” Tarun’s understated yet buoyant drumming and imaginative compositions are nothing short of remarkable.”

AllAboutJazz

Tarun Balani is a multi-disciplinary artist, musician, and educator known for crafting immersive sonic experiences that blend improvisation, composition, performance, and technology. Regarded as one of India’s finest musicians and composers, Balani’s work spans contemporary jazz, ambient electronic music, and sonic storytelling, exploring themes of climate change, migration, and identity.

His critically acclaimed projects, 2° (2020) and Where the Ice Meets the Water (2023), reflect personal climate anxiety and ecological grief while emphasizing the potential for hope in a changing world. Through his solo performances, Balani merges the finesse and discipline of jazz with synth-driven ambient electronic music, creating evocative narratives about our planet’s fragile ecosystems.

As the bandleader of his genre-defying quartet, Dharma, Balani collaborates with some of today’s most exciting jazz musicians, including trumpeter Adam O’Farrill, pianist Sharik Hasan, and guitarist Olli Hirvonen. Together, they push the boundaries of contemporary jazz, inspired by their cross-cultural influences. Their upcoming album, ڪڏهن ملنداسين Kadahin Milandaasin (2024), releasing via BERTHOLD Records, is a deeply personal exploration of Balani’s Sindhi heritage, tracing his grandfather’s migration from Sindh to New Delhi. The album blends traditional Sindhi folk music with modern jazz, offering a poignant reflection on longing, identity, and cultural preservation.

Balani’s music has been featured on WNYC, BBC, GQ, Rolling Stone India, hr2 Kultur, RedBull Music, and Platform Magazine, and he has performed at renowned stages such as Roskilde Music Festival, Jazz Ahead, Magnetic Fields Festival, NH7 Weekender, Serendipity Arts Festival, and Jazz Café, London.

With a practice that bridges past and future, personal and universal, Balani continues to evolve as a sonic storyteller, shaping new narratives through music.

” Even the poignant moments on The Shape of Things to Come have a dramatic personality. The latest from Tarun Balani makes one big statement after the next; it shouts to the sky, sets off fireworks on the horizon, and replicates the grumble of the earth as it shifts beneath your feet. “

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