After running out of money in New Zealand, Mystica and Boston Balkany began a busking show which was a blend of ethnic tunes that at least one of them knew. Later that year, they met up with violinist Bojan Cv at the Lent festival in Slovenia and put on an impressive improvised set. Terrafolk was born.

After heavy touring in their native land, they headed for London and Edinburgh where they played in pubs, then clubs, then festivals. One British journalist described the Terrafolk sound as “Everything respected, nothing sacred”. The UK adventure resulted in Terrafolk winning a BBC World Music Award, even though the band was not really aware of what the “world music scene” was. The band formed the ONE music society (Društvo za ENO glasbo) to better define the unlimited approach to their musical style.

Bostan Balkany left the band in 2004 to be replaced by Marko Hatlak and Janez Dovc. Marko, a ‘serious’ classical accordion player, also plays heavy drums. New descriptions of Terrafolk appeared: folk rebels, punk attitude. The touring expanded into Spain, Ireland, France, Germany, Scandinavia, Balkan countries. The festivals get bigger, the audiences grow. In 2006, Kate Hosking from Melbourne replaced Janez Dovc on double bass and added her vocals to the music.

Musically, Terrafolk have evolved from playing only traditional music to now playing mostly Terrafolk-composed music. Live performances started as duo gigs but now the band is performing more concerts with orchestras, special projects such as Full Circle and introducing more talented guests from Slovenia and beyond.