When the Berlin Wall fell, former European eastern block countries experienced a tidal wave of multinational corporations that swallowed up their cultural identities. In an effort to retaliate against this MTV culture, Warsaw Village Band formed to explore Poland’s musical traditions and took up Polish rooted instruments rarely heard in modern music, but played within a modern aesthetic. They effectively created a new cultural alternative, a new music for Polish youth. Yet, the Warsaw Village Band quickly stepped beyond their borders to bring their mix of ancient-modern Polish music to every corner of the world. They have become a template of cultural preservation and modernization for countless bands from countless countries. Their excellent musicianship and artistry, combined with their cultural determination have now made them one of, if not the, most famous and most important bands of this genre in the world.