Mzaza violin and kamancheh player Greta Kelly said their name was inspired by one of their members' father.

"It's a North African word that means `crazy', Pauline's (vocalist Pauline Maudy) dad is French-Moroccan," Kelly said.

"We're influenced by a lot of middle eastern sounds."

The band's diversity is astounding, as its members demonstrate an impressive grip on exotic instruments.

The Persian kamancheh tarhu (spike-fiddle), accordion, double-bass, the Balkan kaval and Turkish ney (end-blown flutes), violin, guitar, the Turkish darabuka as well as the cajon and bendir frame drums mix together to form an authentic traditional sound.

Mzaza has strong ties to dancing - as all folk music should, according to Kelly.

"In European and Middle-Eastern folk music there's not such a separation between the dancers and musicians as you find in Western cultures," she said.

"We did a (Balkan) dance workshop at the Australian National Folk Festival, we started with clapping rhythms and then handed out spare drums to get people thinking about the beats.

"Once people learned the clapping and knew it they came to our performance and danced along in time."

Kelly said she and some other members would play Egyptian tunes alongside belly dancers at the festival and guaranteed their set was not to be missed.

•For more on the Tamar Valley Folk Festival see Tuesday's edition of The Examiner.