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[ RELEASES - 'ORGANIC SAMPLER' ] |
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Press Release:
Artist: R.S.A.G.
Album: Organic Sampler (Double Album)
Release Date: September 2008
Cat. No.: PSY 027
Distribution: Arabesque UK [ www.arab.co.uk ] / EMD Ireland / Darla USA
Press Info: Keith Downey psychonavigation@gmail.com
RSAG (aka Jeremy Hickey) is a multi-instrumentalist who records, performs and produces all his own material. The 'Organic Sampler', is musically many steps further and sideways, and the genesis of the new visual experience - sound and vision hand in hand - is a multi-media rock and roll cornucopia; the future is here - look and listen.
Live RSAG plays drums / percussion and sings. The backing tracks are recorded in his studio. Visually, he has created a virtual band which is projected on a screen behind him. Think of Joy Division, Talking Heads, Fela Kuti, New York Rockers, ESG with the visual impact of the Gorillaz.
But rather than the use of animation, he aspires to a sort of shadowplay; a show of silhouettes of himself, which he utilises on disc. Think of what DJ Shadow done on his live tour of The Private Press. The impact that visual representation can have on a live show. This is so much more than just music, it is a friendly, full-sensory virus with no known cure. Get the illness soon, you deserve it.
www.myspace.com/rarelyseenaboveground
"...rife with unusual hooks, menacing bass lines and ungovernable, fitful rhythms."
- The Kilkenny People, Jan. 2007
"His dexterous, inventive, gleeful drumming, and the strangled soul of his voice"
- The Art Of Noise concert in London, 26 Oct. 2007
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Album
Track Previews:
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CD
1
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01
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counting down | Listen | |
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02
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stick to your line | Listen | |
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03
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talk back crawl back | Listen | |
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04
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the climb | Listen | |
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05
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days go by | Listen | |
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06
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good times (don't be a fake) | Listen | |
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07
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it over | Listen | |
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08
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bad seed | Listen | |
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09
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moving image | Listen | |
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CD
2
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01
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tell it like it is | Listen | |
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02
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moon movin' the oceans | Listen | |
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03
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irregular motion | Listen | |
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04
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i've been waiting | Listen | |
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05
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the rise of kin | Listen | |
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06
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dwelling on the past | Listen | |
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07
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dire states | Listen | |
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08
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delayed melody | Listen | |
Album Reviews:
The Ticket (Irish Times) CD Choice - Oct. 2008
Well Grounded - 5/5
You may well wonder why a solo project from the former drummer with Kilkenny band Blue Ghost demands your attention. You've got other things to do, people to see and starry Next Big Things to check out. You don't really have time for a bloody drummer from the Marble City. Sure, he could be the new Phil Collins for all you know.
The first track on Jeremy Hickey's latest release as R.S.A.G (as in Rarely Seen Above Ground) is called Counting Down , and it lasts for just under two minutes. You can spare two minutes, can't you? That's the same time you'd probably spend waiting for a bus or stuck in your car on the road into town. Yeah, you can spare it.
By the time Counting Down has finished pounding and pumping an exotic and mesmeric tattoo into your ears in the nicest and funkiest way possible, you'll be hankering to hear more. Take your time - you're going to be coming back again and again to this album in the weeks ahead.
There are many elements which make Organic Sampler such a wow. Hickey's sense of scale and ambition is remarkable, and each track leaps out of its skin because the producer won't settle for the mundane. Here's someone who is determined to get what he hears in his head down on disc.
His grooves are extraordinary, a heavyweight percussive storm conducted by the lightest and finest of touches. Hickey's David Byrne-like yelp gives the album a touch of the Talking Heads, but there's nothing wrong with that.
Put all this together and you have tunes that are compelling, dramatic and exciting. Every track clicks into its stride, makes for the higher ground and hits the target. Other albums may shout about their merits, but Hickey is one worth listening out for.
[Jim Carroll, © 2008 The Irish Times]
Hotpress Magazine - Oct. 2008
Kilkenny drummer gets spasmodic on us - 3.5/5.0
R.S.A.G. (Rarely Seen Above Ground) is the musical alter ego of Kilkenny native Jeremy Hickey. The former Blue Ghost stickman's most recent guise sees the multi-instrumentalist take a turn down Talking Heads alley,with spasmodic,slinky sounds aplenty. Organic Sampler is an extremely textured record bursting with drum fills galore and mad-as-a-bag-of-hammers vocals. It all works really well though (particulary on 'Counting Down' and 'Bad Seed' ) and will probably ensure that Jeremy won't be underground for much longer.
[Edwin McFee]
Irish Independent - Oct. 2008
***
Last year, two-people bands were all the rage. Kilkenny native Jeremy Hickey has gone one better by going it alone.
