This 10 Top International Records of This Past Year
Looking back on the musical landscape of worldwide releases that defied expectations. Presenting a selection of ten exceptional albums that defined the year in music.
10. Sarathy Korwar – There Is Beauty, There Already
A continuous, 40-minute suite of cyclical percussion might not seem the easiest musical proposition. Yet, south Asian percussionist and producer Sarathy Korwar transforms this insistent rhythm into a hypnotically captivating work. Directing an trio of three drummers, Korwar crafts a intricate percussive vocabulary throughout the record's 10 movements. The work channels minimalist concepts from Steve Reich alongside traditional Indian musical phrasing, each grounded in the reiteration of a persistent, pulsing motif. As the album progresses, this refrain starts to mirror the trance-inducing cycles of ceremonial music, luring the listener deeper into Korwar's singular percussive realm.
9. Yasmine Hamdan – I Remember I Forget
Following an eight-year break, Lebanese singer-songwriter Yasmine Hamdan makes a comeback with a melancholy collection of songs. She expands on the Arabic-sung, dub-tinged sound that established her as a fixture in the Arab alternative scene since the nineties. Hamdan's voice is gentle and introspective, delivering tender melodies atop the string arrangements of a track like Hon and the deep trip-hop beat of Vows. For more upbeat numbers such as Shadia and Abyss, she adopts a trembling, yearning vocal technique over Maghrebi-inspired synth melodies and skittering electronic percussion. The production is minimal and restrained, yet this minimalism provides the perfect setting for Hamdan's expressive songwriting to shine through. This is a record that justifies the long anticipation.
Number Eight: Debit – Slowed Down
Mexican electronic artist Debit specializes in uncanny reinterpretations of archival audio. On her new album, Desaceleradas, she zeroes in on the 1990s variant of cumbia rebajada – a decelerated, dub-inflected take of the shuffling Latin American dance genre. Debit slows this sound even further, filtering its characteristic synths and off-beat rhythm via sheets of distortion and hiss to generate a fresh, sinister groove. At turns ambient and discomfiting, Debit transforms the celebratory dancefloor sound of cumbia into a persistent, ethereal memory.
7. The São Paulo Producer DJ K – Radio Libertadora!
Sensory overload is the defining principle for the records of São Paulo producer Kaique Vieira, also known as DJ K. Pioneering his own genre of "bruxaria" (witchcraft), Vieira layers a onslaught of alarms, pummeling bass tones and screamed lyrics on top of the classic Brazilian dance style of baile funk. This recreates the propulsive sound of neighborhood block parties. On his second album, Radio Libertadora!, Vieira ramps up the intensity, adding everything from four-on-the-floor techno beats to samples of the Islamic call to prayer into his frantic bruxaria mix. The result is a especially manic and deafeningly intense 40-minute sonic journey. Surrender to the cacophony and Vieira's unapologetic productions become unexpectedly liberating.
Number Six: Mohinder Kaur Bhamra – Punjabi Disco
Sikh devotional singer Mohinder Kaur Bhamra's record from 1982 of disco beats and Punjabi folk melodies is a rediscovered masterpiece. Produced by her son, music producer Kuljit Bhamra, Punjabi Disco's ten tracks present an remarkably compelling blend of the sharp sound of 1980s synthesisers and programmed drums with her ornate Indian classical vocal technique. Drum machine patterns mimics the rolling tones of the tabla, while synth lines doubles the classic sound of the reed organ on tracks such as Pyar Mainu Kar. Meanwhile, bossa nova rhythm comes to the fore on Soniya Mukh Tera, and Nainan Da Pyar De Gaya features a up-tempo funky bass rhythm. It's a dancefloor fusion delivered more than ten years before the global breakthrough of South Asian electronic music.
Number Five: Enji – Sonor
Mongolian vocalist Enji's delicate fourth album, Sonor, builds upon her jazz-influenced sound to offer some of her most wide-ranging music so far. Moving away from her training in traditional Mongolian "long song" singing, the record's selection of pieces range from the soft jazz-pop melodics of downtempo number Ulbar to the German-language narration lyrics and twanging guitar lines of Unadag Dugui. The album also includes a lively, funk-inflected cover of the 1980s Mongolian classic Eejiinhee Hairaar. Utilizing a full backing band rather than her usual setup of guitar and bass, Sonor's sound is still close, drawing the listener into the gentle soundscape of her singular voice.
Number Four: Derya Yıldırım and Her Band – If There Is No Tomorrow
Drawing on the 60s heritage of Anatolian rock established by groups such as Moğollar, Turkish-born, Germany-based singer Derya Yıldırım's new album alongside her group merges the distinctive buzz of the electrified saz with woozy keyboard and soulful tunes. It's a nostalgic vibe rooted in Yıldırım's strong falsetto and influenced by producer Leon Michels' warm, tape-saturated aesthetic. However, on classic Turkish songs such as the folk tune Hop Bico and 60s classic Ceylan, the group reaches vibrant new territory. They develop slinking, slow-burning grooves and soaring vocals that lend a fresh, quirky spin to the Anatolian psychedelic style.
Number Three: The Colombian Artist Lido Pimienta – La Belleza
Gregorian chants, Czech harpsichord folksong and symphonic arrangements all come together on Colombian-born singer Lido Pimienta's remarkable latest work. Arranging music for the sixty-member Medellín Philharmonic Orchestra, Pimienta and producer Owen Pallett traverse everything from the liturgical vocals of opener Overturn (Obertura de la Luz Eterna) to the dramatic counterpoint melodies of Aún Te Quiero and the syncopated reggaeton-inspired beats of the woodwind-heavy El Dembow del Tiempo. It is Pim