R.S.A.G. 'Organic Sampler' In Road Records Today!! (1 Viewer)

[psycho]

Forthcoming R.S.A.G. Shows

8 Oct 2008
Trinity Rooms w/ DJ. Keith Downey Limerick

10 Oct 2008
Andrews Lane theatre w/ Super Extra Bonus Party Dublin

11 Oct 2008
Nouveau Casino Paris

19 Oct 2008
Whelans Album Launch w/ The Kilo Dublin

30 Oct 2008
Stress/ Galway

6 Nov 2008
Thursdays @ The Pavillion Cork

14 Nov 2008
Le fleche dor Paris

21 Nov 2008
Powers Bar/ no fiction London, Kilburn Road.

27 Nov 2008
clubheadbangbang w/ DJ.Keith Downey Tralee

10 Dec 2008
Whelans / Psychonavigation night w/ Roger Doyle, Mick Chillage, Sean Quinn, Ciaran Byrne, Dublin

12 Dec 2008
Andrews Lane theatre w/ Coldcut Dublin

13 Dec 2008
Kennedy’s Underground Dublin

21 Dec 2008
Andrews Lane Theatre/ Forever Presents Dublin

 

[rettucs]

what time is he on stage on saturday? I shall be there with french bells on.

 

[psycho]

Hotpress Magazine

R.S.A.G 'Organic Sampler' [Psychonavigation Records] 3.5 / 5.0

Kilkenny drummer gets spasmodic on us

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

--------------------------------


The Star Newspaper October 10th

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

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

 

[psycho]

Analogue Magazine
http://www.analoguemagazine.com/reviews/rsag-organic-sampler/

October 9th, 2008 The first time I saw R.S.A.G (Jeremy Hickey) play live I was unexpectedly impressed by his frenetic percussive barrages and the set-up of his one-man performances. Against a backdrop of silhouetted band members all played by Hickey himself, he galloped throughout his performance seemingly uninhibited by fatigue and in fact building up to an energetic peak of an arms all-a-blur climax to his set.
So when I got his new release, Organic Sampler I was a little apprehensive as to whether I would find it as good without the visual spectacle of Hickey’s energetic performances to accompany the sound.
Hickey is at his best in this album when he is indulging in a heavy bass and dominant percussion tripping over it in the foreground. This is nicely complimented by his sometimes guttural voice which rather then acting as the leading melody in the track instead forms another layer within the song, much in the same vein as Damo Suzuki’s outlandish vocals complimented the music of Can rather then overpowering it.
This is best showed on tracks such as Bad Seed, Days Go By and Stick to your Line which unsurprisingly are the ones recognisable from his live sets. But thankfully, it’s also been instilled into a good number of the other tracks on the album.
Tracks like Its Over and The Climb though seemed to lack this subversive edge that Hickey is so great at gilding his tracks with and scooped a small lull in the album for me.
But compensation comes in the form of the two last songs on the album, building to form a great finale.
The album also comes with a bonus disc (R.S.A.G’s previous album) which although not reaching the heights of Organic Sampler, has one of my favourite tracks Moon Movin’ The Oceans on it among others that are well worth a listen.
And a look…

 

[psycho]

The Irish Independent (Day & Night)

R.S.A.G. 'Organic Sampler' [Psychonavigation] 3/5

Friday October 17 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.

Burn it: Counting Down

 

[Bootleg]

Not bad but he could have been a bit warmer! Looking forward to the Cork date now.

 

[psycho]

Not bad but he could have been a bit warmer!

Ha. Well he gave FLA 1/5 so we've done well I suppose???

Looking forward to the Cork date now

Ye should be a cracker!

 

[psycho]

More positive comments on the record.This time from Jim Carroll of The Ticket:

http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/ontherecord/2008/10/09/tune-of-the-week-turn-the-magic-on/

The latest ones to make me go wow? That R.S.A.G. album “Organic Sampler”. Ridiculously infectious. I mean, ridiculous. Drumming dude called Jeremy Hickey from Kilkenny making the most funky out-there pop album you’ll hear in an age. It’s like Elvin Jones hooking up with Talking Heads. Yeah, that good. And, thanks to numptie boy here managing to ignore one of the CDs because he thought it was just a CD-R with photos and artwork, I’ve the second half of this double-album to indulge myself in today.

