LOOKING FOR another worthy role model, Philly musicians? Mike Brenner has reinvented himself . . . yet again.
A rootsy, experimental instrumentalist/singer/composer, Brenner first grabbed our attention with the Americana acoustic folk and alt-country of the Low Road and John Train. More recently, Brenner opened eyes and ears with his dobro blues/hip-hop fusion as Slo-Mo featuring rapper Mic Wrecka, from whence sprang the hit "My Buzz Comes Back."
Now he's crossed overinto yet another dimension, the entrancing world of dreamy Indian ragas, playing a 22-string Indian lap guitar called the chaturangui as frontman for the Kolkata Slide Guitar Project.
Also featuring tabla player Jason Rinker and cellist Alfred James, they're newly debuting on Wednesdays from 8-10 p.m. at the gourmet Indian restaurant Tashan on South Broad Street, serving a groovy take on trance that fuses perfectly with the exotic fare. At last week's premiere, the first set featured more traditional, head-spinning ragas, while the second grilled up spicy versions of tunes by the Verve, Chris Isaak, Traffic - and Slo-Mo.
