Santa Cruz world music collective SambaDá goes beyond being a band.

Experiencing SambaDá live is like being catapulted into the middle of a Rio de Janeiro street on a humid day during Carnival: Cuícas and shakers set a traditional Afro-Brazilian samba rhythm as the seven-piece weaves in funk and reggae beats, transitioning into an all-out cumbia-meets-salsa jam, complete with indigenous Brazilian garb as part of an all-encompassing performance.

“It’s not just getting together to jam, it’s a ritual,” says SambaDá co-founder Papiba Godinho, who does lead vocals, guitar, cavaco and percussion. “It’s sacred. SambaDá is a space where I can express myself.”

Godinho says the band initially offered a way to spread Brazilian culture, but by now has become a metaphor for bringing diverse people together. While Anne Stafford (saxophones, flute), also a co-founder, adds that the band is a full-time commitment, many of the members – Stafford, Godinho, Dandha da Hora (lead vocals, percussion), Gary Kehoe (drum set, vocals), Etienne Franc (bass, vocals) and Will Bates-Minou (percussion) – do outside work. And every single private lesson or workshop they do feeds into the band’s multicultural mission.

As the outfit approaches its performance at Sly’s on Friday, its members are discussing the final details of their forthcoming record Ritual (which means the same thing in English and Portuguese). The Santa Cruz group’s fourth album drops in either February or March.

Stafford explains that most of the 11 original tunes began as a basic idea, a few lines of lyrics or a couple guitar chords that Godinho brought to the rest of the band. “Then, everybody brings their own musical piece to a song,” Stafford says. “It’s a reflection of all of us.”

Ritual marks SambaDá’s first record with Senegal native Ibou Ngom, who plays Senegalese timbre and talking drum.

Last September, SambaDá debuted many tunes from Ritual – including the uptempo powerhouse “Jamais Esquecerei” – at both the Monterey Jazz Festival and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Stafford says the new music seemed to click with the audience as much as it has with the band. Which fits with SambaDá’s style.

“It helps that we really like to connect with the community,” she says.

SAMBADÁ 9pm Friday, Jan. 23. Sly McFly’s, 700 Cannery Row, Monterey. 649-8050.