 

[psycho]

Thanks to everyone who came down to Whelans last night. It was great to see it jammed for a Sunday night! The man rocked it again. Cheers to The Kilo for the cool tunes beforehand too.

Watch out for the The Ticket this week

Keith

 

[psycho]

Hotpress launch night review

http://wordpress.hotpress.com/offherrocker/2008/10/21/review-rsag/#more-1282

 

[jcdonaggio]

twas a solid gig alright, fair play.

 

[Bootleg]

R.S.A.G. plays Bootleg @ The Pavilion, Cork on Thursday November 6th. Doors 9pm €6 before 10pm / €8 after.

 

[psycho]

Hi Folks,

Great news in this morning. R.S.A.G. 'Organic Sampler' has just received 5/5 in 'The Ticket' (The Irish Times)

Here's the full review below by Jim Carroll taken from : http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/theticket/2008/1024/1224715101819.html

Have a great weekend.

Psychonavigation Records

Well grounded

CD CHOICE: R.S.A.G., Organic Sampler, Psychonavigation
*****
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.

www.myspace.com/rarelyseenaboveground

JIM CARROLL

Download tracks: Counting Down, The Climb, Moving Image

© 2008 The Irish Times

 

[psycho]

The album is in Tower Records for only €12.99 as of today.

Bit more expensive in the HMV's

K

 

[psycho]

http://www.daveclarke.com/index.cfm/go:topten

1) Creepy Autograph "Sexy body ep"
2) Arnaud Rebotini "Decade of Agression"
3) Joey Beltram "Scorpio"
4) Frank Kusserow "Assimilate your Soul"
5) 2000 and One "Never Ending Cycle ep"
6) Radial "Allright Allright"
7) Cari Lekebusch "Rituals"
8) Terence Fixmer "I don't care"
9) Black Boiler " Chiburgh Touch"
10) Paul Mac "Pump The Werk"

Electro 5

1) Radarsat 1 "Ascending Synthesis"
2) The Hidden Persuader "Specialise"
3) Dynamik Bass System "Electronic"
4) Creepy Autograph "Erase in Mind ep"
5) DJ Nasty "Alien Race"

Non Dance but Unmissable:
R.S.A.G. "Organic Sampler"
myspace.com/rarelyseenaboveground

 

[shitepipe]

http://www.daveclarke.com/index.cfm/go:topten

1) Creepy Autograph "Sexy body ep"
2) Arnaud Rebotini "Decade of Agression"
3) Joey Beltram "Scorpio"
4) Frank Kusserow "Assimilate your Soul"
5) 2000 and One "Never Ending Cycle ep"
6) Radial "Allright Allright"
7) Cari Lekebusch "Rituals"
8) Terence Fixmer "I don't care"
9) Black Boiler " Chiburgh Touch"
10) Paul Mac "Pump The Werk"

Electro 5

1) Radarsat 1 "Ascending Synthesis"
2) The Hidden Persuader "Specialise"
3) Dynamik Bass System "Electronic"
4) Creepy Autograph "Erase in Mind ep"
5) DJ Nasty "Alien Race"

Non Dance but Unmissable:
R.S.A.G. "Organic Sampler"
myspace.com/rarelyseenaboveground

haha. class.

 

[psycho]

On Thursday night Jeremy Hickey aka R.S.A.G. was Donal Dineen's special guest on his radio show 'Small Hours' (Today FM)

In between the music Donal talked to Jeremy about his life growing up in Kilkenny,his first ever drum kit and his many influences that formed the R.S.A.G. sound.

It's a brilliant listen folks so here's 2 separate podcast links.

http://audio.todayfm.com/audio/24102008-00.wmv
http://audio.todayfm.com/audio/24102008-01.wmv

 

[Jim Daniels]

Just bought this yesterday. Its ace .|..|

Have listened to it about 4 times straight...

 

[psycho]

Thanks for buying the album Jim. Yep it has that repeat button factor

 

[psycho]

http://www.rte.ie/2fm/danhegarty/

R.S.A.G. repeat radio session tonight @ midnight on Dan's show.

Enjoy