Meet Colin Burke

Today we’d like to introduce you to Colin Burke.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Becoming inspired from my parents, video games, and composers, I started to write music at age eight. I also moved around constantly as a young person- so I had plenty of time to explore music. At age 11, I started getting into Digital Audio and Recording my own middle school bands and was introduced to coding as well. I had a fully-fledged recording studio by age 15 and recorded local bands all throughout high school. I then started playing in bands and going on smaller tours. Every time bands would leave instruments in my studio, I would take advantage of the opportunity and learn- Drums, Piano, Bass Guitar…all the instruments I didn’t have. By high school graduation, I had a couple of short records out. Going to college, I was able to get a proper full instrument setup- and eagerly started making solo records. I would challenge myself every day- spending 12-18hrs/day was routine for me from ages 17 -22. It was also a way for me to cope with my biggest challenge- I had a severe heart arrhythmia problem which came on at age 18 and made performing near impossible. Thankfully I did have a surgery in 2011 which mostly resolved the issue (after a couple of years of therapy).

After Graduating College in 2011 @ age 21, I worked for Telefunken Elektroakustik and was the perfect marriage of music and engineering. I did Engineering work during the day and was a session musician on nights, weekends, and special occasions. Leaving Telefunken in 2014 to pursue the Boston music scene and pursue higher Engineering goals- I worked for some MIT startup companies and continued making records. My band project “We Built the Moon” won a New England Music Award in 2017 for RI “Best in State,” and opportunities were improving. This is also when I had to overcome another personal challenge- substance abuse. I was trying to escape the constant fear from the heart condition I had previously. However, I kept my eye on sobriety and managed to get myself out of that situation.

I moved to Austin in 2019 as most of my friends and those close to me had moved away- and Boston became toxic for me personally. I finished up an Engineering Project with MIT’s Atlas devices in 2019 and then began working for Swift Sensors as the Lead Hardware Engineer.

Working at Swift Sensors has been my most rewarding Engineering endeavor thus far in my life- and is a perfect marriage of Electrical + Materials Engineering. Also, I’ve been allowed to make creative design decisions that have paid off tenfold.

These days my life is half engineering and half music. I released my first LP created in Austin at the end of 2020 called “Louder Actions.” The COVID-19 pandemic has obviously affected all music operations and I didn’t play any official shows for nearly two years. COVID-19 has also been a blessing in disguise. I have spent the time in reflection and working on my spiritual condition. I started making relationships with new people again, helping others and found a higher power working through those other people.

Thankfully, the psychic change I experienced has only led to much better Music writing + discipline and better results at work with Swift.

I wrote what I feel is my best work so far in 2021 called “Far Ride.” It’s just a short 3-song EP that came to all Digital Platforms just recently on 1/27/22. I broke my performance hiatus by playing at Carousel Lounge 1/15/22. If all that wasn’t exciting enough- Thousands of people are now finding “far ride,” and I have gotten incredible feedback. It’s been the biggest “breakthrough” I’ve had in quite a while.

Swift Sensors is also seeing increasing success, and we are becoming respected experts in the realm of IOT Sensors. We won an IOT award in 2021 for our new Vaccine Temp Monitoring Sensor that is qualified to -100C for cold vaccine monitoring. We also monitored all food goods at ACL 2021 and are assisting companies all over the world monitor Temperature, Vibration, Power, and more. In 2022, we will be introducing several new sensors to monitor Air Quality, power, and industrial assets.

At age 32, 2022 looks to be a bright year for me in both my music and at Swift Sensors. All of the credit goes to those who have and do support me- whether it’s the team at Swift, my wonderful parents, close friends that have stuck by, or the recovery community. It has been several years since my darkest days, and it’s fantastic to be useful to others. I’ll be working hard to ensure this momentum continues. I still have many years ahead of me of great music and clever engineering. With my dog Cadence by my side, I know all my lofty ambitions are at least worth attempting.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Sure hasn’t been smooth, and I have had a few major challenges. Many days I am impressed that I’m still here- but my challenges have made me more resilient and I love to joke about it at this point.

