Jeremy Hickey (also known as Rarely Seen Above Ground—abbreviated as R.S.A.G.—) is an Irish multi-instrumentalist and producer from Kilkenny. He has released four albums and one EP. Rarely Seen Above Ground (2007) Organic Sampler (2008) Be It Right Or Wrong (2010)Rotate EP (2013) and Chroma (2020).
R.S.A.G released his debut double album Organic Sampler which received a Choice Music Prize nomination for Irish Album of the Year 2008 along with a 5 star review from the Irish Times. His follow up "Be It Right Or Wrong" was also received with critical acclaimed and earned him 5 stars in the RTE ten magazine. 2013's "Rotate EP" was named as one Nialler 9's top 10 EP's that year. His latest album "Chroma" which is hailed as his finest piece of work to date was released on 29 May. The Irish Times calling it 'One of the best Irish albums of 2020'. His live show has been a staple of the Irish Festival scene for years showcasing his talent as a live performer. He has performed at several festivals, including Castlepalooza, Electric Picnic and Body & Soul and is rumoured to be "one of the most innovative and astonishing Irish musicians around" Entertainment.ie
Hickey is influenced by bands such as Joy Division, Talking Heads, Primal Scream, Jon Hopkins and Tony Allen.[2] As R.S.A.G., he is a solo drummer performer but alongside a virtual band who are projected onto a screen in a manner which has been likened to Gorillaz.[2][5] Jeremy Hickey appears as the guitarist and bassist on screen in the background, although they are controlled by another Kilkenny man, Paul Mahon.[6]
Career
Hickey began his musical career as the drummer in a Kilkenny band called Blue Ghost.[2][3] He headlined the Body and Soul Area at Electric Picnic 2008, 2009, 2013.[7]
Other Irish Festivals: Oxegen, Vantastival x2, Body & Soul x2, Valentia Isle Festival, Electric Picnic x6, Castlepalooza x2, Independence, Forbidden Fruit, Pigstock, Kilkenny, Kinsale & Westport Arts Festivals.
Foreign Festivals: Calvi On The Rocks Corsica, Montraux Jazz Festival Switzerland, Cannes Music Festival France, Burning Man Nevada USA, Nuitssonores France, Electron Festival Geneva, SXSW Texas USA, Tsugi Festival France.
TV appearances: Raw Session, Other Voices, Late Late Show, Saturday Night Live. Numerous French & UK shows.
Points of note: Choice Music Award Nomination, 5 Star review from Jim Carroll, The Ticket. Various 'Album Of The Year' awards, ROI.
Highlight: Supporting The Pixies, Dublin's Olympia Theatre.
Hickey's debut album as R.S.A.G., Organic Sampler which was launched in 2008, had a bonus disc of "mostly instrumental doodles" which was effectively an album Hickey had previously released.[2][9]Analogue commented that the best part of the album featured Hickey's "heavy bass and dominant percussion [...] nicely complimented [sic] by his sometimes guttural voice".[9]entertainment.ie gave the album four out of five stars, saying it was an "extraordinary" and "wondrous debut album" and remarking that "there's a magic about Organic Sampler that means every listen will unearth new surprises".[2]Jim Carroll, writing in The Irish Times, said Organic Sampler was "such a wow", its songs were "compelling, dramatic and exciting" and that the artist's "sense of scale and ambition is remarkable" and "his grooves are extraordinary".[3]Una Mullally, writing in the Sunday Tribune, also gave Organic Sampler four out of five stars and remarked on the "mazes of bass jams, resourceful rhythms and malleable vocals [which] create an intriguing, occasionally creepy, whirlpool of sound".[5] R.S.A.G. appeared on the television series Other Voices.[7]
R.S.A.G. appeared on The Raw Sessions, an interactive music television programme broadcast on RTÉ Two in 2009. Hickey described the show as "great thing"[10] and made his debut on the first episode which was broadcast on 12 May 2009. R.S.A.G. recorded "All Along That Road", whilst Sweet Jane who also appeared in that episode, recorded "Black Eyes", both at Sun Studios.[11][12] R.S.A.G. won the first heat and a prize of recording an original track at Grouse Lodge, County Westmeath.[13] He next appeared in the sixth episode of the series which was broadcast on 16 June 2009.[14] He recorded the track "Movement" whilst Dirty Epics recorded "White Out", both with producers Leo Pearson and Ken McHugh at Grouse Lodge.[14] Both acts had eighteen hours to record an original song.[15] The three acts with the most votes (and downloads) progressed to the final.[16] The final was recorded live at the Button Factory music venue in Dublin on 26 June 2009,[10][16][17] before being broadcast on 30 June 2009.[10][18] It featured performances from the top three artists; Dirty Epics, The Infomatics and R.S.A.G.[19] The winner, The Infomatics, was announced on 4 July 2009.[20][21][22]
R.S.A.G. performed on the Red Bull Music Academy Stage at Oxegen 2009,[23] arriving on stage half an hour late.[24] Jim Carroll called the performance "a robust, beaty and meaty fare, a fabulous mash-up from the Marble City which is one part hardcore-punk to three parts heavyweight funk".[6] He also performed at Castlepalooza several weeks later.[25][26] He is currently working on a new album.[24]
Be It Right Or Wrong, R.S.A.G.'s third album was released 11 June 2010 release, preceded by the single "The Roamer".[28]
Awards
Organic Sampler received a Choice Music Prize nomination for the Irish Album of the Year 2008 on 14 January 2009.[1][29][30][31] The award was won by Jape for the album Ritual on 4 March 2009.[32][33][34][35][36][37] R.S.A.G. was amongst six of the nominees who performed during the live ceremony in Vicar Street, Dublin.[38]
^ abc"Well grounded". The Irish Times. 24 October 2008. Retrieved 5 August 2009. You may well wonder why a solo project from the former drummer with Kilkenny band Blue Ghost demands your attention. [...] 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. [...] His grooves are extraordinary, a heavyweight percussive storm conducted by the lightest and finest of touches. [...] Put all this together and you have tunes that are compelling, dramatic and exciting.
^ abc"Raw talent ready for final". The Irish Times. 26 June 2009. Retrieved 1 August 2009. Jeremy Hickey of RSAG told The Ticket that participating in the series has been a "great thing". The final will be aired on RTÉ2 on June 30th.
^"Super Extra Bonus Party tour + single". Hot Press. 1 February 2010. Retrieved 5 February 2010. The band also have the R.S.A.G.-assisted 'Who You Are And What Do You Want' included on the Dance to the Radio label's 4x12" Volume 4 compilation, alongside exclusives from Drink Up Buttercup, Milk White Teeth and Paul Thomas Saunders.
^Eoin Butler (15 January 2009). "Choice script upset by inclusion of . . . The Script". The Irish Times. Retrieved 16 August 2009. Other acts nominated were Cork songwriter Mick Flannery, Dublin-based rock outfit Halfset and electronica maverick Jape, while Messiah J The Expert, Oppenheimer and R.S.A.G. complete the list.
