It all started in 1996, on the street. Since then the Transsylvanians have stayed true to their inimitable style. The devilish violinist Andras Tiborcz, responsible for arranging and composing, whom the public love to carry on their hands, comes from Hungary and Hungarian is the language of the band's songs. How fortunate that singer and contra-bassist Isabel Nagy is half Hungarian and speaks the language perfectly.

But whoever is now thinking of folklore and jolly violin solos is not getting the full picture, because the Transsylvanians rock as if they invented Rock'n'Roll themselves. Although they know and love to perform all the clichés of the genre - the stage-diving of the soloing violinist is just one example - they come across in their concerts as always authentic and so sympathetic that you feel as if they've been personal friends of yours for years.

In more than 1000 concerts throughout Europe they have excited audiences of all kinds including housewifes, punks, senior citizens, children, hardcore bikers and executive businessmen, whose only apparent common denominator is the music of the Transsylvanians. Rousing and powerful, within a few seconds the ice between the stage and the audience is broken and it seldom lasts more than half a song before the whole room is dancing. The dedicated team of guitarist Hendrik Maaß, keyboardist Andreas Hirche and drummer Thomas Leisner bring the whole thing together. A five-piece party band with depth; a band between Ska and Bela Bartok; a band who give new life to the old traditions, turning them to now. That's the Transsylvanians.

Transsylvania, the musical source of the band, is a strip of land that belonged to Hungary until the First World War and is now part of Romania. Many people from different cultures live there: Hungarians, Romanians, Siebenbürgersachsens and Gypsies. With many concerts in England, Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Austria, Switzerland and Germany, these musicians – from Hungary, Greece and Germany – show how music can connect people of different countries and generations.