1994 saw the founding of Alboka as a group, headed by Joxan Goikoetxea and Alan Griffin, which would compile and perform acoustic instrumental traditional music. The combination of guitars, mandolins, bouzoukis, ttunttun, accordion, alboka, bagpipes, flutes and crumhorns, and a carefully chosen selection of dances and airs taken from the living tradition and from the great Basque music collectors, gave rise to a first disc which was something new in a Basque folk music scene more accustomed to vocal recordings.

In 1997 the group widened their repertoire to include both songs and newly composed tunes in the traditional style. These developments are reflected in their second CD, 'BI BESO LUR', which also includes important guest musicians and confirms their distinct acoustic style in the treatment of instrumental Basque music.

In 2001 ALBOKA augmented their core members for their third CD 'LORIUS', an album bristling with new ideas, delighting and surprising with its carefully chosen combination of traditional material and original compositions. This CD boasts contributions from a number of star performers, not least of whom is Hungarian singer Márta Sebestyén, singing in Basque on five of the fifteen tracks which make up the CD, and who also performed with ALBOKA in their dynamic live act. Márta's fame has spread even further through her performance on the Oscar-winning soundtrack of 'The English Patient'.

"Lau anaiak", as their 2004 album is titled, was nominated for the 'Music Prizes of the Academy of Arts and Sciences of Music in Spain' (SGAE - AIE ) and chosen by the German magazine FolkWorld as one if its best world albums for 2004.

With many prestigious festivals and concerts all over Europe and in Africa and America under their belts, ALBOKA have honed their creative and performing edge to a point where they can be considered one of the most compelling traditional bands in the Basque Country and beyond.