The Duo Maratin

Ria Modak & Angela Varo, Guitar & Violin Duo

Praised for their “perfectly lovely melding of Indian and Andalucian song” (The Wire) and “intimate, acoustic folk music… enmeshing ethereal guitar and flamenco-influenced violin (I CARE IF YOU LISTEN) Duo Maratin comprises guitarist, vocalist, and composer Ria Modak and violinist, composer, and producer Ángela Varo.

The duo was founded in 2023 in Boston, where Modak and Varo graduated respectively from the dual degree program between Harvard and the New England Conservatory and the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, studying and playing with, among others, Vijay Iyer, Terri Lyne Carrington, Danilo Pérez, and Ali Sethi. Since then, the duo has performed at venues ranging from Roulette Intermedium as part of the second annual M3 Festival to Harvard University’s Arcade Radio series.

Duo Maratin, whose name derives from the Andalusi Arabic word for “two times,” explores the shared histories and sonic lineages connecting Hindustani, flamenco, Arabic, and jazz music. Grounded in these traditions but firmly embracing an experimental approach, Modak and Varo explore the interstitial spaces between improvisation and folk song, ancestral pasts and cosmopolitan futures, and tradition and modernity.