Tarana
“Night Song”
Playing Friday at the Baruch Performing Arts Center (55 Lexington Ave, Gramercy)
Get: Tickets ($20-35) | Directions

As a professional drummer, Ravish Momin backs up pop stars like Shakira and neo-avant-guarde idols like Tyondai Braxton alike. But in his personal project, Tarana, Momin isn’t backing up anything.

Drawing on rhythmic ideas from North India and the Middle East, Momin’s drum kit takes center stage as he mixes acoustic drums with improvised electronic beats looped in real-time. He is accompanied by violinist Trina Basu, who plays meandering, Eastern-flavored solos over the storm of percussion. The result is music both composed and improvised that could be easily categorized as jazz, traditional music, electronica, or more likely, some unholy combination of all three.

Tarana releases its debut EP After the Disquiet this October, but you can get a taste of the music here with “Night Song.”