Planet Drum unites percussionists from around the world in common rhythm
NASHVILLE, TENN. » A Grammy-winning group of the world’s top percussionists has reunited after 15 years on a new record that aims to bring the world together in rhythm and dance.
Planet Drum’s new record “In The Groove,” out now, features drummers from very different backgrounds and musical cultures collaborating using technology to adapt their acoustic instruments into new sonic forms.
The collective is made up of the Grateful Dead’s Mickey Hart, Indian tabla master Zakir Hussain, Nigerian talking drum virtuoso Sikiru Adepoju and conga great Giovanni Hidalgo from Puerto Rico.
“The first thing we all know about rhythms is that they are universal,” Hussain said during an interview from Mumbai. “So that is what makes it possible for rhythm players all over the world to be able to interact and communicate and be able to work together to make music.”
“Drums are a language unto themselves,” Hart said.
The friendship and collaboration between Hart and Hussain started decades ago when Hart was introduced to Hussain via his father, the legendary tabla player Ustad Alla Rakha, who accompanied Ravi Shankar.
Planet Drum’s self-titled
first record in 1991 was the first album to win in the Grammy category for best world music, now called best global music album. Their second record earned them another Grammy in 2009.
Hidalgo called Planet Drum an “honor for me to travel the whole world with all of them, because it is amazing when you analyze and you appreciate different cultures, different styles, from different countries — Africa, India, United States, Puerto Rico. It’s amazing and we respect all of them.”
On this third album, Hart and Hussain didn’t want the virtuosity of the different players to overwhelm the average listener, instead focusing on creating rhythms that kept up an energy and pace that would get people moving.
The music video for their song “King Clave,” created with the organization Playing for Change, showcases the members of Planet Drum and over 50 drummers from all over the world.
Today’s birthdays
Actor Jim Dale is 87. Britain’s Princess Anne is 72. Movie director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu is 59. Philanthropist Melinda Gates is 58. Actor Nicole Paggi is 45. Actor-singer Carlos PenaVega is 33. Actor Jennifer Lawrence is 32.