Franui gets its name from an Alpine pasture near Innervillgraten, the East Tyrolean village where most of the members of the ten-piece ensemble grew up. The line-up of the 'musicbanda' has remained virtually unchanged since its formation in 1993, and the group have performed on internationally renowned stages such as at the Wiener Konzerthaus, the Burgtheater in Vienna, the Philharmonie Köln and the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. Franui is also a popular act at festivals such as the Salzburger Festspiele, the Bregenzer Festspiele, the Ruhrtriennale and the Holland Festival.

Aside from its concerts, Franui is also involved in musical theatre productions. The 'Singspiel' Steine und Herzen (Ruhrtriennale 2005) for example, marked the start of the ensemble's collaboration with Sven-Eric Bechtolt, who has since regularly performed with the group as a speaker. Other theatrical productions have included Meine Bienen. Eine Schneisse, based on a libretto by Händl Klaus, and Fool of Love with singer-pianist Karsten Riedel and puppeteer Nikolaus Habjan. The programme Tanz Boden Stücke premiered at the Mozarteum Foundation in Salzburg and was released on record in 2015. Franui's CDs are released with the label col legno and have been awarded various prizes. The album Ende vom Lied won the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritiek (German Record Critics' Award), the releases Schubertlieder, Brahms Volkslieder and Mahlerlieder appeared as a 3-CD box set in 2012 and to celebrate the ensemble's 20th anniversary, their first vinyl album was released: Franui ist eine Almwiese (2013).