Indie 		AUS
Digital
[23] 		IRE
Indie
[24] 		SCO
[25] 		US
[26] 		US
Dance
[27] 		US
Heat
[28] 		US
Indie
[29]
Gunship 2015 — 30[30] 40[31] — — — — — — —
Dark All Day 2018 34 1[32] 6[33] 9 14 19 184 4 1 8

Collaborations and other releases

  • Collaborated with Metrik on the track "Electric Echo" (2016)
  • Remixed a track for Lionface's No Hope State (2017)[34]
  • Collaborated with Lazerhawk on the track "Feel the Rush Tonight" (2017)
  • Included the track "Vale of Shadows" on the album Rise of the Synths EP2 official companion album. (2017)
  • Released the single "Art3mis & Parzival" (2018)
  • Collaborated with Tim Cappello and Indiana for the single "Dark All Day" (2018), which features on their album of the same name.
  • Included the track "Cthulhu" on the album Fangoria Presents: Hollydoom (Original Magazine Soundtrack) (2019)[35]

Remixes

The following artists have remixed Gunship songs:

  • Carpenter Brut (Tech Noir)
  • Makeup and Vanity Set (Black Sun on the Horizon)
  • Miami Nights 1984 (Revel In Your Time)

References

  1. ^ "Metropolis Music Publishing announce the signing of Fightstar's Dan Haigh and Al Westaway's new synth wave project, GUNSHIP". www.recordoftheday.com. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  2. ^ "GUNSHIP DEBUT LANDS | Metropolis Studios". www.thisismetropolis.com. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  3. ^ "Gunship to re-release self-titled album on cassette with Commodore 64 game". Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  4. ^ "Gunship Release One of the Coolest Music Videos Ever". 19 January 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  5. ^ "The world's first music video made in GTA's Rockstar editor is amazing". Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  6. ^ "Music Video of the Week: Revel In Your Time – Gunship – Culturefly". 12 August 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  7. ^ "Gunship – Tech Noir – AltSounds". Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  8. ^ "John Carpenter Talks To BD And Gunship (Interview)". 27 August 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  9. ^ Skipper, Ben (3 June 2015). "Gunship: The Mountain – First music video made in GTA 5 Rockstar Editor by 8-bit Bastard". Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  10. ^ "GUNSHIP – Magical Pixel Art Video – Revel in Your Time – JetSociety" (in French). 26 July 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  11. ^ "GUNSHIP – GUNSHIP". Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  12. ^ "Gunship – Gunship | Album Review – Good Music Matters". 28 December 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  13. ^ "ALBUM REVIEW: GUNSHIP – GUNSHIP «  Bring the Noise UK". bringthenoiseuk.com. Retrieved 12 September 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |website= (help)
  14. ^ "Gunship – Gunship (album review ) | Sputnikmusic". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  15. ^ "GUNSHIP – GUNSHIP". Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  16. ^ Vehlinggo, Aaron (27 August 2015). "Has GUNSHIP Changed Everything?". Vehlinggo. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  17. ^ Liptak, Andrew (11 March 2018). "Ernie Cline's Ready Player One gets a tiny adaptation in this music video". The Verge. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  18. ^ "Buffy, Blade, Seth Gecko vs. The Lost Boys in Gunship music video". www.joblo.com. 16 July 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  19. ^ Damme, Jean-Pierre Van. "GUNSHIP". Archived from the original on 20 October 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  20. ^ Damme, Jean-Pierre Van. "GUNSHIP". Archived from the original on 20 October 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ "GUNSHIP - Facebook". Facebook. 28 February 2017.
  22. ^ "Gunship". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  23. ^ "ARIA Digital Albums Chart" (PDF). ARIA Charts. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  24. ^ "IRMA – Irish Recorded Music Association". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 16 October 2018. Click "Independent," set the year as "2018" and date as "12-Oct-18."
  25. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. 12–18 October 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  26. ^ "Top 200 Albums". Billboard. 20 October 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  27. ^ "EDM Music & Dance Albums Chart". Billboard. 20 October 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  28. ^ "Heatseekers Albums: Up and Coming Musicians Chart". Billboard. 20 October 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  29. ^ "Independent Albums". Billboard. 20 October 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  30. ^ "Official Dance Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. 31 July – 6 August 2015. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  31. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. 31 July – 6 August 2015. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  32. ^ "Official Dance Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. 12–18 October 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  33. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. 12–18 October 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  34. ^ "GUNSHIP's Remix of Lionface's "No Hope State" is Dreamy '80s Synthwave (Premiere)". Nerdist. 28 April 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  35. ^ https://lakeshorerecords.bandcamp.com/track/cthulhu
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