WATCH: Irish trad musician's epic 'Thriller' cover - using 9 fiddles

Aoife Kelly

An Irish trad musician has covered Michael Jackson's hit 'Thriller' with nine fiddles using an Acapella app.

Niall Murphy has been a trad player for the past 17 years and regularly experiments with different styles including bluegrass, country, and pop.

He has toured with bluegrass legend Dan Tyminski (guitarist with Alison Krauss and Union Station and singer of Avicci’s ‘Hey Brother’) which inspired him to try different techniques.  He currently plays with Cara Dillon and Breaking Trad.

"Micheal Jackson is one of my favourite singers and arrangers," he says.

"Before starting to record, I arranged the piece for nine fiddles. Some tracks are melody, some are plucked bass lines, some are replicating the brass section and using a fiddle technique called ‘the chop’ I replicated the percussion sound.

"When it all played together I was surprised at the outcome. It mightn’t be exactly like his own version but the idea is there I think, I hope!"

Niall hopes to show people how versatile the fiddle can be and he has posted several videos to YouTube showcasing its possibilities.