Sandra, Jalmar and Tõnu have long been good friends, and have been active on the Estonian music scene for more than fifteen years.

Surrounded by traditional music all her life, Sandra first picked up the Estonian bagpipe when she was thirteen. Jalmar is of the Seto people. Setomaa, a small community in the south of Estonia, has its own a king and distinctive culture, and is particularly well known for its traditional singing. His great-grandmother, Anne Vabarna, was one of the most famous folk singers in Estonia, so he has grown up in this tradition. Tõnu’s father is a conductor of a brass orchestra, so he was playing brass before he could walk. He took up classical trombone and drums, and is now one of the most in-demand drummers in Estonia.

Two years ago they decided to play together just for fun, to do something different with folk music. At the first rehearsal they decided not to set borders, to keep it fresh and surprise themselves, with no ambition to perform it in public.

It was a great surprise when after the band released their first tune, “Kooreke”, which became a hit and people liked this approach to folk music and asked for more. When they applied to play at Tallinn Music Week 2014 they didn’t even have a name; they only had five tunes, but it was just enough for the short showcase. After massive positive feedback from audience and critics they decided to take things more seriously. It seems that the fresh, free approach and friendship between the members creates a special energy which audiences and the musicians themselves very much enjoy.

Trad.Attack! takes inspiration from old archive recordings and from the music of today. Folk music is their starting point but not their boundary: they remain open in ears, mind and soul to different styles and new directions whilst maintaining their emotional roots-heart.

At their first concert the band made a joke about having a master-plan - to play in every country in the world. Surprisingly this audacious master-plan has now been activated - within its very first year Trad.Attack! has played in Estonia, Latvia, Poland, USA, Germany, Finland, Malaysia, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Norway, Denmark. Now there are only 186 countries to go!

Trad.Attack! is the winner of ESTONIAN MUSIC AWARDS 2014 - Ethno/Folk album of the year, Music Video of the year - and ESTONIAN ETHNO MUSIC AWARDS 2014 - Best Band, Best Album, Best Song, Best Newcomer and Radio 2 special award!