The band was formed in 2001 by Toma Feterman, who has ancestors of Polish, Rumanian and Jewish Russian origins. A self taught multi-instrumentalist, Toma sings as well as playing the banjo and the trumpet. After initially performing music that covers a wide range from punk to French “chanson”, he decides to gather a group to perform music from Eastern Europe - a way of returning to his roots. At the beginning, the musicians were friends that played traditional songs.