Not for RSAG a battered acoustic guitar -- his instrument of choice is a drum kit and he's an exceptionally adept percussionist. And let's face it -- you need to be if you're going to release an album entirely comprised of the sound of one object hitting another. Despite that description, there are quite beautiful moments here, although it's an album that you have to live with for some time to get anything from.
Organic Sampler is gloriously anti-commercial: while it may not be the best Irish album of the year, it's easily the bravest.
The Star Newspaper - Oct. 2008
Multi-talented Jeremy Hickey is a future of rock 'n' roll that comprises of the best bits of Talking Heads and Joy Division blended with new bits all of his own. And we mean all his own - he plays every instrument and what's more he does so extremely well. This is utterly fabulous.
State.ie Magazine - Oct. 2008
In terms of today's Irish music scene,there's the mainstream, the underground and the really underground. From the latter,please welcome Rarely Seen Above Ground,aka Jeremy Hickey. If the thought of a one man band consisting of a drummer and some backing tracks sounds a bit like hard work, well it ain't no walk in the park, but buried deep in this debut double album is something quite special.
The opening couple of tracks actually throw you of guard a little,pitching RSAG more as some '80s goth obsessive than anything else,but gradually the record opens up a whole range of influences. That initial impression never really shifts (New Model Army spring to mind for some reason) but extra shades creep in - a touch of Talking Heads here,some African riffs there. Unsurprisingly, it's heavy on the percussion,but there are some lovely touches of instrumentation.
Around the middle of record one,Organic Sampler nearly takes off,bringing all those different strands together on the fantastic 'Good Times'. We say nearly because there is one glitch holding the record back - the production. Granted that this has probably been turned out on a shoe-string, but it's hard not to feel that with the right budget and resources, this could have gone to another level altogether. All of which is probably getting ahead of ourselves, as this will surely find it's way into the hands of remixers all over the place. It deserves to too, for as raw material goes, this is solid gold.
[Phil Udell]
Sunday Tribune Newspaper - Sept. 2008
4/5
It's a brave man who releases a double album as his debut, and R.S.A.G. (Rarely Seen Above Ground) aka Jeremy Hickey is just that. Having stunned Irish festival-goers with an ambitious live show that sees him drumming in front of screens showing pre-recorded footage of his instrumental accompaniment, the Kilkenny man unleashes 17 tracks across two CDs. With drums the foundation to every song, the music remains unclassifiable. On the first disc, the songs are more structured; on the bonus disc, it's a little looser. Mazes of bass jams, resourceful rhythms and malleable vocals create an intriguing, occasionally creepy, whirlpool of sound. The production is shaky, but it's a hugely promising piece of work.
[Una Mulally]
Nialler9 Blog - Sept. 2008
I've been keeping my eyes and ears out for former Blue Ghost drummer Jeremy Hickey over the last two years. This Friday he will release a debut album The Organic Sampler under his Rarely Seen Above Ground moniker. Those of you who have witnessed Jeremy's incendiary live show will know what to expect – a one man band in the form of a drummer, percussion and singer who performs with the aid of self-created backing tracks and silhouetted visuals. At times he sounds like Talking Heads, one of his many influences. His music is psychedelic, heavy on the percussion, brimming with bassline and filled with drum rolls galore. Get caught up in the maelstrom of his ebullient, textured album, because you know this Kilkenny man isn't going underground for much longer. Plus, Matt Vinyl likes it so that's good enough for me.
[Nialler9]
Road Records Album Of The Fortnight - 19th & 26th Sept. 2008
Rarely seen above ground is better known to his friends as Jeremy Hickey, an Irish born multi instrumentalist and this here is his debut album for the Psychonavigation label. Hickey records, performs and produces pretty much everything on the album. Its hard to believe this is all the work of just one man as the album features pretty much all live instruments with just the most subtle hint of electronic trickery. The album has been meticulously constructed to form one very funky collection of new wave and punk funk sounds. You will hear influences from the likes of Joy Division, The Cure, Talking Heads, New Order, Pere Ubu, Liquid Liquid, ESG and a heap more. Its got the early punk funk rumblings of talking heads blended with the slightly darker elements of early joy division and bass heavy new wave sounds. At times you can almost imagine peter hook jamming with early talking heads infused with the post punk edge of gang of four. The percussive element to the album is simply outstanding as hickey makes his way around a drumkit like a man with six arms. The second CD sees the album mellow out just a touch with lots more electronic effects coming into the mix and slightly more emphasis on the punk funk side of things. This is probably one of the most unique and diverse collections from an Irish artist that we have heard all year and one that is well worthy of your attention. Basically if you like choppy angular bass, rhythmic percussion, new wave, post punk and a bit of delicate electronic pop then this collection will keep you happy for a very long time. The album comes in a lovely card pullout sleeve.
[Road Records]
Cian O'Ciobhain, Raidió na Gaeltachta
I know I've only listened to it once, but make no mistake, it's real 'album of the year' territory.