This Ten Finest Global Albums of This Past Year
As the year draws to a close, we reflect on the worldwide music that pushed boundaries. We explore ten exceptional albums that characterized the year in music.
10. Sarathy Korwar – There Is Beauty, There Already
A continuous, 40-minute suite of insistent percussion could sound like it isn't the most approachable musical proposition. However, south Asian percussionist and producer Sarathy Korwar transforms this driving beat into a unexpectedly magnetic piece. Directing an ensemble of three drummers, Korwar creates a dense percussive language throughout the record's ten sections. His composition channels Steve Reich's phasing motifs combined with Indian classical phrasing, all anchored in the recurrence of a persistent, driving figure. Over its duration, this refrain starts to mirror the ceremonial rhythm of devotional music, pulling the listener deeper into Korwar's distinctive percussive universe.
9. The Lebanese Artist Yasmine Hamdan – I Remember I Forget
After an eight-year break, Arab singer-songwriter Yasmine Hamdan re-emerges with a mournful set of songs. She expands on the Arabic-sung, dub-influenced aesthetic that cemented her status in the Arab alternative scene since the nineties. Hamdan's voice is gentle and introspective, delivering delicate melodies atop the bowing strings of a track like Hon and the deep trip-hop groove of Vows. On livelier tracks such as Shadia and Abyss, she uses a quivering, longing vibrato against north African synth lines and skittering electronic percussion. The musical backdrop is sparse and subtle, yet this austerity creates the ideal setting for Hamdan's emotive songwriting to take center stage. It is well worth the long anticipation.
Number Eight: The Mexican Producer Debit – Desaceleradas
From Mexico producer Debit excels at eerie reinterpretations of archival audio. For her new album, Desaceleradas, she turns her attention to the 1990s variant of cumbia rebajada – a decelerated, dub-inflected take of the shuffling Latin American dance music genre. Debit slows this sound to a near-halt, processing its signature synths and off-beat rhythm via sheets of murk and hiss to create a new, foreboding rhythm. Periodically atmospheric and uneasy, Debit transforms the exuberant party music of cumbia into a persistent, ghostly afterimage.
7. The São Paulo Producer DJ K – Radio Libertadora!
Maximalism is the operative word for the records of São Paulo producer Kaique Vieira, AKA DJ K. Inventing his own genre of "bruxaria" (witchcraft), Vieira piles a tumult of alarms, explosive bass tones and shouted lyrics over the classic Brazilian dance style of baile funk. This emulates the driving sound of urban celebrations. On his follow-up release, Radio Libertadora!, Vieira cranks up the intensity, adding everything from techno kick drums to samples of the Islamic call to prayer into his unruly bruxaria mix. The result is a especially manic and deafeningly intense 40-minute sonic journey. Give in to the noise and Vieira's unapologetic productions become oddly liberating.
Number Six: The Singer Mohinder Kaur Bhamra – Punjabi Disco
Religious vocalist Mohinder Kaur Bhamra's record from 1982 of disco beats and traditional Punjabi tunes is a reissued gem. Produced by her son, music producer Kuljit Bhamra, Punjabi Disco's ten tracks deliver an strikingly engaging combination of the sharp sound of early synthesizers and drum machines with her ornate classical Indian vocal technique. Drum machine patterns mimics the wavelike tones of the tabla, while synthesiser melody parallels the traditional sound of the harmonium on tracks such as Pyar Mainu Kar. Meanwhile, bossa nova rhythm takes center stage on Soniya Mukh Tera, and Nainan Da Pyar De Gaya features a up-tempo walking disco bassline. It's a club-ready hybrid delivered over a decade before the Asian Underground explosion.
Number Five: The Mongolian Artist Enji – Sonor
From Mongolia singer Enji's soft latest record, Sonor, builds upon her jazz-inflected sound to present some of her broadest music so far. Stepping outside her training in traditional Mongolian "long song" singing, the record's selection of pieces range from the gentle Norah Jones-esque melodies of slow-burning number Ulbar to the German-language narration lyrics and twanging guitar lines of Unadag Dugui. The album also includes a sprightly, funk-tinged cover of the 80s Mongolian pop hit Eejiinhee Hairaar. Utilizing a full backing band rather than her typical setup of guitar and bass, Sonor's sound manages to stay close, inviting the listener into the tender soundscape of her unique voice.
4. Derya Yıldırım and Her Band – If There Is No Tomorrow
Channeling the psychedelic tradition of Anatolian rock established by groups such as Moğollar, Turkish-born, Germany-based singer Derya Yıldırım's latest work with her band Grup Şimşek fuses the metallic twang of the amplified traditional lute with dreamy Mellotron and classic soul melodies. It's a retro-70s aesthetic rooted in Yıldırım's commanding high register and shaped by producer Leon Michels' analogue tape aesthetic. However, on classic Turkish songs such as the folk tune Hop Bico and 1960s song Ceylan, the group ventures into dynamic new territory. They craft sinuous, slow-burning grooves and powerful vocals that give a fresh, off-kilter twist to the Anatolian psychedelic style.
3. Lido Pimienta – The Beauty
Gregorian chants, Eastern European folk melodies and orchestral strings converge on Colombian-born singer Lido Pimienta's extraordinary latest work. Arranging music for the sixty-member 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 dramatic counterpoint melodies of Aún Te Quiero and the syncopated reggaeton-inspired beats of the woodwind-heavy El Dembow del Tiempo. Ultimately, it is Pim
