🔗 Share this article Our Ten Greatest International Releases of This Past Year The past twelve months have offered a rich tapestry of international music that defied expectations. Presenting a selection of ten exceptional albums that characterized the year in music. Number Ten: The Percussionist Sarathy Korwar – There Already Is Beauty An album consisting of a single, extended movement of cyclical drumming may not appear the most accessible musical proposition. But, south Asian drummer and composer Sarathy Korwar converts this persistent pulse into a strangely alluring piece. Leading an trio of three drummers, Korwar crafts a complex percussive dialect over the record's ten parts. The album references minimalist concepts from Steve Reich alongside classical Indian rhythmic patterns, all anchored in the repetition of a persistent, driving motif. As the album progresses, this refrain evokes the hypnotic repetition of ritual music, luring the listener further into Korwar's unique percussive universe. Number Nine: Yasmine Hamdan – I Remember I Forget Following an eight-year break, Arab singer-songwriter Yasmine Hamdan makes a comeback with a mournful collection of songs. She expands on the Arabic-sung, dub-influenced sound that established her as a fixture in the Middle Eastern independent music landscape since the nineties. Hamdan's vocal delivery is quiet and thoughtful, singing delicate melodies over the string arrangements of a track like Hon and the rolling trip-hop groove of Vows. For more upbeat numbers such as Shadia and Abyss, she adopts a trembling, yearning vocal technique against north African synth lines and clattering electronic percussion. The album's sound is sparse and subtle, yet this austerity provides the ideal environment for Hamdan's emotive lyricism to resonate. The album proves to be well worth the wait. 8. The Mexican Producer Debit – Desaceleradas From Mexico electronic artist Debit excels at uncanny reworkings of historical sounds. On her new album, Desaceleradas, she zeroes in on the 1990s variant of cumbia rebajada – a slowed, dub-inflected take of the rhythmic Latin American musical style. Debit decelerates this sound down to a crawl, processing its signature synths and off-beat rhythm via veils of murk and static to produce a novel, foreboding groove. At turns atmospheric and uneasy, Debit transforms the joyous party music of cumbia into a persistent, spectral memory. Number Seven: DJ K – Radio Libertadora! Maximalism is the key term for the music of São Paulo producer Kaique Vieira, also known as DJ K. Coining his own genre of "bruxaria" (witchcraft), Vieira piles a cacophony of alarms, explosive bass tones and shouted lyrics over the longstanding Brazilian genre of baile funk. This captures the energetic sound of neighborhood block parties. On his new record, Radio Libertadora!, Vieira cranks up the ferocity, incorporating everything from driving techno rhythms to samples of the Islamic call to prayer into his chaotic bruxaria mix. The result is a especially manic and overwhelmingly noisy forty-minute listening experience. Submit to the cacophony and Vieira's bold productions become unexpectedly liberating. 6. Mohinder Kaur Bhamra – Disco Punjabi Sikh devotional singer Mohinder Kaur Bhamra's 1982 album of disco music and Punjabi folk melodies is a newly appreciated gem. Recorded by her son, music producer Kuljit Bhamra, Punjabi Disco's ten tracks deliver an unusually engaging combination of the sharp sound of early synthesizers and programmed drums with her melismatic classical Indian vocal technique. Drum machine patterns echoes the wavelike tones of the traditional drums, while synthesiser melody parallels the classic sound of the reed organ on tracks such as Pyar Mainu Kar. Meanwhile, Latin-inflected grooves takes center stage on Soniya Mukh Tera, and Nainan Da Pyar De Gaya boasts a driving walking disco bassline. It's a party blend pioneered more than ten years before the rise of Asian Underground music. Number Five: The Mongolian Artist Enji – Resonance From Mongolia singer Enji's delicate fourth album, Sonor, builds upon her jazz-inflected sound to present some of her broadest music yet. Departing from her training in traditional Mongolian "long song" singing, the record's selection of pieces range from the gentle Norah Jones-esque 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-inflected cover of the 1980s Mongolian classic Eejiinhee Hairaar. Showcasing a ensemble rather than her typical setup of guitar and bass, Sonor's sound is still personal, inviting the listener into the gentle soundscape of her distinctive voice. 4. Derya Yıldırım and Her Band – Yarın Yoksa Channeling the 1960s legacy of Anatolian rock pioneered by groups such as Moğollar, German-Turkish singer Derya Yıldırım's new album with her band Grup Şimşek fuses the electric jangle of the electrified saz with dreamy keyboard and soulful tunes. It's a retro-70s aesthetic rooted in Yıldırım's powerful falsetto and influenced by producer Leon Michels' warm, tape-saturated sound. But, on classic Turkish songs such as the nursery rhyme Hop Bico and 1960s song Ceylan, the group finds lively new territory. They develop smooth, slow-burning grooves and lifting vocals that give a novel, unconventional twist to the Anatolian psychedelic style. Number Three: Lido Pimienta – The Beauty Sacred music, Czech harpsichord folksong and symphonic arrangements merge on Colombian singer Lido Pimienta's extraordinary fourth album. Orchestrating music for the 60-piece Medellín Philharmonic Orchestra, Pimienta and producer Owen Pallett journey through a vast range including the liturgical vocals of opener Overturn (Obertura de la Luz Eterna) to the theatrical counterpoint melodies of Aún Te Quiero and the syncopated dembow rhythms of the woodwind-heavy El Dembow del Tiempo. Yet, it is Pim
