Aural Adventure
Planet Groove's Amazing Journey
by Michael Caito
7-16-98

The child of two classically-trained musicians, Leith MacArthur got into a "royal blowout" with his parents over his musical training at the tender age of seven, and didn't pick up an instrument -- in his case, bass -- until they had both passed away, four years ago, when MacArthur was 48.

With percussionist/drummer Ajay Coletta, MacArthur started Planet Groove about three years back. Now 52, he's jokingly referred to as "the silver fox" by younger band members. At Paragon on Sunday, the quintet's founding duo discussed the comparative pitfalls and rewards of releasing a "concept" album, mentioning that unfortunately, like-minded musicians (see also Amoebic Ensemble, V Majestic for rough equivalents) sometimes feel compelled to dance-ify live sets in the hopes of fomenting interactivity -- and interest -- with nightclub patrons and booking agents. Like the Amoebics and the V, Planet Groove are tricky to describe, but Coletta and MacArthur did fill in helpful details about their self-titled debut, which clocks in at just over an hour.

Jeff Goulart (also on percussion/drums), John Medeiros (g) and Chris Zarlenga (keys/ piano) round out the fivesome, with cameos by saxophonist Klem Klimek. The opening "Serengeti Dancer" marks the first footsteps in a trek through this world's most ancient and fiercely beautiful terrain:the titular Plain, a "Metropolis" that owes as much to the South American country as it does to the Terry Gilliam film Brazil, an "Across the Rishi Gange" evoking images of the storied river, plus "Journey Into Sunlight" and "Desert Passage," which examine verdant pockets under searing skies. To this point, we witness nature as X-Game -- bold, exotic and potentially life-threatening. Planet Groove's continuous keyboard/bass/guitar interplay is the body whose blood is aerated and refreshed by the two percussionists. At its most potent, the effect is that of a waking dream, a concept bolstered by MacArthur's admission that two compositions originally came to him as dreams. In another instance, he was inspired by the 1990 film Dreams by Japan's icon of cinema, Akira Kurosawa.

Of course, some dreams dissolve into nightmares, as the fifth track "Descent from Dunagiri"shows, with a chilling sample of men gasping for breath before the band launch into this track about a 1975 climbing expedition. It marks -- in memoriam -- a fatal 1982 assault on Everest's harrowing North-East Face which claimed the lives of mountaineers Joe Tasker and Peter Boardman. Medeiros' simple three chord progression suggests the one-step-at-a-time precariousness of the climbers' situation, while MacArthur's basslines, seemingly coming from all directions at once, could well represent buffeting winds and snow squalls. Ditto Zarlenga's piano, which could also represent the climbers' laboring breath. The temptation for the percussionists -- whose presence is unmistakable and tasteful in the first four tracks -- to cut loose in a sort of wintry percussive fury was probably hard to resist, but they hang back. It's thus a defining moment for Planet Groove, and extending the mountaineer metaphor further, represents how crucial it is to remain focused internally as the external forces of nature go berserk. To this point the listener has been able to negotiate Afro-Cuban, African and Latin American tinctures nimbly, as they incorporate a jazzier feel than either Peter Gabriel or David Byrne, two of worldpop's more recognizable proponents working within similar pan-global idioms. The album does have a tiny pop sheen, but it's only in the idea of what it isn't: despite the inspiration of dreams and Dreams, it never lapses into a passive, New Age feel. That's a feat given the delicacy of their textures and the presence of synth effects which only occasionally devolve into syrupy washes.

"3510" starts the second half on a sci-fi tip, and the gist of the continuing saga involves aliens of that year and their interaction with a planet called, ahem, Planet Groove. From here to the end we're treated to the examination and celebration of said planet, and you'd guess that there are either Herbert or Heinlein fans -- or both -- at work. At just under two minutes, "3510" marks a sea change in feel, and right through to the end the listener happens upon the intricacy and danger of this new world on a more kinetic plane. It's an ambitious thematic swerve, but the thread is never lost during the extra-worldly journey.

With the exception of the percussionists, the playing is sure-handed throughout. Coletta and Goulart raise the bar. They showcase among their percussion arsenals twin elevated bass drums, and transcend surehandedness, keeping surge intact, and propelling as confident beat-keepers are prone to do. Mix that in with dream elements, an inventive if expansive storyline. Then add Planet Groove's refusal to raid the cupboards of worldbeat merely for the sake of some provocative, metriculous (as in metrically ridiculous) knock-off, and their debut is one of those rare musical sagas you have to hear all the way through every time.