Gunship to re-release self-titled album on cassette with Commodore 64 game
Cassette / game release: Gunship
Release date: 9 December 2015
More info: Band website
GUNSHIP is a neon soaked, late night, sonic getaway drive, dripping with luscious analogue synthesizers, cinematic vocals and cyberpunk values, exploding from the front cover of a dusty plastic VHS case which has lain forgotten since 1984. Created by Dan Haigh, Alex Westaway and Alex Gingell, GUNSHIP is an evolution of the of the recently popularised synthwave genre, which was originally started by Rosso Corsa records & The Valerie Collective artists.
Today GUNSHIP return with another world first, salvaging yet another relic from the retro gaming hall of fame. The band are re-releasing their critically acclaimed self-titled album on cassette. On side-a the golden cassette features GUNSHIP’s self-titled album and on side-b, Jeff Minter’s classic Commodore 64 game ‘Attack Of The Mutant Camels’. Not only is this the first cassette album release to feature a built in C64 game, but this version of the album will also be the only version of the album to feature the April Towers remix of ‘The Mountain’, which was premiered with Earmilk earlier this year.
Speaking on the new release GUNSHIP said, 'The games for the early video game systems like the Commodore Vic 20, C64, Atari 2600 and latterly the Amiga 500 were huge influences on our imaginations growing up. At that me game development felt like a genuine free for all where unrestricted creativity flourished and imagination was unchecked by the yet to arrive influence of big business and its risk-averse practices. We love this era for its simplistic charm and raw creativity and certainly try to take these influences and values and implement them in GUNSHIP’s music.
We worked with Jed Shepherd at Post/Pop records to cook up a version of our album on gold cassette tape, with our music on side A and a Commodore 64 game on side B to hopefully bring some attention back to this fantastic era in game design. It’s an honour to share a cassette tape with Jeff Minter! The man is a icon in the classic gaming world. His games, including ‘Attack of the Mutant Camels’ and ‘Llamatron’, were cornerstones of our childhood and those influences certainly live on in GUNSHIP’s approach to writing music today.'
GUNSHIP’s debut album has previously received acclaim from the likes of IGN, Nerdist, Bloody Disgusting, WIRED, Metal Sucks, Yahoo, Games Radar, Rockstar, Kotaku, FACT Mag, Digital Spy, Shortlist, Zoo, Kerrang, Big Cheese, Evening Standard, Electronic Sound VICE and many more. The cassette is due for release on 9th December 2015, and can be pre-ordered HERE.
Gunship Commodore 64 Competition
It’s time to put your retro gaming chops to the test! To accompany the bands cassette release, in true GUNSHIP style the band have also launched a competition to win a one-off, custom neon pink Commodore 64 to play their new cassette/cartridge release.
The competition is open now and the challenge is simple, visit this online emulator HERE, and attack your keyboard in an effort to reach the highest score possible in ‘Llamatron!
GUNSHIP is more of a story than a soundtrack, written large across an eighties action cinema screen, where the narrative interweaves romance, hope, fear, technology, the threat of nuclear obliteration, and ultimately the need to celebrate life. Both bleak and dystopian at times but also progressive, uplifting and danceable.
GUNSHIP’s sound is created with vintage analogue synthesizers and other retro electronic gear available in the 1980s. The music is driven by retro gear, inspired by nostalgia for a bygone era but they use this approach to yield something fresh and new. The debut album is sonically diverse - blending sweeping fluorescent synth lines with fever pitched and adrenalizing electric bass arpeggios. This musical foundation, sometimes dark and brooding, sometimes romantic, underpins emotive and cinematic vocals.
The album also features guest vocals by Lou Hayter (New Young Pony Club), Martin Grech, and Stella Le Page. Upcoming remixes include Miami Nights 1984, Make Up And Vanity Set, April Towers and Carpenter Brut.
Buy the 16-bit boxed set now:
The GUNSHIP debut album is now available for purchase on iTunes. The album contains 13 tracks - 10 GUNSHIP originals and 3 remixes from leading synthwave artists: Carpenter Brut, Miami Nights 1984 and Makeup and Vanity Set. Purchase the album here