Kroke is a Polish instrumental ensemble of world music. The band's name refers to the Yiddish language name for Kraków (, ). The band was founded in 1992 by three friends and graduates of the Academy of Music in Kraków. Initially, they were associated with klezmer music with strong Balkan influences. Currently, their work draws inspiration from a variety of ethnic music and sounds of the Orient (especially on the album Seventh Trip), combining these with jazz to create their own distinctive style. In addition to their own projects, Kroke have recorded albums with artists such as Nigel Kennedy, Edyta Geppert, and Urna. One of their songs, "The Secret of the Life Tree", features on the soundtrack of David Lynch's 2006 film Inland Empire. History The first official release from KROKE was the 1993 cassette “Klezmer Acoustic Music”. During a promotional concert for the album, the band met Steven Spielberg, who invited them to perform at the “Survivors Reunion” concert in Jerusalem, Israel and during the Polish premier of the film Schindler’s List. In 1996, the band signed with the German record label Oriente Musik. The first album of material, released the same year, through this collaboration was Trio. Upon the invitation of Peter Gabriel, KROKE made their first appearance at the WOMAD festival in July 1997. As a result, joint recording sessions at Real World Studios with other musicians led to material from the band being subsequently used by Peter Gabriel on his album Long Walk Home- music from the Rabbit-Proof Fence, the soundtrack to the film of the same name. In the same year, KROKE released their second full-length album – Eden. The following years saw the band constantly touring, during which time they participated in such music festivals as: Umea Folk Music Festival (Sweden); City of London Festival (UK); Førde Folk Music Festival (Norway); North Sea Jazz Festival (the Netherlands) as well as many others. During this time, the albums Live at the Pit (1998 – nominated for the German Record Critics’ Award -Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik in 1999) and The Sounds of the Vanishing Wold (1999 – winner of the German Record Critics’ Award in 2000) were released. In 2001, KROKE began collaborating with Nigel Kennedy, the result of which was the album East Meets East, released in 2003. During the same year, the band released Ten Pieces to Save the World as a trio. This