Artist Profile: Gunship

When it comes to synthwave, there are a few artists whose names come up in nearly every discussion. Kavinsky, Lazerhawk, The Midnight, Carpenter Brut, and Perturbator. Maybe swap out an artist here and there, but that's generally what you'll find. However I think one artist, despite their relative success, is still overlooked far too often. That artist would be Gunship.

Gunship consists of three members, Dan Haigh, Alex Westaway, and Alex Gingell, though they frequently enlist the vocal talent of Stella Le Page (now known as Beau Corbeau). The origin of the band itself is quite interesting, and I highly recommend reading more about it. Here's a Vehlinggo article on the topic. To sum it up, the group started when two members of the UK post-hardcore band Fightstar (Dan and Alex W.) gained an infatuation with synth music and a desire to create it, so they did. During a break in Fightstar's record/tour cycle, they begun work on this new project, later bringing on Alex G. as their drummer. Besides their successful background in rock, the team also has experience in directing music videos and programming mobile apps which enables them to take their music from a purely aural experience to something even greater. For now, though, let's focus on the audio.

The Gunship studio. Photo by Dan Haigh.

Gunship is nothing if not authentic, recording almost all of their pulsing basslines, dreamlike chords, and soaring arpeggios on real analog hardware, physically turning knobs and moving sliders to perform the music. If you've ever listened to the soundtrack of Blade Runner (1982), you'll find yourself at home here. There are whole communities built on the lust for analog synthesis, and all of them will tell you that digital emulation is devoid of life and falls flat every time. While I don't condone this elitism, as hardware synthesizers are an expensive hobby and inaccessible to many, there really is just something special about them, and this shows clear in Gunship's music. Of all the artists I've listened to in the Synthwave genre, I have yet to find anything as lush as their debut album, GUNSHIP (2015). Every song has this wonderful arrangement and atmosphere that somehow feels dystopian, yet hopeful and even majestic all at once, absolutely surrounding you in this unstoppable wave of amplitude modulation. Wrapped up in this neon blanket, nothing comes close. Beyond that, somehow the vocals manage to not only match that high standard, but often surpass it. Provided by Alex Westaway, the performances on their debut album are haunting, yet maintain a sense of determination, as if ready to take on a hostile world and make it his own. This is perfectly complimented by Stella Le Page's gentle and reassuring voice, so much so that I think the band would be entirely improved by bringing Stella on as a full-time member. She has done nothing but elevate every song she's featured in.

A still from the Dark All Day music video.

For a band that handles a specific style so masterfully and with great success, you would expect them to stay in that region and continue to dominate, but Gunship has no fear of experimentation. Their sophomore album, Dark All Day (2018), takes the band in a new and exciting direction. As a whole it is much darker than the first, relying more heavily upon roaring basses than the soft pads that fans had come to love. Yet they do it with almost uninterrupted success. Beyond the obvious departure in the construction of synth patches, there's a clear difference in how Alex W's vocals are performed and engineered. There's a level of distortion mixed in, which only makes sense with the more jaded and angry lyrics and delivery. Songs like Thrasher or The Drone Racing League may even be jarring to long-time fans on first listen. Though once you've passed the knee-jerk reactions, you'll find that the artistic direction and care displayed in the first album is still alive and well in these new songs, it's just wearing a different coat. If that still isn't your thing, the Ready Player One inspired track Art3mis & Parzival should instantly prove to you that Gunship remains capable of making the kind of music that launched them to success four years ago. Regardless of what flavor of music you prefer, you're bound to find something to enjoy among the vast range of styles in this album.

Still frames from various Gunship music videos.

It would be a shame to discuss Gunship without mentioning the amount of thought they put into the accompanying visuals for their music. Like the songs themselves, each video is chock-full of pop-culture references relating to the 80s. Beyond that, they all bring to the table a new art style and perspective that not only keeps them fresh for frequent viewers, but casts a wide net that helps reel in potential new fans. I know that for me personally, I didn't "get" Gunship's music right away. Regrettably, I found it dull, repetitive, and lacking emotion. It wasn't until I watched the music video for Fly For Your Life that it clicked. And it really was that sudden, as if that one video had somehow rewired my brain to appreciate an entire discography that I had previously dismissed. I naturally then began showing it to all my friends with varying degrees of success. None of them had the near-spiritual connection with it that I had, but they all immensely enjoyed the video and that's really all anybody could ask. That video itself is a licensed restructure of the 2010 short-film, Paths of Hate. Not all their videos are adaptions, however. Tech Noir (yes, that's a Terminator reference) is an original claymation piece by Lee Hardcastle and narrated by John Carpenter himself. Alternatively, Dark All Day is a mixture of an illustrated anime style with a live-action section towards the end. And yet another video, The Mountain was made entirely from footage created in the video game Grand Theft Auto V. Their whole YouTube channel is fantastic, and a great place for new listeners to introduce themselves to the band.

To wrap up, whether a fan of Synthwave or not, check out Gunship. I do believe that anybody can find at least some appreciation for their work, and maybe one of you will have a similar experience to my own. They really are, in my opinion, one of the greatest Synthwave artists to exist, and I believe there is still much more to come.

Thanks for reading.
- Max