New Irish band Jiggy put some serious pep in the step of this sean-nós style traditional Irish tune, “Stoney Steps.”
The band, made up of Daire Bracken (fiddle), Garry O’Meara (banjo), Éamonn Galldubh (pipes), and Robbie Harris (percussion), teamed up with DJ Jacks and his decks and the results, as they say themselves amount to “serious toe-tap-ability.”
Percussionist Robbie Harris spoke to IrishCentral about the band and their new sound.
Q: How did the band come about?
Harris: We came about as part of a happy accident!
During the recent St Patrick's festival in Dublin Daire, Garry, Eamonn, and myself were doing a session in Peadar Kearney’s [Dame Street, Dublin].
DJ Jack came in to do the late night slot after us and as we were finishing up he started dropping beats under the reels and jigs. DJ Jack is a rare DJ who still uses vinyl turntable, a crossfader mixer and can improvise hip hop scratching.
The crowd was in great form and cheered us on to keep going. We realized that the revelers were really into it when they started Ceili dancing to the tunes and beats!
What was the thought behind “Stoney Steps”?
We decided to meet up and explore mixing traditional Irish dance tunes and hip hop beats from the 1990s.
We recently made the video of a set of reels and it features a sample of the lilter Pat Killduff. The old footage in the video is of a session in O'Connor's Pub, Doolin, County Clare, in 1973.
So what’s next for Jiggy?
We have recorded enough tracks for an album and we are mixing them now. In the meantime we are available for weddings, Holy Communions, funerals and divorce proceedings.
Read more: Irish trad band’s viral video could replace Pharrell Williams' Happy
For more visit the band’s Facebook page and website.
* Originally published in 2014.
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