The Ten Finest Worldwide Records of This Past Year
Looking back on the musical landscape of global releases that pushed boundaries. We explore ten notable albums that shaped 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. However, Indian drummer and composer Sarathy Korwar turns this driving beat into a strangely alluring piece. Leading an trio of three drummers, Korwar develops a dense percussive language over the record's 10 movements. The work draws from minimalist concepts from Steve Reich combined with classical Indian rhythmic patterns, all anchored in the reiteration of a persistent, driving figure. The longer one listens, this refrain begins to emulate the hypnotic repetition of ritual music, pulling the listener further into Korwar's singular percussive universe.
Number Nine: The Lebanese Artist Yasmine Hamdan – I Forget, I Remember
Following an eight-year break, Arab singer-songwriter 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 Arab alternative scene since the 1990s. Hamdan's vocal delivery is gentle and ruminative, delivering soft melodies over the string arrangements of a track like Hon and the rumbling trip-hop groove of Vows. For more upbeat numbers such as Shadia and Abyss, she uses a quivering, yearning vocal technique against north African synth lines and rattling electronic percussion. The musical backdrop is lean and restrained, yet this simplicity provides the perfect canvas for Hamdan's expressive songwriting to resonate. It is well worth the wait.
8. Debit – Slowed Down
From Mexico electronic artist Debit has a knack for uncanny reimaginings of archival audio. For her new album, Desaceleradas, she turns her attention to the 90s style of cumbia rebajada – a slowed, dubby take of the rhythmic Latin American dance genre. Debit drags this sound even further, filtering its signature synths and syncopated rhythm via veils of sludge and static to produce a novel, menacing rhythm. Periodically atmospheric and discomfiting, Debit converts the celebratory party music of cumbia into a persistent, ethereal memory.
Number Seven: The São Paulo Producer DJ K – Liberator Radio!
Sensory overload is the operative word for the output of São Paulo producer Kaique Vieira, also known as DJ K. Inventing his own genre of "bruxaria" (witchcraft), Vieira stacks a tumult of alarms, explosive bass tones and screamed lyrics over the classic Brazilian genre of baile funk. This emulates the propulsive sound of neighborhood block parties. On his second album, Radio Libertadora!, Vieira escalates the energy, adding everything from four-on-the-floor techno beats to samples of the Islamic call to prayer into his chaotic bruxaria mix. The result is a especially hyperactive and overwhelmingly noisy 40-minute sonic journey. Surrender to the cacophony and Vieira's brash productions become oddly liberating.
6. Mohinder Kaur Bhamra – Disco Punjabi
Sikh devotional singer Mohinder Kaur Bhamra's record from 1982 of disco beats and traditional Punjabi tunes is a rediscovered masterpiece. Produced by her son, music producer Kuljit Bhamra, Punjabi Disco's ten tracks deliver an remarkably compelling combination of the metallic sound of electronic keyboards and programmed drums with her melismatic classical Indian vocal technique. Drum machine patterns echoes the rolling tones of the tabla, while synthesiser melody replicates the classic sound of the harmonium on tracks such as Pyar Mainu Kar. Meanwhile, bossa nova rhythm is prominent on Soniya Mukh Tera, and Nainan Da Pyar De Gaya features a fast-paced funky bass rhythm. It's a party blend delivered more than ten years before the rise of Asian Underground music.
Number Five: Enji – Resonance
From Mongolia vocalist Enji's delicate fourth album, Sonor, develops her jazz-inflected sound to present some of her most diverse music to date. Moving away from her background in traditional Mongolian "long song" singing, the record's 11 tracks veer 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 energetic, funk-tinged cover of the 80s Mongolian pop hit Eejiinhee Hairaar. Showcasing a live band rather than her typical setup of guitar and bass, Sonor's sound remains intimate, drawing the listener into the tender soundscape of her unique voice.
4. Derya Yıldırım and Her Band – Yarın Yoksa
Inspired by the 1960s legacy of Anatolian rock pioneered by groups such as Moğollar, Turkish-born, Germany-based singer Derya Yıldırım's third record alongside her group merges the metallic twang of the electrified saz with woozy Mellotron and soulful tunes. It's a 1970s throwback sound grounded in Yıldırım's commanding falsetto and shaped by producer Leon Michels' analogue tape sound. Yet, on classic Turkish songs such as the folk tune Hop Bico and 60s classic Ceylan, the group ventures into lively new territory. They create slinking, downtempo grooves and powerful vocals that lend a fresh, unconventional spin to the Turkish psych sound.
3. Lido Pimienta – La Belleza
Gregorian chants, Czech harpsichord folksong and orchestral strings merge on Colombian-born singer Lido Pimienta's stunning fourth album. Arranging music for the 60-piece Medellín Philharmonic Orchestra, Pimienta and producer Owen Pallett explore a vast range including the Gregorian chants of opener Overturn (Obertura de la Luz Eterna) to the theatrical counterpoint melodies of Aún Te Quiero and the rhythmic reggaeton-inspired beats of the brass and woodwind-led El Dembow del Tiempo. Ultimately, it is Pim