Folk releases don't really belong to our field of expertise, but for 'Hypernova', the second album by Irish band Jiggy, we gladly made an exception. The seven-piece collective mixes Irish folk with influences from Indian music traditions like konnakol, vocal percussion from the South-Indian Carnatic music (closing track 'Back To Belfast', 'Tāl', Road To Errogie'), hip-hop (Padraig 'MC Muipéad' Ó Conghaile rapping in Gaelic in 'Man Of Aran'), western beats and even some rock-meets-zydeco influences in 'Who Put The Blood'. The name of the band of course refers to the jig, the typical Irish folk dance and accompanying folk music. Driving force behind Jiggy is percussionist and bodhrán player Robbie Harris, who got the idea for the project after he was asked to accompany Indian gypsy fanfare Dhoad for several concerts in Ireland back in 2007. The entire album is dedicated to former Jiggy guitarist and bass player Gavin Ralston, who last year lost the battle against cancer. At times Jiggy's sound evoked memories of the music of Afro Celt Sound System, which is why 'Hypernova' certainly deserves a place on these pages.