Tipperary-based singer songwriter launches debut single to critical acclaim

Tipperary-based singer Ian Burke has launched his debut single, ‘Shadows Fade’.

The Cork native, who goes by the name First Class Rebel, has had a passion for music ever since he was a child, growing up around the music of the likes of Oasis, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and the Brian Jonestown Massacre.

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Speaking with the Tipperary Star, Burke outlined what the song means to him, how First Class Rebel came about, and why he decided to release the song.

“I started picking up the guitar, just as something to do in the evenings, and a couple of ideas came, and I just put them down on the laptop, and my plan was to just sort of record them for myself really, if nothing else. Then I suppose, a bunch of songs just started happening, and I decided ‘let’s start putting them out’, and the first one was released just over a month ago.”

“The way I come up with music, I kind of liken it to fishing, you sit on the edge of a river with your line, and you could get a bite within five seconds, or five hours, or five hours, or you might have to come back the next day to try it. Like I was watching a match with my guitar on my lap, or just looking out the window and playing the same notes and chords I had played hundreds of times before, and suddenly something sounded good, and that’s your bite, that’s your idea, and I’d work that into a song over the course of months.”

Burke spoke on his act, First Class Rebel, how it came about, and what inspired him to pursue a start to his musical journey.

“First Class Rebel is a solo project. It’s a colliding of two worlds, really, the rebel part would be my Cork connections, and first class, the Premier County, is the second part.

“I do everything myself, I sing, write the music, play all the guitar parts, do bass, I have a guy that does drums for me. I set up a small studio in a room in the house, just with a laptop and a bit of basic software, and I just taught myself, and I got just about enough knowledge to get my ideas from my head onto a laptop in the form of a demo, and that demo then, I take to my producer, Dan Doherty, who owns Darklands Audio in Dublin. Fantastic producer, he’s worked with the likes of Fontaines DC and the Jesus and Mary Chain, who would have been a big influence of mine. He provided drums for me as well.”

Burke says the response to his song following his release has brought him great joy, with many outlets reviewing the song positively.

“I’ve been really thrilled with the response to it, there’s been lots of positive reviews. RTÉ Entertainment did a piece on me, Hot Press did a piece, loads of online music magazines, I did my first live performance of it on the Six O’Clock Show a few weeks ago. People have been really getting onboard and following me on Instagram and stuff like that. I’ve been getting lots of airplay as well.”

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Burke spoke of his intentions when making the song, how he came about finding the sound, and how he intended to spread a positive message within an atmospheric and thematic piece.

“I’ve always been attracted to the big guitar sound, and also kind of cinematic guitars, atmospheric almost. Some of the stuff I have, I can see being used in a soundtrack to a Netflix show or a movie or something like that. And because I’m on my own, I sort of started with that in mind. So I build up, I start with the basic chords, and then add a layer of guitar, and add a different type of layer of guitar, and a different one, so on ‘Shadows Fade’ alone, I think there’s maybe 11 or 12 layers of different guitars, so that combines to create the kind of wave-like wall of sound, that was important to me, it’s the kind of sound that piques my attention, and it’d be nice if other people got that kind of buzz as well from it.

Burke outlined his plans for the future of First Class Rebel, stating that he has several other songs in the pipeline, and that he hopes to continue growing the act with each release.

“I have more songs recorded. My next single will be out in the first week of February. This week, I’ll have the video for that wrapped up, with a lot of that filmed in and around this area. The long term goal would be to have a full album release, on vinyl, as well as on all the streaming platforms. I have a good batch of songs, and I have songs in my head, that need to get onto the laptop, that need to get to the studio to be done.”

You can stream ‘Shadows Fade’ by First Class Rebel on all streaming platforms now, with the music video available to watch on YouTube.

You can also follow Burke on Instagram, @firstclassrebel to follow his journey and keep up with his future releases.