Edmonton singer-songwriter and visual artist explores love, gratitude and connection on his new pop-rock album.
Edmonton singer-songwriter and visual artist Garett Gunderson is leaning into love on his new album, Anywhere Anytime. Warm, colourful and full of heart, the record explores everything from playful romance to deeper connection and gratitude, all wrapped in an upbeat pop-rock sound.
The album’s featured single, “I Want To,” is a sunny, retro-inspired love song rooted in Gunderson’s own relationship. In an interview with Canadian Beats, he discusses the inspiration behind the album, his creative partnership with producer Stew Kirkwood, and the connection between his music and visual art.
Garett Gunderson Celebrates Love on Anywhere Anytime
At the heart of Anywhere Anytime is a simple idea: love can be found in everyday moments, even during life’s more difficult chapters.
The Edmonton musician approaches the album with a sense of warmth and optimism, drawing inspiration from his marriage, personal experiences and appreciation for the people around him.
Working with producer Stew Kirkwood for the second time, Gunderson developed a collection of songs that combines heartfelt storytelling with colourful pop-rock arrangements.
“I Want To” Finds Gratitude Through Life’s Challenges
The album’s featured single, “I Want To,” reflects Gunderson’s relationship with his wife and the challenges they have overcome together.
Following a serious car accident in 2024 that left them injured and requiring extensive recovery, Gunderson found himself unable to play guitar or perform for a period of time.
Rather than focusing solely on what he had lost, he began reflecting on gratitude, connection and the importance of appreciating life.
Those experiences helped shape “I Want To,” an upbeat love song that celebrates being together through life’s highs and lows.
Watch Garett Gunderson’s “I Want To” music video below.
In Conversation With Garett Gunderson
Anywhere Anytime explores love in so many different forms: quiet, playful, romantic, healing and everything in between. When did you realize that love had become the unifying theme of the album?
These songs came spilling out of me. They had been around in bits and pieces for a while, but when I focused on love, the love in my life, everything came together. So during the songwriting process, instead of thinking about writing, I focused on love, and the writing took care of itself. Does that make sense? An expression of something genuine, something deeply felt, is the best.
The album feels very rooted in the present moment and the importance of gratitude, connection and appreciating what you have. Was that something you consciously wanted to explore when you began writing these songs, or did that theme emerge naturally?
It was a gradual realization. Songs often come to me in parts- a chord change or riff on the guitar, a melody that feels familiar and new at the same time. The words grow from the melody, sometimes out of order, or in a disguised form, like Paul McCartney when he first wrote “Yesterday” as “Scrambled Eggs”. But I wasn’t able to complete them, and it was frustrating! I realized I needed to pull inward, focus on the importance of what was right around me: my love for my wife, and my gratitude for life.
Your latest single “I Want To” is inspired by your relationship with the love of your life and even includes specific details from your journey together, like the “busted-up car.” Can you tell us more about the story behind the song and how it came together?
Yes, we were in a bad car accident in 2024, where a distracted driver smashed into us from behind at full speed, while we were stopped at a crosswalk waiting for kids to cross. Luckily the kids were OK, but we were injured and needed extensive therapy to recover. I couldn’t play guitar for a long time, and had to stop performing. When you go through a difficult time, you can either become bitter about what you lost, or grateful for what you do have. I chose gratitude. “I Want To” is an upbeat song about my love, about how much we’ve been through together, and how much I want to be around her- in the moonlight, in the sunshine, by the firelight! The bridge came from our meditation together, as we recovered:
“Life is short, but we’re wise Morning, open up our eyes Breathing in the new Breathing out what’s through”
This is your second time working with Stew Kirkwood. How has your creative relationship evolved since your first collaboration, and what did he bring to Anywhere Anytime that helped shape the record?
He’s amazing! He’s a world-class producer and musician, and I love collaborating and creating with him. The more I work with him, the more I trust that he’s going to help create the best possible version of my songs. I’ve worked with other producers who were good, but Stew is an artist with sound. He feels it, he hears it, he understands the vision. On this album, he plays almost all the instruments, as I wanted him to be able to fully “paint his picture” with the production. This is a change from earlier recordings, where I brought in a band with me. So this time, Stew and I were really co-creating this music, and it was a joy from start to finish! He gets the overall vibe of each song, but also adds subtle musical details into the mix that you almost don’t hear, but can still feel as you listen. I can’t wait to get into the recording studio with him again!
You’re also a visual artist, and you’ve compared your songwriting process to painting, building things through layers of colour, texture and feeling. How does your visual-art practice influence the way you hear or construct a song?
When I paint, it’s all about colour, and expressing something genuine. Emotions can’t be artificially constructed, they have to be felt. Colour is emotion, and drawing gives it a form. On my song “Let Our Love”, I sing:
“Your flower radiates In spirals and landscapes Beautiful painting Colours we’re creating”
Van Gogh painted sunflowers, and had direct emotional expression with his colours. But he also did a lot of drawing, and that helped give a structure to his emotions. Like him, I want to express emotions that are right from the heart and soul. That emotional base is what I build upon, and always keep in touch with it as I write the verses, chorus, and bridge. If you lose touch with that emotion, by trying to show off too much, or being clever in an empty way, or in all the other ways one can be false or superficial, it’s like a bad clash of colours. Van Gogh was real, and people still respond to his art today. There are many great artists I could talk about, and they all expressed something different. They were themselves, in a world that often pushes you to not be yourself.
You’ve said that “anywhere, anytime is the right place and the right time for love.” What do you hope people feel – or perhaps think about differently – after spending time with this album?
I hope that everyone feels love, in whatever way that is right for them. I’m expressing my deep and joyful love with my wife, but I know what it’s like to not have a partner. It took me a while to find my “one”! I’ve had hard times in my life, like when my bandmate was at the end of his life. When I visited him in the hospital, I tried to bring joy to him, as he still loved talking about music. I’m not special, everyone goes through difficulties, but even in those difficult times, there’s love to be found.
I think this world needs a big giant dose of love right now! I hope this album gives hope to someone who is needing love. I hope it inspires people to show love to those around them. As you said at the beginning, love can be quiet, playful, romantic, healing and everything in between. Find what you love, find who you love, love yourself, and appreciate life. In the end, it’s all about love.
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