The past twelve months have offered a rich tapestry of international music that defied expectations. Presenting a selection of ten exceptional albums that characterized the year in music. Number Ten: The Percussionist Sarathy Korwar – There Already Is Beauty An album consisting of a single, extended movement of cyclical drumming may not appear the most accessible musical proposition. But, south Asian drummer and composer Sarathy Korwar converts this persistent pulse into a strangely alluring piece. Leading an trio of three drummers, Korwar crafts a complex percussive dialect over the record's ten parts. The album references minimalist concepts from Steve Reich alongside classical Indian rhythmic patterns, all anchored in the repetition of a persistent, driving motif. As the album progresses, this refrain evokes the hypnotic repetition of ritual music, luring the listener further into Korwar's unique percussive universe. Number Nine: Yasmine Hamdan – I Remember I Forget Following an eight-year break, Arab singer-songwriter Yasmine Hamdan makes a comeback with a mournful collection of songs. She expands on the Arabic-sung, dub-influenced sound that established her as a fixture in the Middle Eastern independent music landscape since the nineties. Hamdan's vocal delivery is quiet and thoughtful, singing delicate melodies over the string arrangements of a track like Hon and the rolling trip-hop groove of Vows. For more upbeat numbers such as Shadia and Abyss, she adopts a trembling, yearning vocal technique against north African synth lines and clattering electronic percussion. The album's sound is sparse and subtle, yet this austerity provides the ideal environment for Hamdan's emotive lyricism to resonate. The album proves to be well worth the wait. 8. The Mexican Producer Debit – Desaceleradas From Mexico electronic artist Debit excels at uncanny reworkings of historical sounds. On her new album, Desaceleradas, she zeroes in on the 1990s variant of cumbia rebajada – a slowed, dub-inflected take of the rhythmic Latin American musical style. Debit decelerates this sound down to a crawl, processing its signature synths and off-beat rhythm via veils of murk and static to produce a novel, foreboding groove. At turns atmospheric and uneasy, Debit transforms the joyous party music of cumbia into a persistent, spectral memory. Number Seven: DJ K – Radio Libertadora! Maximalism is the key term for the music of São Paulo producer Kaique Vieira, also known as DJ K. Coining his own genre of "bruxaria" (witchcraft), Vieira piles a cacophony of alarms, explosive bass tones and shouted lyrics over the longstanding Brazilian genre of baile funk. This captures the energetic sound of neighborhood block parties. On his new record, Radio Libertadora!, Vieira cranks up the ferocity, incorporating everything from driving techno rhythms to samples of the Islamic call to prayer into his chaotic bruxaria mix. The result is a especially manic and overwhelmingly noisy forty-minute listening experience. Submit to the cacophony and Vieira's bold productions become unexpectedly liberating. 6. Mohinder Kaur Bhamra – Disco Punjabi Sikh devotional singer Mohinder Kaur Bhamra's 1982 album of disco music and Punjabi folk melodies is a newly appreciated gem. Recorded by her son, music producer Kuljit Bhamra, Punjabi Disco's ten tracks deliver an unusually engaging combination of the sharp sound of early synthesizers and programmed drums with her melismatic classical Indian vocal technique. Drum machine patterns echoes the wavelike tones of the traditional drums, while synthesiser melody parallels the classic sound of the reed organ on tracks such as Pyar Mainu Kar. Meanwhile, Latin-inflected grooves takes center stage on Soniya Mukh Tera, and Nainan Da Pyar De Gaya boasts a driving walking disco bassline. It's a party blend pioneered more than ten years before the rise of Asian Underground music. Number Five: The Mongolian Artist Enji – Resonance From Mongolia singer Enji's delicate fourth album, Sonor, builds upon her jazz-inflected sound to present some of her broadest music yet. Departing from her training in traditional Mongolian "long song" singing, the record's selection of pieces range from the gentle Norah Jones-esque 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-inflected cover of the 1980s Mongolian classic Eejiinhee Hairaar. Showcasing a ensemble rather than her typical setup of guitar and bass, Sonor's sound is still personal, inviting the listener into the gentle soundscape of her distinctive voice. 4. Derya Yıldırım and Her Band – Yarın Yoksa Channeling the 1960s legacy of Anatolian rock pioneered by groups such as Moğollar, German-Turkish singer Derya Yıldırım's new album with her band Grup Şimşek fuses the electric jangle of the electrified saz with dreamy keyboard and soulful tunes. It's a retro-70s aesthetic rooted in Yıldırım's powerful falsetto and influenced by producer Leon Michels' warm, tape-saturated sound. But, on classic Turkish songs such as the nursery rhyme Hop Bico and 1960s song Ceylan, the group finds lively new territory. They develop smooth, slow-burning grooves and lifting vocals that give a novel, unconventional twist to the Anatolian psychedelic style. Number Three: Lido Pimienta – The Beauty Sacred music, Czech harpsichord folksong and symphonic arrangements merge on Colombian singer Lido Pimienta's extraordinary fourth album. Orchestrating music for the 60-piece Medellín Philharmonic Orchestra, Pimienta and producer Owen Pallett journey through a vast range including the liturgical vocals of opener Overturn (Obertura de la Luz Eterna) to the theatrical counterpoint melodies of Aún Te Quiero and the syncopated dembow rhythms of the woodwind-heavy El Dembow del Tiempo. Yet, it is Pim