About the project
Groove is more than just a simple beat – it emerges from the interplay of multi-layered rhythms and is often described as the distinctive driving force in music that compels us to move.
The project “GROOVE” draws on traditions that shaped popular music – especially Afro-diasporic genres such as funk, reggae, and samba.
We investigate how contrasts between simple and more complex rhythms, distributed across instruments like drums, bass, guitar/keys and vocals, create pleasure and the desire to move along to.
GROOVE asks three questions:
- How are rhythmic patterns combined and distributed across instruments in key groove traditions, and how often do specific combinations, what we call “groove archetypes”, occur?
- Can we build a transparent, testable framework that categorizes these multi-part combinations?
- How do these combinations shape pleasure and the urge to move?
Method
GROOVE maps recurring “groove archetypes” and describes how they are structured by modelling their structure, using computational audio analysis aided by AI tools. Through listening studies we test how listeners from different cultures respond – are there universally attractive combinations, or are they culture-specific?
The project combines approaches from music theory, rhythm cognition, and music information retrieval.
Purpose
Our aim is to offer a rigorous yet accessible framework that can be applied across genres and cultures and that better explains why certain grooves feel more irresistible than others.