2008-2011 I had heart arrhythmia which made performing nearly impossible (still did it though!). Thankfully, in 2011, doctors found I had Wolff Parkinson White syndrome – something I was born with that could be “fixed” with a minor heart surgery procedure. I had this done in 2011. There’s always a small chance it may return, which made the psychological recovery tough for me as well, but I’m more than grateful there was a treatment.

I also struggled with opioid dependency and used 2015-18. Not to sound dark- but assuming I wasn’t going to live long, I had developed a very damaging coping mechanism there. From the second I started, I was trying to stop. This vigilance ultimately did pay off- but I lost some friends in the process. Fentanyl has taken a couple of my closest friends and I was adamant on that not being the situation for me. I’m now over three years removed from that situation and couldn’t be happier about that. I was never a constant user- but what I did created massive problems for me financially, socially, and spiritually. I am now grateful for this struggle as I am a better person because of it all.

My most recent struggle was definitely isolation from COVID-19 and getting my entire mouth reconstructed. I was genetically cursed when it comes to my teeth. Between 2020-now I had six teeth removed (several infections), 40+ hours in the dentist chair, and nearly ten crowns. As of now, all my teeth still in my mouth are fixed- I still have to get six implants when I can afford them but thankfully, there’s no rush there.

It’s a weird world to navigate at the moment. I have only love for my fellow humans and it hurts to see what’s going on. I reached a point where I had to remove myself from watching what was going on- and had to do serious inner-work.

All my challenges have a common thread of development. I always come out the other side as a better person and live more in-line with my ideals and values. These challenges have also lead to me appreciating the fruits of suffering and actually that we don’t NEED to suffer when we go through hardship.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I create music professionally and am also an electrical engineer. I think this sets me apart in general because I do both so seriously without sacrificing quality (although I could use some more sleep!). I play real shows and also Livestream + create Youtube content.

In Music, I am a performer, writer, recording engineer, and my own manager (for now). What sets me apart would be that I write, perform, record, mix, and master all my own records. I love collaborating too, but there’s something interesting about being able to create an entire record as just one person. It allows me to explore deeper concepts and make work that comes out faster because there’s only one schedule to work with.

I make Indie/Pop/Rock music mostly, with a lot of punk and math-rock influences. I try to bring catchy complexity to pop structure, but also love writing simple songs. I’m very proud of my discography- I release on average an album a year, but I don’t release just to have more “quantity.” Some years I make a few great songs, others I’ll make 20. I stand out because while I work as diligently as I can- I also respect the artistic process and don’t force ideas that aren’t working.

In Engineering, I am known for having an extremely wide and adaptive skillset and solving the hardest electrical problems. This flexibility and experience has allowed me to contribute greatly to Swift Sensors and create a mutually-beneficial relationship. Working with goals to create measurements of all types of medium in the world also causes continual expansion.

Ultimately, getting into the creation of music, digital audio, recording, and even building with my Father when I was young have all contributed to making great music and doing great engineering work.

What matters most to you?
Great Question! I think peace and the freedom of imagination is important. Most people let external influences box them in mentally, and I’ve been there before many times as well. When I find myself boxed in – whether it’s from things happening in the world, personal issues or some negative energy is coming my way, I have to consciously fight it off and get back to cultivating a peaceful inner state. Ultimately, I am responsible for what I do, and what I do is related to my inner state. I cannot change the world alone or in an instant, I can only nurture my inner state so I can be a vessel for positive action + harmony in the world.

Pricing:

• Entire Discography on Bandcamp is just $10
• While Swift Sensors quality matches a company like Fluke, the price point is much lower (sensors starting under $100!)

Contact Info:

• Email: colinpburke@gmail.com
• Website: https://cbear.bandcamp.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/colbuiltthemoon
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/colinburkemusic
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/webuiltthemoon
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/c/colinburkemusic
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/colinburkemusic
• Other: https://www.swiftsensors.com

Image Credits
Christopher Carson, Jason Cox