Lo Jai was formed in Lyon, France in 1980, when three members of the traditionalist band, Le Grand Rouge, joined a fellow-musician to explore regional Limousin music. The members of Lo Jai are all extremely talented musicians; Guy Bertrand plays flute, whistle, three-holed pipe, hurdy gurdy, alto sax, and string tabor; Carlo Rizzo plays frame drums and whistle; Eric Montel, the bagpipes, clarinet, and whistle; and Philippe Eidel, the synthesizer. All four sing in the Limousin regional style, which recalls Arabic singing, and which serves as a reminder that French culture is less a monolithic entity, and more a plurality of regional cultures, sounds, and languages. Lo Jai are not traditionalists; rather than preserving the Limousin sound in a dessicated sense of reverence, they try to keep it alive and dynamic by mixing instruments. In their first decade, they released two quite distinct albums, the first of which was acoustically-orented, the second more keyboard-based. ~ Leon Jackson, All Music Guide