RONY BARRAK was born in Lebanon 1971. He started playing darbouka (arabic tabla) at the age of 4, with his first stage appearance at 6, followed by his first T.V. appearance at the tender age of 7 on the Lebanese national television (TL).

At the age of 17 he achieved the status of gold medal (for darbouka), in the young musicians competition which is only held every 4 years. An important televised event in Lebanon (on LBC), this is when Rony first realised he was to become a professional musician.

Rony moved to London in 1990 to study and gain experience in all styles of western music. Being the world's leading Middle Eastern percussionist, he has been involved in many top recordings, including London Philharmonic Orchestra, Vanessa Mae, Talvin Singh, Sarah Brightman, Don Grusin, Ziad al Rahbani and Fairuz to mention a few, with producers like Jaz Coleman. Rony has over the years taken part in many different projects, such as percussion workshops, teaching, theatrical productions and film music. His love for jazz and classical music also inspired him to further studies in drums and orchestral percussion.   Since 1995, Rony has had the opportunity to perform at some of the best venues in London, ranging from Jazz Café and Smollensky’s On The Strand, to prestigious Purcell Room, Queen Elizabeth Hall and the world famous Royal Albert Hall, where he

 together with his ten-piece band supported Demis Roussos in 1999, and six months later made a guest appearance with Iranian violinist Bijan Mortazavi. Guitar virtuosos Antonio Forcione and Eduardo Niebla, sax masters Derek Nash and blues legend Otis Grand are amongst the many artists Rony has performed with to date. In addition, he has starred in various music festivals all over the UK and Lebanon.

His debut album ARAMBA is a colourful blend of many different styles of music, such as Latin, Funk and Jazz, but with strong Arabic roots – all linked together with the ethnic darbouka to create his own World sound. Rony composed, arranged and produced all tracks on this album, which feature some of London’s finest session musicians. Inspired by different cultures from all over the world, Rony experiments with percussion from Latin America, Africa, India and, of course, the Middle East. Due to Rony’s keen interest in the creating of music, he has managed to establish himself in the forefront of versatility and construction of elaborate arrangements. His flexibility and professionalism enables him to adopt the role of a band member, solo performer or even musical director. Many established artists and musicians have found Rony Barrak a compelling musical challenge – new, fresh, but with traditional music values.