Back in the year 2001 Mihai (guitar) discovered Nelu, an old harmonica player, expert in Romanian folklore. Ten years later, in 2011, Mihai founded the band with Nelu (solo harmonica) and Adam (chord harmonica).

Soon, Mihai had already developed the concept of Zmeitrei

A DEEP, ROUGH FORM OF ROMANIAN SOUL EXPRESSION

when he met Paula (voice) in Berlin in 2012.  They were both looking to express their Romanian identity through the painful immigrant perspective.

Things got really serious when they met Oli Bott (vibraphone), who completed the sound and took the inspiration at the highest levels.

In March 2013 the band Zmeitrei was acclaimed with standing ovations in the Berlin B-flat jazz club. A first demo album, Zmeitrei, was recorded in less than six months and is now available.

The first album reinterprets old Romanian folk themes in an eclectic new key, with a fresh sound created by the unique instrument mix. Everything is in there: from love to hatred, from soft to sharp, from raw to sophisticated, from young to old. The expression of five contrasting characters.