Entertainment
Mood music to groove to from Jeremy Hickey
Groove Tube with Jimi McDonnell – tribunegroove@live.ie
It could well be one of the gigs of the autumn – and it’s free. Rarely Seen Above Ground (RASG) plays Róisín Dubh on Thursday next, September 12, fresh from a headlining slot in the Body & Soul area at the Electric Picnic.
RSAG is a one-man show, put together by Kilkenny based drummer, Jeremy Hickey. He released Organic Sampler, his Choice Prize nominated debut, in 2008 and followed it with Be It Right Or Wrong in 2010.
In July this year, Rarely Seen Above Ground returned with the EP, Rotate and Jeremy is currently working on his third album.
“The whole idea was to bring that out before I went to finish off an album,” he says. “I have songs there; it’s just a question of picking the right ones and finishing them off.”
RSAG’s rhythm based sound was arresting from the get go, and Jeremy plans to continue in that vein, while adding some new elements to the mix.
“On Organic Sampler, you have the main disk which had a post-punk, funky thing going on,” he says. “Then you had the bonus disk, which was a bit more soundtrack-y and instrumental. Then I went on to do Be It Right Or Wrong, which I did in Leo Pearsen’s studio in Thomastown, that was a different sound.
“Now I’ve gotten some better gear, and I’ve gotten back to the process and the techniques I uses on my first album. Now, it’s slightly evolving into a more electronic sound. I got a couple of synthesisers.”
Jeremy is currently recording at home, which he enjoys, but there also is an advantage to working in someone else’s studio.
“I like the idea of being able to work on something, that’s not exactly a nine-to-five thing,” he says about working from his own house. “But I suppose there’s a plus and minus side to it. It’s nice to have it there so you can work whenever you can, but the other side of it is that it’s nice to have a place to have to go to at a certain time, and then go home. It’d be nice to have a studio that wasn’t in my house, but that’s just the way it is these days.”
RSAG is probably best described as ‘mood music’ and Jeremy draws a lot of inspiration from film soundtracks and novels.
“I suppose what I’ve done with Rotate and what I’d like to do with the album is basically try and write tunes with themes that would be inspired by a movie, or a book, or an idea, and that mood is going to stay with the song until it’s finished.
“If a lyric isn’t there at the start, then the one that’s added will have to suit the mood,” Jeremy adds. “It’s almost like a soundtrack, but there’s no real story, it’s just the way it happens. The way I like to work is one week I could watch a movie and be in a certain mood, and hence a track would come from that. Another week it could be something different.”
Given that Rarely Seen Above Ground is a one-man operation, how does Jeremy ensure that the project keeps evolving?
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Folk duo Niall Teague and Pádraic Joyce are launching their new album What Will We Be, a blend of folk, Americana and acoustic music, this Friday, May 19, at 8pm in An Taibhdhearc.
The success of their well-received 2020 release Taobh le Taobh, as well as recent successes at the Pan Celtic and Oireachtas Song Contests, spurred the duo on to record this new album which represents many years of collaboration and musical development.
It features Niall and Pádraic on vocals, harmonies, and acoustic guitars, Maidhc Ó hÉanaigh on double bass and Neil Fitzgibbon on fiddle. The catchy title track, What Will We Be, features contributions from percussionist Jim Higgins (The Stunning, Christy Moore, Paul Brady) and haunting, driving melodies on vocals, guitar, and fiddle.
Themes of love and hope are woven through Come Away with Me which features interplay between piano and fiddle as well as rich vocal harmonies.
People, places, and broken dreams are celebrated and lamented on Martin and Tom, Guitar Gold, Memories of You and Achill Island. The influence of David Henry Thoreau’s novel Walden features on the tracks Simple and Wise and Walden, with the beauty of nature, escape and simple pleasures at their core.
The album moves from minimalistic folk ballads such as Galway Ghost to swirling, string-laden arrangements on the song Neptune, both of which are influenced by maritime tales from Galway. Much of the work on this album was supported by the Arts Council, including work with musical arranger Eoin Corcoran and the string ensemble Treo.
The album will be launched this Friday, May 19, at 8pm in an Taibhdhearc. Tickets €22, plus booking fee at Eventbrite.ie.
Dunmore is the place to be this weekend for lovers of traditional music, as the Galway County Fleadh will take place there from this Friday, May 19, to Sunday, May 23.
It is 10 years since Dunmore last hosted a fleadh and the local Comhaltas branch, which has re-formed since Covid, is looking forward to facilitating this gathering of music, song, dance and craic.
The official Opening Concert will take place in Dunmore Town Hall this Friday at 8pm with the acclaimed Mulcahy family from Limerick. Mick, Louise and Michelle are well known throughout the country, thanks to their live performances, television appearances and numerous CDs. They were the winners of the TG4 Gradam Ceoil Grúpa Ceoil Award for 2023. Tickets for their concert can be purchased on the door and a great night of music is promised.
Two days of competitions will kick off this Saturday at the town’s Community School, with more than 1,500 competitors taking part. Participants will be hoping to qualify for the Connacht Fleadh 2023, which will be held in Ballina, County Mayo, from June 23 to July 2.
Competitions for those aged Under 10, Under 12 and Under 15 will be held in a large variety of instruments on Saturday, as well as in singing and Comhrá Gaeilge. Sunday’s competitions will be for the Under 18 and Over 18 ages groups, as well as in dancing.
On both days a large entry is expected for Grúpaí Cheoil and Céilí Band competitions across all age groups.
Seventeen Comhaltas branches from across Galway will have participants in this weekend’s competitions, which will result in a large number of visitors to the Dunmore area.
Members of the public are welcome to attend the competitions, which offer a great opportunity to hear and see the talent on display. There will be sessions in local pubs over the weekend as well and everybody is welcome to attend these.
For more information on the County Fleadh, go to www.galwaycomhaltas.ie.
Music for Galway’s concert with renowned Swiss pianist Cédric Pescia which had been due to take place on April 27 but which had to be deferred, will now take place next Tuesday, May 23, at 8pm, in the Emily Anderson Concert Hall at the University of Galway.
This concert of German classics with Bach at its core, will brings the Bach element of Music for Galway’s 41st season to an end.
This world-class pianist who won the famous Gina Bachauer International Artists Piano Competition, has a repertoire that spans many eras from baroque to contemporary and he is widely known for his elaborate programmes. Cédric Pescia describes music as ‘language and movement at the same time’.
Audiences will have a chance to experience his soft, clear touch as he performs a programme for solo piano that will include classics such as Schumann’s popular Waldszenen (Forest Scenes), a suite of nine short pieces, and the penultimate of Beethoven’s piano sonatas, No. 31. These pieces will be interspersed with French Suites by Bach.
■ Ticket for Cédric Pescia’s concert are available at www.musicforgalway.ie, or by phone 091 705962 and on the door on the night. They cost €20/€18. The price for fulltime students of all ages is €6 while MfG Friends can avail of the friends’ rate of €16.
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