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| Image compliments of Paul fox |
as part of the singer/songwriter night upstairs. Neil started off playing music at a young age and
ended up studying music extensively as well as taking on an alter ego name ‘Comrade Hat’ for the
delivery of his songs. Neil explains in full how he’s come to this stage.
“We had a piano in the house, it was a sort of a family heirloom type thing, it was banjaxed and my parents got it fixed up. Nobody in my family could play so they sent me to lessons, that was the beginning of my involvement in music and then I got to like it. I got very interested in playing by ear and started to pick tunes out and everything. I was a lot more enthusiastic about doing that than I was about practising scales and pieces and things at that age."
I taught myself a lot I think, I did all the ‘by the book’ stuff as well and I started, when I was a bit older, going through the exams but I just liked playing things and picking out tunes. I was picking out Irish folks tunes, we had a sort of odd record collection in the house, mostly classical really to be honest and I don’t have any brother or sisters or anything. Then I did music, studied music in school, picked up the guitar somewhere along the way and played the violin a bit too, a bit of everything. When I was at school at about 14 I started a band called ‘Imperial Blether’ and we never formally split up as such we just sort of drifter
our separate ways. At the same time as doing that I was doing serious musical study. I did A Level music and then I went to university to do music because it just was the path. I wouldn’t say it was
expected of me it was just the natural thing to do. So I did that and then I got interested in composing when I was doing that as well, classical, apart from just song writing which I’d been doing for years anyway. I ended up staying on and did a PhD in composition. So I’ve two sides to what I do one is the serious composing, whatever you want to call it. I’m doing a project the year actually for the City of Culture. It’s a sound-scape piece collecting sounds from around Derry and assembling them into some kind of music that you can listen to on headphones as you walk around, that’s the concept. I have that sort of avant-garde side of things which I do that’s Neill Burns. I created the Comrade Hat thing as a vehicle for my song writing really and to have a bit of fun.”
‘Comrade Hat’? Where did that name come from? Neil has a child hood friend to thank for the
inspiration. “It’s my alter ego as a songwriter and performer. When I was about 11 I had this hat
that, it was actually from Hog Kong but it was like one of those old soviet sort of ones, Russian ones
and there was a guy in school jest thought it was funny and called me Comrade Hat. I kind of forgot
about it and then years later, after Imperial Blether it wound down and I wanted to start doing songs
again myself and I didn’t have a band so I revived this name as a solo project.”
As well as doing his own recordings at home Neill is now also looking forward to a little studio time
and releasing something that is a little more polished. “I’ve been working on my studio debut which
is going to be an EP really which should be out before the Summer, it’s almost finished. I’ve been
working on that for a while. At the same time I’ve also been working my way through archiving and
completing loads of home recordings because I’ve been working away at stuff myself for years. I’m
more or less just finished a song today that I’m hoping to get up before the weekend, up online on
my Bandcamp page. I realised an album last year which again was a compilation of home demos
from the past couple of years and I’ve also realised a couple of EPs. I released 3 Christmas EPs, over
four years because I skipped one year, I think I was busy. I kind of just made them as a bit of fun
really and for presents for friends and family for Christmas but I put them out there anyway for people to experience and they’re all up there online if you feel like Christmas in July.”
As well as performing tonight there will be other opportunities to see Neil play and sing locally. “The
Inishowen Gospel choir, which is another thing I do, we’re doing a concert in Derry in the Glassworks
in May with various local artists, they’ll sing a couple of their own songs with us. I’m going to be
performing one of my own songs at that with the choir backing.”
The arrangement that Neil has as backing has somewhat become an unofficial band with a core of
members. “It started just with me recorded songs on the laptop and that sort of just evolved into
more of a loose band arrangement working with various musicians. It’s become more of a band.
There’s two or three people who I work with regularly and then some other people I bring in for
other bits and pieces. It’s informal that way but there is a core. Rohan Armstrong plays double bass
and electric bass for us, I’ve been playing with him for years actually in various projects and bands.
Gary Raymond, drummer, he’s based in Crandonagh for the past year or so. There’s a guy Padre Coll
who plays guitar with us sometimes too.”
There are a variety of sites to check out Neil’s music online, his Bandcamp page http://
comradehat.bandcamp.com/ has his album and EPs on it and there’s also his Soundcloud page http:/
/soundcloud.com/comradehat-1 which has more of an overview of what he’s produced. However
Neil warns that the stuff online is older material and quite eclectic in taste. Neil’s newer material
which has a heavier jazz influence hasn’t been released online yet so it’s definitely worth keeping an
eye so you can hear what exciting new path he’s taking. For updates check out his Facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Comrade-Hat/170939696252814.
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