A true world-beat/dance group, Groove Collective is about much more than pulsing club grooves and drum programming. On It’s All in Your Mind the diverse septet carves out well-crafted, textured atmospheres that also, well, groove. This is literate dance music at its best. “Earth to Earth,” for example, finds wooden flutes and tribal percussions stomping through an intense funk groove, for an organic-meets-modern jam. “Dance With You” boasts a disco pace and feel (akin to Michael Jackson’s “Rock With You,” actually) made denser by employing dizzying rhythmic circles and flute interjections. Another inventive highlight, “Ransome,” captures African-beat patterns in an extreme synthesizer setting, bolstered by a strong horn section and sweeping guitar chordings. The Collective draws from some unlikely sources for its bon-bon bumping reveries, including the Brazilian melody and vocalese accents highlighting “You’re Stepping on My Daisy,” and Cuban pianist Chucho Valdes’ wig-out guest appearance on “Stargazer.” These complex, expertly executed, and undeniably danceable pieces will give listeners something to think about as they shake their groove thing.
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