rhyece
rhyece
rhyece
rhyece
Country: Australia
Genre: desert blues, garage rock'n'roll, punk, outlaw country, psychedelic
Label: Beast Records
Booking territory: Central and Eastern Europe

Agent: Dušan Svíba
Phone: +420 603 48 68 57

RHYECE O’NEILL is a songwriter, poet & novelist born in South Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. Solo or with his band he has played pubs and bars in the outback and cities all over the Australia and toured and performed with The Beasts of Bourbon, The Ape, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Spencer P. Jones and more. Steeped in the desert blues, garage rock & roll and outlaw country O’Neill’s influences range from Iggy Pop, Rowland S Howard, Einstürzende Neubauten, The Bad Seeds, Stanford Clarke, W.H. Auden, Arthur Rimbaud, PJ Harvey, Sylvia Plath, Patti Smith, Henry Miller, Townes Van Zandt, Dostoyevsky, Lightnin’ Hopkins, John Lee Hooker & Dylan.

O’Neill’s trade is the written word. In 2017 he collected his poetry and songs into his first album “Übermensch Blues”. A prolific poet, novelist and songwriter he has completed several novels from which “Run To The Dust” is based on his experiences as a union delegate leading an industrial dispute working on a huge construction project in the desert. Around the time also large parts of his second album “Death of a Gringo” was written. He also finished his first collection of poems, “The Condition Report 45”.

2018 saw the him and his former band The Narodniks release the “Death of a Gringo” album on Beast Records in France. Following this release the band embarked on their European tour playing over 41 dates across the continent including 3 shows at the legendary Binic Blues festival in France. While in the Czech Republic they recorded at Sono Records studios with legendary engineer and producer Milan Cimfe who has worked with David Bowie, Lou Reed and Kris Kristofferson. This collaboration resulted in 2019 in a prophetic album “Los Diablos”, while in between at home Australia he recorded an acoustic album “Junk In The Valley” with Hannah Jane.

In July 2019 in Melbourne’s Cactus Room he paid homage to the Australian cult classic film “Wake in Fright”. With his band he presented a live, original soundtrack which both shocked and thrilled the sold out auditorium. The gothic blues guitar, driving bass and boogie near psychotic drums provided a truly stunning context for the film’s dialogues and subject matter.

In 2021 upon receiving a vision in a dream O’Neill packed his life in his car and headed out of his native Victoria the night the state was locked down amidst the pandemic. Since then he has traversed the entire east coast of Australia from his home in South Gippsland to the windy shores of Cooktown in far North Queensland. Upon returning to Brisbane he formed a new band as his band mates were stranded in Melbourne.

On the begining of 2022 he released EP Road To Damascus (Journey to Bunya), which will be followed by a new full album.

PRESS

“Think Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds meets the old school sounds of The Veils meets Mark Lanegan… Filled with tension and drunken swagger with a deliciously complementing haunting violin: Australian singer songwriter Rhyece O’Neill impresses us with “The Fire in You.” Gobsmag.nl 

“Ubermensch Blues” grabs you first time and you’ll be returning over and over. It’s a sound investment, if not essential. i94bar.com

Christmas, Jesus, and modern visions of hell: we chat with Rhyece O’Neill, Happy Mag


Rhyece O’Neill (AUS)
Rhyece O’Neill (AUS)
Tagged on: