Gunner & Smith explores the ‘ominous’ unknown
Enduring effect of ancient Greek era inspires ‘brighter, rockier’ new album
Geoff Smith is a history nerd with the credentials to back it up — a master’s in religious history to be exact — so it is fitting that the title for his band’s latest album is named after an ancient Greek civilization.
Gunner & Smith released Byzantium on Sept. 22. The album takes its title from a place that was hugely important in its time and, even though it is gone, still affects the way we live today.
“It helped shape the world we live in now. The effects of it are still there but it’s gone. It’s amazing that something that was around for well over 1,000 years and was such an important part of history is just gone,” said Smith. “I think the theme that runs through the album is impending change and not necessarily that being a bad thing but it also being very ominous. This uncertainty about what’s coming next but also trying to process what went before and that uncertainty that follows you in those eras.”
These are uneasy times. Smith doesn’t have all the answers, but he was able to explore a lot of those thoughts through songwriting.
“A lot of the assumptions you make about the world are changing very quickly. I don’t know if it’s actually that the world is changing more than it used to or if I’m coming to an age where you’re looking around. Now I’m 31 and the world’s a very different place than I thought it was when I was younger.”
Byzantium is Gunner & Smith’s sophomore album. This time around, Smith said the band knew what it wanted going into the recording process thanks to what they learned on 2014’s He Once Was a Good Man.
“That last album was kind of finding the sound we wanted, whereas this one we knew what we wanted to do. We were more intentional about the sound and everyone was more on the same page because we knew what we wanted,” he said.
The members of Gunner & Smith knew they liked recording live off the floor as much as possible with no click track.
They also knew they wanted the sound on this album to be a bit louder and more guitar-heavy, better reflecting the band’s live sound.
It’s a bigger, brighter, rockier sound than its predecessor, still grounded by Smith’s thoughtful lyrical take on themes like love and the human condition.
Byzantium features the production work of Andrija Tokic, who has worked with Alabama Shakes and Benjamin Booker. When choosing a producer, Smith made a list of options and decided to start with the person he thought was least likely to respond. Tokic, who lives in Nashville, got back to him with a yes the same day.
The producer wanted the band to come to Nashville at first, but it made more financial sense to fly him to Saskatchewan. The album was recording at Sinewave Studios
outside of Saskatoon. It was Tokic’s first time producing in Canada, let alone Saskatchewan, so the band made sure to take him to some of Saskatoon’s most quirky places like The Cave and the Saskatoon Inn.
“He’s a producer that, although he’s worked on some bigger albums, is more concerned about keeping busy and working with new artists is an important part of that,” said Smith.
“I can’t speak highly enough about how good he was to work with, in terms of his knowledge and ability but also his personality. He was able to keep everybody excited and having fun and wanting to do the record.”
Now that the album’s been released, Smith looks forward to getting back to performing. Joining the band are new drummer Nik Winnitowy and lead guitarist Graham Tilsley.
“I’m trying to not get my hopes up in case war breaks out and we have to cancel. That’s in the back of my mind,” he said.
(Byzantium) helped shape the world we live in now . ...
It’s amazing that something that was around for well over 1,000 years ... is just gone