Tipperary-based artist releases second single to rave reviews

Holycross-based artist First Class Rebel has released his second single, ‘Alive’.

Fresh off the success of his debut single ‘Shadows Fade’, Cork native Ian Burke has launched his second solo song, to rave reviews.

READ MORE: 'I thought it was a prank at first,' Tipperary couple win HUGE cash prize

Speaking on the release of the song, Ian told the Tipperary Star about how the song is all about letting go of old ways and embracing a major change in life.

“The words ‘I feel alive’ just came into my head. When I start with a tune, something just comes at me on the guitar, and I said, ‘that sounds good to me’, and I work on that. But from the very beginning, the phrase, the words ‘I feel alive’, just came to my head, so I based it around that.

“It’s kind of about giving up an old way of life and moving on to something different, you know, geographically, as well as kind of a mental outlook. And that’s kind of the main general vibe around the song, lyric-wise and what it means. For me, like always, the most important thing is how the song sounds and the mood it creates. So I create that by having the right guitar sound and layering lots of guitar on each other so the guitar is washing over the listener, and that’s the kind of sound I like. And I thought that that sort of message, kind of a positive, uplifting message, is just matched very well with the music as well. So I think it worked out well.

“Moving location geographically, that’s part of it. Changing, moving jobs from one job into music, that’s another part of it. Even though, by design, I wouldn’t have sat down and said, ‘let’s write about that’, but that’s the feeling the music gave me.”

The song has been available to stream for a week now, and Ian says it has been gaining major traction, garnering attention from major media outlets and sources in the music industry.

“The general idea came pretty quickly, it was just a case of finessing the words, over a period of time. It’s been out a week, and it’s been very well received, and I’m happy with how it’s gone. Lots and lots of airplay, like 2FM picked up on it, Hot Press have playlisted it and done a write up, IMRO have playlisted it. A lot of interest in the UK as well, which is sort of interesting, a playlister named Blackmarket playlisted it, he’s got a big reach.

“When I think about it, there’s a kind of a 90s vibe about it, and the type of music that I make, and maybe that’s what people are latching on to, which is great, it’s reaching international shows. I’ve had contact from Japan as well, which is very interesting. It’s the power of social media really, spreading your word far and wide.”

Visually, the music video for the song is a striking affair, blending a variety of colours and images together that carry the sound in a greater direction.

On the visuals behind the track, Ian spoke of how important the video was for him in conveying the full effect of the track, and how he wants each watchthrough to provide the viewer with an entirely new experience.

“The music is very textured with lots of different moving parts going on, and I kind of wanted the visuals to represent that, where there’s lots of different images going on amongst each other. So like, in the kind of the way that every time somebody or I would look at it, I would spot something different, and I would spot something different the next time. It’s like, I suppose, what happens when you’re dreaming, everything is a bit hazy, and you remember bits of dreams and forget bits of others, and then some bits come to the fore and some kind of fade away, that’s kind of the idea.

“There’s lots of colors and movement. That’s very important for me, the visual must be, kind of, a good representation of the sound, and even the artwork cover for that song, and for all the other songs would be, I like the artwork to be like something that I would be happy or proud to hang on my wall at home, that it’s interesting, that it has good movement and color. I think how something looks has to be very impressive, has to be important to me. I wanted to kind of have a strong representation, as well as the music. So it’s not something that is something you think of as an afterthought.”

READ MORE: Hit-and-run driver left engine running as he ran from scene while nurse had fatal injuries

The First Class Rebel brand is steadily growing, with Ian gathering a listenership around the world.

He spoke of a message he received from a listener recently, detailing to Ian their enjoyment of the song, and encouraging him to keep producing music.

“Random people that I don’t know would have just contacted me on social media with out of the blue messages. It means a lot for a stranger to kind of take the time to write down a message and send it that he or she would have had that reaction to say that ‘I must contact this guy’.

“There was one on Tuesday from a guy from the UK, and just said ‘you really lit a fire here’, I’m just paraphrasing, ‘you really lit a fire here’, and ‘it’s great to hear someone in Ireland making this kind of music’. So it’s lovely to hear that, and it’s just one guy, but that means, having it from a stranger is really positive and kind of signifies that I’m doing something right for somebody.

“Like I like what I do, but it’s always nice that somebody else outside your circle is getting a similar reaction, and enjoyment from it.”

Looking to the future, Ian is already at work putting together his third single, which is slated for release next month.

“For the next couple of weeks, I’ll be pushing this hard. I have radio interviews lined up. But I have my next single coming out next month. So I’ve finished the artwork for it, and I’m maybe two-thirds of the way through the video. I hope to have the video for that finished by the end of next week, so all that will be packaged up, ready to be sent out for the next single. That’s where I’m at. So, like, ‘Alive’ is out a week, but from, like, Tuesday this week, I was working on getting all the stuff ready for the next one, and the lead time is maybe about four to six weeks. So I just want to get everything done on time.”

You can listen to ‘Alive’ by First Class Rebel on all major streaming platforms now.

You can also follow Ian on Instagram, @firstclassrebel.