Listen: Kylie Minogue goes back to the groove in ‘Into the Blue’

Kylie Minogue has spent much of her time lately in what we might call art-school mode.

There was a collaboration with the experimental Icelandic band Múm. There was her appearance in a documentary about Nick Cave. And there was an album of orchestral renditions of her biggest hits.

School’s out, though, in the Australian pop diva’s new single, “Into the Blue,” which layers words about running free and leaving it all behind over a thumping disco groove with only one thing on its mind.

GRAPHIC: Best of 2013 | Entertainment & culture

Produced by Mike Del Rio (who also did Selena Gomez’s delightfully raunchy “Birthday”), the song is the first sampling from a studio album, “Kiss Me Once,” due March 18. According to a press release, the disc -- Minogue’s dance-oriented follow-up to 2010’s “Aphrodite” -- also features input from Pharrell Williams, Ariel Rechtshaid, Greg Kurstin and Sia, who served as the set’s executive producer.

Listen to “Into the Blue” below.

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Twitter: @mikaelwood