MILTON — In the basement of a house in an unsuspecting neighborhood here, centuries and cultures are fusing rather radically.

Mike Rivard is leading three Club d'Elf bandmates through a rhythmically complicated Algerian song, his electric bass lines tying everything together. Boujemaa Razgui, only an occasional collaborator with this bunch, watches drummer Dean Johnston closely and adds percussion textures on doumbek. Rivard makes quick eye contact with keyboardist Paul Schultheis to cue a return to the melody; the latter has a stripped-down rig for rehearsal, but on the gig he’ll color earthy folk tunes like this with the Technicolor sounds of his Moog and Fender Rhodes.