This Ten Greatest International Albums of This Past Year
As the year draws to a close, we reflect on the worldwide sounds that defied expectations. Here is a countdown of ten exceptional albums that characterized the year in music.
10. The Percussionist Sarathy Korwar – There Already Is Beauty
An album consisting of a single, extended movement of insistent drumming could sound like it isn't the easiest musical proposition. Yet, Indian drummer and composer Sarathy Korwar converts this driving beat into a unexpectedly magnetic piece. Guiding an ensemble of three drummers, Korwar crafts a dense percussive dialect over the record's 10 movements. His composition draws from Steve Reich's phasing motifs as well as Indian classical phrasing, all anchored in the recurrence of a ongoing, thrumming figure. As the album progresses, this refrain begins to emulate the ceremonial rhythm of ceremonial music, pulling the listener deeper into Korwar's distinctive percussive universe.
9. Yasmine Hamdan – I Forget, I Remember
Coming off an eight-year break, Lebanese singer-songwriter Yasmine Hamdan re-emerges with a mournful collection of songs. The work builds upon the Arabic-language, dub-influenced aesthetic that made her a staple in the Arab alternative scene 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 groove of Vows. On livelier tracks such as Shadia and Abyss, she adopts a quivering, longing vibrato against electronic lines with North African flavors and rattling electronic percussion. The production is minimal and understated, yet this simplicity offers the perfect environment for Hamdan's expressive lyricism to resonate. This is a record truly deserving of the long anticipation.
Number Eight: The Mexican Producer Debit – Slowed Down
From Mexico electronic artist Debit excels at uncanny reworkings of traditional music. For her new album, Desaceleradas, she focuses on the 1990s variant of cumbia rebajada – a decelerated, dubby interpretation of the rhythmic Latin American dance genre. Debit slows this sound to a near-halt, processing its signature synths and off-beat rhythm via veils of murk and noise to generate a novel, sinister rhythm. At turns ambient and discomfiting, Debit transforms the exuberant party music of cumbia into a enduring, spectral afterimage.
Number Seven: The São Paulo Producer DJ K – Liberator Radio!
Maximalism is the key term for the output of Brazilian producer Kaique Vieira, also known as DJ K. Pioneering his own genre of "bruxaria" (witchcraft), Vieira stacks a onslaught of alarms, pummeling bass tones and shouted lyrics over the classic Brazilian dance style of baile funk. This emulates the driving sound of favela street parties. On his follow-up release, Radio Libertadora!, Vieira ramps up the intensity, adding everything from four-on-the-floor techno beats to the sound of the Islamic call to prayer into his frantic bruxaria mix. The result is a notably hyperactive and punishingly loud forty-minute listening experience. Give in to the assault and Vieira's brash productions become oddly exhilarating.
Number Six: The Singer Mohinder Kaur Bhamra – Disco Punjabi
Religious vocalist Mohinder Kaur Bhamra's 1982 album of disco music and Punjabi folk melodies is a reissued gem. Recorded by her son, music producer Kuljit Bhamra, Punjabi Disco's ten tracks deliver an remarkably engaging blend of the sharp sound of electronic keyboards and drum machines with her fluid Indian classical vocal technique. Electronic percussion mirrors the rolling tones of the tabla, while synth lines replicates the classic sound of the harmonium on tracks such as Pyar Mainu Kar. At other times, Latin-inflected grooves comes to the fore on Soniya Mukh Tera, and Nainan Da Pyar De Gaya channels a fast-paced walking disco bassline. It's a club-ready hybrid delivered over a decade before the rise of Asian Underground music.
5. Enji – Resonance
Mongolian vocalist Enji's soft fourth album, Sonor, expands on her jazz-influenced sound to present some of her most wide-ranging music to date. Stepping outside her background in traditional Mongolian "long song" singing, the record's eleven songs travel from the gentle jazz-pop melodies of downtempo number Ulbar to the German-language narration lyrics and trilling guitar lines of Unadag Dugui. The album also includes a sprightly, funk-inflected cover of the 80s Mongolian pop hit Eejiinhee Hairaar. Utilizing a ensemble rather than her usual setup of guitar and bass, Sonor's sound remains close, drawing the listener into the warm acoustics of her singular voice.
Number Four: Derya Yıldırım and Her Band – If There Is No Tomorrow
Inspired by the 60s heritage of Turkish psychedelia established by groups such as Moğollar, Turkish-born, Germany-based singer Derya Yıldırım's new album alongside her group merges the metallic twang of the amplified traditional lute with drifting Mellotron and R&B-inflected lines. It's a retro-70s aesthetic rooted in Yıldırım's strong falsetto and shaped by producer Leon Michels' analogue tape sound. But, on Turkish standards such as the folk tune Hop Bico and 60s classic Ceylan, the group finds vibrant new territory. They craft slinking, downtempo grooves and soaring vocals that lend a novel, unconventional twist to the Anatolian psychedelic style.
Number Three: The Colombian Artist Lido Pimienta – La Belleza
Sacred music, Czech harpsichord folksong and symphonic arrangements all come together on Colombian singer Lido Pimienta's remarkable latest work. Orchestrating music for the 60-piece Medellín Philharmonic Orchestra, Pimienta and producer Owen Pallett journey through everything from the liturgical vocals of opener Overturn (Obertura de la Luz Eterna) to the theatrical interweaving lines of Aún Te Quiero and the syncopated dembow rhythms of the brass and woodwind-led El Dembow del Tiempo. Ultimately, it is Pim
