Multi-instrumentalist Jeremy Hickey – better known by his stage name R.S.A.G (Rarely Seen Above Ground) – might have been a little quiet on the musical front for the last few months, but he’s been living something of the Life of Riley. His recent single collaboration with French act Bot’Ox has seen the Kilkenny native hopping between Paris and home, while a second collaborative recording with Jerry Fish has the electronic maestro take on an entirely new style.
While the public volume has been turned down, Hickey’s also been working on not only an EP due in late May, but a full length album that’s just about to hit the recording studio. He’ll be returning to Ireland fresh from the glamour of a Friday night show in Paris this weekend, with a Saturday night set at the fantastic mini-festival that is Trocaire’s annual event ‘TrocaireLive’ at the Grand Social, alongside Donal Dineen, Dublin Afro-Beat Ensemble, Discovery Gospel Choir, The Notas, Gypsy Rebel Rabble and a whole lot more. He took time out of this French odyssey to give us the latest on his own progress, and why he chose to support Trocaire.
I’m sure you get a lot of requests to play at charity shows. What made you choose to support TrocaireLive?
When I found out it’s going to be the 40th anniversary of Trocaire, I thought it’d be a bit of a special occasion. I’ve been wanting to do one, and I decided this would probably be the best one, with Donal (Dineen). I’m excited about seeing the other acts, too, The Afro-Beat Ensemble and Talking Drums. Trocaire being together and working like that for so long says a lot really, I think. I think they’re going for an eclectic line up, kind of like a mini festival, celebrating how long this has been going. The Nigerian act, Talking Drums are going to be great, it’ll give it that international feel, and the stalls, food and stuff will give it a real festival feel.
I understand you have both an EP and an album in the works at the moment. How are things coming along; when can we expect to see them?
I’ve just about finished the EP, so that’ll be out as soon as I can. I’m not sure if it’ll be slightly delayed but I’m hoping for the end of May. The album will be as soon as I can get it done as well. I’m doing a lot of writing at the moment, trying to pin down the tracks that’ll actually make the album.
You’ve got subtly more mellow and layered since the release of your debut album ‘Organic Sampler’, and this latest one will be your fourth full length release. Can we expect a continuation of the theme?
One or two tracks are actually a little bit dubby and electronica inspired. It has a bit of calm in there, too, and a bit of thrash. I’m always trying to keep things moving, it’s influenced by a lot of the dub stuff that’s been coming out over the last couple of years. It’s been floating around with me for a while now, so I’m actually really looking forward to getting it out there and seeing what people think.
Do you think about how you’re going to convert tracks to a live setting when you’re writing, or do you just make the best album you can and then worry about that later?
There are certain tracks that I wouldn’t play live, definitely. It all kind of starts with a groove, and then the layers come in on top. I’m always thinking about how I’m going to do it live, even with the new album, but it’s often a different version. There’s a bit of planning involved. It’s just me, myself and I, so I put together the whole thing.
The ‘me, myself and I’ idea could hardly me more literal with you, as you project images of yourself playing away on the different instruments in your tracks onto the stage backdrop as you perform. How’s your multitude of selves fitting into the live show these days?
It’s something that I want to progress into a bit more of me getting up off the drum kit and doing some other things, doing a few more instruments live. Not too far down the line I’ll be getting out of my drum comfort zone, and making a bit more of a show of it. I work with a visual artist called Paul Mahon, and have been working together for a long time. It’s basically that we get together, film the stuff and then turn it almost into a movie, making it all sync for the stage. It’s interesting to progress that; we have a lot of ideas to move it forward. It’d be nice to have a bit more of a spontaneous thing with it in parts.
You’ve been involved in a lot of collaborations over the years, including an up and coming one with Jerry Fish, you’re most recent track with French act Bot’Ox and Choice Music Prize winners Super Extra Bonus Party. How does the dynamic change when you team up?
It brings a different atmosphere. They’ll be somehow involved in the album; you have to try and see where you can take things. Jerry Fish and I are bringing out a single soon enough, I’ll be doing the drums, and we’re doing some shows over the summer. It’s nice to get out and get involved in different projects. It’s good for the creative process, it changes when you gig with different people and perform in a different style. You’re could be basically playing what they want, and it starts a few ideas. I’ve tried to become a bit sparser over the last few years, structure things in a way that’s not too busy. In a way, some of these acts have taught me that, both in recordings and their live set up. It’s been great.
It’s seemed like you’ve been taking a step back for a little while, at least before this spate of releases came along. Was that a conscious decision?
Yeah, what it was… I was just a bit tired with doing the same thing. I’m very proud of my last album, but I needed to step back and do something different. The last album was a bit of a move, but I’m glad I did it that way. It was going very fast; I wrote a lot and I got slightly out of my comfort zone and did it a different way. I went more into doing things live and then going home to produce it, and I’d been spending a lot of time with Bot’Ox over in France. I’ve come back with something a bit sparser; personally I think the new stuff is the best stuff I’ve done. I’m very excited. That down time is part of that.
How did the Bot’Ox collaboration come about? It seems pretty leftfield to be so involved with a French artist despite being based in Kilkenny…
Yeah, it’s a strange one! Back in 2007 one of the guys in Bot’Ox, Cosmo, he was over in Dublin doing an DJ night, and I played with him. I gave him a copy of what was the bonus disc to Organic Sampler, which I actually released shortly before Organic Sampler, and then eventually made into a double album. I gave that to him, and four or five years later he asked me to drum with him. Apparently he went back and the next day he told his partner that he found his drummer. It was five years before he called me!
Will you be doing any of those collaborations on Saturday night?
We haven’t arranged anything as such. I haven’t had the time to put something together, so I’ll do my own thing, a forty minute set showcasing 90% of the new stuff that’ll be on the EP and album. That’ll be an experience in itself.
R.S.A.G. plays Trocaire Live at the Grand Social on Saturday the 27th of April 2013.