2022 studio album by Planet Drum
In the Groove is an album by Planet Drum, a percussion-based world music ensemble led by Mickey Hart, Zakir Hussain, Sikiru Adepoju, and Giovanni Hidalgo. It was released on August 5, 2022.[1][2][3][4][5]
According to music journalist Michael Broerman, "With Hart from the United States, Hussain from India, Hidalgo from Puerto Rico, and Adepoju from Nigeria, they represent a consortium of the top percussionists from around the globe, united by a common language of rhythm."[2]
In the Groove is the fifth album by Planet Drum, following At the Edge (1990), Planet Drum (1991), Supralingua (1998), and Global Drum Project (2007).
Critical reception
In Americana Highways David Nowels wrote, "The album continues Planet Drum's hypnotic trance-like exploration of music at its most primal. The Planet Drum ensemble have created an atmospheric sonic experience that is both uniquely organic and electronic."[6]
Bill Meredith of JazzTimes noted that Hart wanted the album "to live up to its name by being more danceable," and remarked: "Mission accomplished... what a percussive web they all weave." He singled out Hidalgo's playing for praise, commenting: "When the great conguero's battle with diabetes threatened his career through finger amputations, he crafted the new stick-and-hand technique that makes the closing 'Gadago Gadago' dance."[7]
Riff Magazine's Tony Hicks stated that "the playing and arranging" on the album are "both first-rate," and suggested that it will appeal to listeners who are "into the premise of regional, ethnic drumming, getting to the intricacies of the rhythms, where they come from, how each percussive sidebar takes certain paths and how they all come together again."[8]
