Michael Burke Returns to Music After 5-Year Hiatus with New Single 'Apophenia'

There are times when we get away from what we're meant to be doing, and then there are times when the call becomes so irresistible that we simply can't stay away. This is where New York City-based producer, recording engineer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Michael Burke finds himself with "Apophenia," the second single from his new EP A Strange Mistake to Make.

With "Apophenia," Burke once again showcases his ability to marry pop sensibilities with the unusual. He half-jokingly describes the song as a playful take on "pretentious pop in 6/8." After five years' worth of creative gestation, "Apophenia" practically explodes from your speakers with its stacks of massively auto-tuned vocals, grimy, percussion distortion, improvised guitar solos, and delicate acoustic fingerpicking.

With a passion for music that revealed itself at the ripe old age of 5, Burke has been steeped in the traditions of classic '60s and '70s music since early childhood. But as he pursued his own creative muse (while simultaneously coming into his own as a recording engineer), Burke found himself attracted to sonic quirks as much as he was enthralled by the craft of songwriting.

Over time, he landed on a distinct brand of indie rock by combining an innate pop-sensibility with a number of unorthodox elements like dissonant guitar solos, complex harmonies and rhythms, intricately crafted and philosophical lyrics, modern production and mixing techniques, and a near-pathological obsession with small details.

About "Apophenia," Burke offers the following: "This track began as an assignment for a songwriting class at NYU. The playful lyrics use the concept of apophenia to combine unexpected and disparate ideas into a cohesive whole and were loosely inspired by some of the feelings I was going through while getting divorced. The dictionary definition of 'apophenia' is 'the tendency to perceive a connection or meaningful pattern between unrelated or random things (such as objects or ideas).' While the term can sometimes be used to describe symptoms of mental illness or psychedelic drugs, we all experience this phenomenon constantly. A common example of this is the well-known 'gambler's fallacy.' However, I see this concept play out in every aspect of our lives by people of all backgrounds. So I thought I would toy with that."

After releasing his first EP in 2014 (Pink Elephants & Saccharine Smiles) under the band name Lilted, Michael quit music almost entirely, obtained a master's degree in Software Development-working at audio tech companies like iZotope and Sonos-moved to the suburbs, and got married. However, life circumstances changed when the call to music again became too strong to ignore. So when Michael moved to Manhattan in 2021, he obtained a master's in Songwriting from NYU, and began producing records for other artists at studios around the city before opening his own studio in SoHo in early 2024.

A Strange Mistake To Make marks his return to the music scene as a solo artist. His new material represents the culmination of many years' worth of effort, distilling all of Michael's accumulated experience in the realms of songwriting, production, mixing, and mastering into a heady blend.

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