Tipperary-based artist releases brand new EP, to rave reviews
First Class Rebel has released his new EP, ‘Leave Your Thoughts Behind’
Tipperary-based artist First Class Rebel has released his debut EP, ‘Leave Your Thoughts Behind’.
Hot off the back of his third single ‘Control’ back in March, Cork native Ian Burke has launched a brand-new EP, featuring his previous tracks ‘Shadows Fade’, ‘Alive’, and the aforementioned ‘Control’, as well as two new tracks recorded specifically for the EP, ‘Eleven Eleven’ and ‘Still’.
Speaking with the Tipperary Star, Ian explained where he found the inspiration for his new tracks.
“Eleven Eleven was kind of the focus track out of the EP, it’s actually the most recent ones, it was only recorded in the last six months, and it’s just a short, sharp wall of noise, a lot of guitar sound, and the title came because I came up with the idea on November 11.
“The message of the lyrics is about being in a bunch of people and expecting them to change the way they’re behaving, and figuring out, they won’t change, so I had to get away from the situation myself, and the kind of release then when you get away, thinking “why didn’t I do it sooner”.”
“‘Still is the last one on that EP. There are no lyrics on it, and that was the idea, that was one of the earliest songs I came up with, during Covid.
"I always wanted to do an instrumental that would build from starting off really quiet, and as the sections progressed, they’d get increasingly louder with more and more instruments and guitar lines and melodies added, and it kind of crashes into life like an explosion in the second half right until the end.
“I called it ‘Still’ because the beginning is perfectly kind of still, like a still lake, and when you throw a stone into a lake, the ripples come out, and that’s the second part of the song.”
Ian has been receiving great support for the EP since its release, with positive reviews coming in, as well as a number of radio plays.
“I got great support from 2FM, Dan Hegarty. He’s got behind all of the tracks, and he’s a fan of the sound that I’m making, which is really good.
"On Spin South West, one of the tracks was selected as track of the week last month. And there’s been a lot of interest from America and from the UK in particular, where both local stations and regional stations have been getting onto it and playing some of the tracks.”
With Ian’s music career taking off in the last year, he says he has begun to receive messages from fans looking to watch him perform live.
"I’m starting to get asked where am I playing live and when am I playing live, and that’s exciting for me because, when strangers contact you saying “where can I get you live?” and “I like your sound,” and “where can I buy this?”, that’s really positive, it’s not people you know, it’s just strangers reaching out that you’ve never met but have connected with you because of the sound that you’ve made, that’s very rewarding for me.”
You can stream “Leave Your Thoughts Behind” by First Class Rebel on all major streaming platforms.
You are also able to purchase the EP and Ian’s other tracks on Bandcamp.