Our 10 Most Outstanding International Records of This Past Year
As the year draws to a close, we reflect on the global releases that pushed boundaries. We explore ten exceptional albums that shaped the year in music.
10. The Percussionist Sarathy Korwar – There Already Is Beauty
The concept of a 40-minute, uninterrupted piece built on repetitive percussion could sound like it isn't the easiest listening experience. But, Indian percussionist and producer Sarathy Korwar converts this driving beat into a unexpectedly magnetic album. Leading an ensemble of three drummers, Korwar develops a complex percussive dialect across the record's 10 movements. His composition draws from minimalist concepts from Steve Reich combined with classical Indian rhythmic patterns, each grounded in the repetition of a persistent, driving motif. The longer one listens, this refrain begins to emulate the trance-inducing cycles of devotional music, pulling the listener further into Korwar's unique percussive universe.
9. The Lebanese Artist Yasmine Hamdan – I Remember I Forget
Following an hiatus of eight years, Lebanese vocalist and composer Yasmine Hamdan makes a comeback with a contemplative album of songs. The work builds upon the Arabic-language, dub-tinged aesthetic that made her a staple in the Middle Eastern independent music landscape since the nineties. Hamdan's voice is gentle and introspective, delivering tender melodies over the string arrangements of a track like Hon and the deep trip-hop beat of Vows. During more energetic moments such as Shadia and Abyss, she employs a trembling, longing vibrato against electronic lines with North African flavors and rattling electronic percussion. The musical backdrop is sparse and understated, yet this minimalism offers the ideal canvas for Hamdan's emotive songwriting to take center stage. The album proves to be truly deserving of the long anticipation.
8. The Mexican Producer Debit – Desaceleradas
From Mexico producer Debit has a knack for haunting reworkings of traditional music. For her latest release, Desaceleradas, she turns her attention to the 90s style of cumbia rebajada – a decelerated, dubby version of the rhythmic Latin American dance music genre. Debit decelerates this sound down to a crawl, processing its signature synths and off-beat rhythm via veils of murk and noise to create a novel, menacing beat. At turns atmospheric and discomfiting, Debit transforms the celebratory party music of cumbia into a lasting, spectral memory.
7. The São Paulo Producer DJ K – Liberator Radio!
Sensory overload is the defining principle for the output of São Paulo producer Kaique Vieira, who performs as DJ K. Coining his own genre of "bruxaria" (witchcraft), Vieira piles a tumult of alarms, explosive bass tones and shouted lyrics over the classic Brazilian genre of baile funk. This emulates the propulsive sound of urban celebrations. On his new record, Radio Libertadora!, Vieira cranks up the ferocity, throwing in everything from driving techno rhythms to samples of the Islamic call to prayer into his chaotic bruxaria mix. The result is a notably frenetic and overwhelmingly noisy 40-minute listening experience. Submit to the noise and Vieira's bold productions become unexpectedly exhilarating.
6. The Singer Mohinder Kaur Bhamra – Punjabi Disco
Religious vocalist Mohinder Kaur Bhamra's early-80s release of disco beats and Punjabi folk melodies is a rediscovered masterpiece. Recorded by her son, music producer Kuljit Bhamra, Punjabi Disco's ten tracks present an unusually compelling blend of the metallic sound of early synthesizers and drum machines with her fluid classical Indian singing style. Electronic percussion mimics the wavelike tones of the tabla, while synthesiser melody replicates the classic sound of the reed organ on tracks such as Pyar Mainu Kar. Elsewhere, bossa nova rhythm is prominent on Soniya Mukh Tera, and Nainan Da Pyar De Gaya boasts a driving disco bass groove. It's a party blend created more than ten years before the Asian Underground explosion.
Number Five: Enji – Resonance
Mongolian vocalist Enji's soft fourth album, Sonor, builds upon her jazz-inflected sound to present some of her most diverse music yet. Moving away from her training in traditional Mongolian "long song" singing, the record's selection of pieces veer from the soft jazz-pop melodies of downtempo number Ulbar to the German spoken-word lyrics and twanging guitar lines of Unadag Dugui. The album also includes a sprightly, funk-tinged cover of the 1980s Mongolian classic Eejiinhee Hairaar. Showcasing a live band rather than her usual setup of guitar and bass, Sonor's sound manages to stay personal, inviting the listener into the tender soundscape of her unique voice.
Number Four: Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek – Yarın Yoksa
Drawing on the 1960s legacy of Anatolian rock established by groups such as Moğollar, Turkish-born, Germany-based singer Derya Yıldırım's new album alongside her group fuses the distinctive buzz of the amplified traditional lute with dreamy Mellotron and soulful tunes. It's a nostalgic vibe rooted in Yıldırım's powerful high register and influenced by producer Leon Michels' analogue tape aesthetic. However, on Turkish standards such as the folk tune Hop Bico and 1960s song Ceylan, the group reaches lively new territory. They develop smooth, slow-burning grooves and lifting vocals that impart a new, off-kilter interpretation to the Turkish psych sound.
3. The Colombian Artist Lido Pimienta – La Belleza
Sacred music, Eastern European folk melodies and symphonic arrangements merge on Colombian singer Lido Pimienta's stunning fourth album. Arranging music for the 60-piece Medellín Philharmonic Orchestra, Pimienta and producer Owen Pallett explore everything from the Gregorian chants of opener Overturn (Obertura de la Luz Eterna) to the dramatic counterpoint melodies of Aún Te Quiero and the syncopated dembow rhythms of the brass and woodwind-led El Dembow del Tiempo. It is Pim
