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Gunship is a British synthwave band formed in 2014 by Dan Haigh and Alex Westaway; they were later joined by drummer Alex Gingell.[1]
 |
Gunship | |
|---|---|
| Origin | United Kingdom |
| Genres | Synthwave |
| Years active | 2014–present |
| Labels | Horsie in the Hedge |
| Members | Alex Westaway Dan Haigh Alex Gingell |
| Website | gunshipmusic |
After Westaway and Haigh's other musical act, Fightstar, went on hiatus in 2010, the pair decided to focus on other musical ventures, including forming Gunship, eventually joined by Gingell. Their debut release, self-titled Gunship, was released in 2015 to positive reviews. Their follow up, Dark All Day, was released on 5 October 2018.
In 2019, Gunship appeared in the documentary film The Rise of the Synths, which explored the origins and growth of the Synthwave genre. Westaway, Haigh and Gingell appeared alongside various other composers from the scene, including John Carpenter, who also starred in and narrated the film.
In May 2021, tattoo artist and model Kat Von D collaborated with Haigh on her debut album, Love Made Me Do It.[2]
On 10 July 2023 the band announced their third studio album titled Unicorn. The album was released on 29 September 2023.[3]
As well as more traditional music videos, Gunship have experimented with a range of artistic approaches, including stop-motion, claymation, 8-bit, and AI-generated (among others). Often these videos include influences from, or elements of, video games and 80s culture.
Gunship has a large collection of synthesizers, including the Juno 106, DSI Prophet 12, DSI Prophet 6, MOOG Minimoog, MOOG Mother 32, and various Oberheim units.[4]
"The Video Game Champion" is a collaboration with the guitarist Thomas McRocklin, while "Ghost" is a collaboration with Melbourne synthwave duo Power Glove. The single "Monster in Paradise" features saxophonist Tim Cappello and vocals from Milkie Way, lead singer of Wargasm. A full list of collaborators on each album follows.
Gunship
The first Gunship album featured collaborations with:[4]
- Lou Hayter (New Young Pony Club, Tomorrows World)
- John Carpenter (director/composer)
- Charlie Simpson (Fightstar, Busted)
- Martin Grech
- Stella Le Page was featured on 'Fly For Your Life'[5]
Dark All Day
The second Gunship album featured collaborations with:
- Tim Cappello (The Lost Boys)
- Richard K. Morgan (Author – Altered Carbon)
- Kat Von D
- Wil Wheaton
- Indiana
- Stella Le Page was featured on "Art3mis & Parzival"
- Una Healy
Unicorn
The third Gunship album featured collaborations with:
- Alex Westaway – vocals, multi-instruments
- Dan Haigh – multi-instruments
- Alex Gingell – multi-instruments
Studio albums
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [7] |
UK Dance [7] |
UK Indie [7] |
FIN [8] |
GER [9] |
SCO [7][10] |
US [11] |
US Dance [12] |
US Heat [13] |
US Indie [14] | ||
| Gunship | 2015 | — | 30[15] | 40[16] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Dark All Day | 2018 | 34 | 1[17] | 6[18] | — | — | 19 | 184 | 4 | 1 | 8 |
| Unicorn | 2023 | 26 | — | — | 49 | 36 | 16 | — | — | — | — |
Non-album collaborations
- Collaborated with Metrik on the track "Electric Echo" (2016)
- Collaborated with Lazerhawk on the track "Feel the Rush Tonight" (2017)
- Collaborated with Tyler Bates and Dave Lombardo for "Berserker" on the Dark Nights: Death Metal Soundtrack[19]
- Collaborated with Carpenter Brut for "The Widow Maker" on the album Leather Terror (2022)
- Collaborated with Miami Nights 1984 for "Only When It's Dark" on the album Sentimental (2022).
Additional releases
- Included the track "Vale of Shadows" on the album Rise of the Synths EP2 official companion album (2017)
- Released the single "The Video Game Champion" (2018), which contained numerous references to Doctor Disrespect
- Released the single "Art3mis & Parzival" (2018)
- Included the track "Cthulhu" on the album Fangoria Presents: Hollydoom (Original Magazine Soundtrack) (2019)[20]
- Released the single Eleanor Rigby (2020), a cover of the popular track by The Beatles
- Released the single Send Me An Angel (2023), a cover of the track by Australian new wave/synth-pop band Real Life
- Instrumental versions of their first two albums Gunship and Dark All Day have also been released.
Gunship have remixed the following tracks for other artists:
- Lionface's "No Hope State" (2017).[21] The original version of Lionface's track appeared on their Battle EP (2015)
- The track "Exorcism" from Kat Von D's album Love Made Me Do It (2021). They had previously worked with Kat Von D on "Black Blood Red Kiss"
- Gunship also did an unofficial remix of Bullet For My Valentine's "Gravity" (unreleased).[22]
The following artists have remixed Gunship songs:
- Carpenter Brut remixed "Tech Noir". Gunship went on to collaborate with them on Carpenter Brut's track "Widow Maker", as well as "DooM Dance" (on Unicorn)
- Makeup and Vanity Set remixed "Black Sun on the Horizon"
- Miami Nights 1984 remixed "Revel In Your Time". Gunship went on to collaborate with them on Miami Nights 1984's track "Only When It's Dark"
- April Towers remixed "The Mountain"
- In 2019, Gunship held a remix competition for their track "The Drone Racing League". Entries can still be listened to on their Soundcloud.[23] This competition was eventually won by VHS Glitch
- Power Glove remixed "Dark All Day". Gunship went on to collaborate with Power Glove on "Ghost" as part of the album Unicorn
- Choir Noir released a choral version of "Black Blood Red Kiss".
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