The Ten Top International Releases of This Past Year
As the year draws to a close, we reflect on the international music that defied expectations. We explore ten remarkable albums that defined the year in music.
Number Ten: Sarathy Korwar – There Already Is Beauty
The concept of a 40-minute, uninterrupted piece built on repetitive percussion might not seem the easiest musical proposition. But, Indian percussionist and producer Sarathy Korwar turns this insistent rhythm into a unexpectedly magnetic album. Guiding an trio of three drummers, Korwar develops a complex percussive language throughout the record's ten sections. The album references the phasing techniques of Steve Reich as well as classical Indian rhythmic patterns, each grounded in the repetition of a persistent, driving refrain. The longer one listens, this refrain begins to emulate the trance-inducing cycles of ritual music, drawing the listener further into Korwar's distinctive percussive universe.
9. The Lebanese Artist Yasmine Hamdan – I Remember I Forget
Following an long absence, Arab vocalist and composer Yasmine Hamdan makes a comeback with a mournful collection of songs. The work builds upon the Arabic-language, dub-influenced sound that cemented her status in the region's indie music scene since the nineties. Hamdan's voice is soft and introspective, delivering tender melodies atop the string arrangements of a track like Hon and the deep trip-hop beat of Vows. On livelier tracks such as Shadia and Abyss, she employs a trembling, yearning vibrato against north African synth lines and rattling electronic percussion. The production is sparse and restrained, yet this minimalism provides the ideal setting for Hamdan's expressive lyricism to take center stage. The album proves to be that justifies the wait.
Number Eight: Debit – Slowed Down
From Mexico electronic artist Debit has a knack for uncanny reinterpretations of historical sounds. On her most recent project, Desaceleradas, she turns her attention to the 90s style of cumbia rebajada – a decelerated, dubby version of the shuffling Latin American musical style. Debit decelerates this sound to a near-halt, running its signature synths and syncopated rhythm via sheets of distortion and static to produce a new, menacing rhythm. Periodically atmospheric and unsettling, Debit converts the celebratory party music of cumbia into a lasting, spectral afterimage.
7. The São Paulo Producer DJ K – Radio Libertadora!
Sheer intensity is the key term for the records of Brazilian producer Kaique Vieira, who performs as DJ K. Coining his own genre of "bruxaria" (witchcraft), Vieira piles a tumult of sirens, explosive bass tones and shouted lyrics on top of the longstanding Brazilian genre of baile funk. This recreates the propulsive sound of urban celebrations. On his second album, Radio Libertadora!, Vieira escalates the ferocity, adding everything from techno kick drums to samples of the Islamic call to prayer into his chaotic bruxaria mix. The result is a notably manic and punishingly loud 40-minute listening experience. Give in to the cacophony and Vieira's brash productions become strangely exhilarating.
Number Six: Mohinder Kaur Bhamra – Punjabi Disco
Religious vocalist Mohinder Kaur Bhamra's early-80s release of disco music and traditional Punjabi tunes is a newly appreciated gem. Recorded by her son, music producer Kuljit Bhamra, Punjabi Disco's ten tracks present an strikingly compelling fusion of the synthetic sound of electronic keyboards and programmed drums with her fluid classical Indian singing style. Drum machine patterns echoes the rolling tones of the traditional drums, while synthesiser melody parallels the classic sound of the reed organ on tracks such as Pyar Mainu Kar. Elsewhere, Latin-inflected grooves comes to the fore on Soniya Mukh Tera, and Nainan Da Pyar De Gaya features a driving walking disco bassline. It's a dancefloor fusion delivered over a decade before the rise of Asian Underground music.
Number Five: Enji – Resonance
Mongolian singer Enji's delicate fourth album, Sonor, expands on her jazz-inflected sound to deliver some of her most wide-ranging music yet. Stepping outside her background in traditional Mongolian "long song" singing, the record's eleven songs range from the soft jazz-pop melodies of slow-burning number Ulbar to the German spoken-word lyrics and trilling guitar lines of Unadag Dugui. The album also includes a energetic, funk-inflected cover of the 80s Mongolian pop hit Eejiinhee Hairaar. Featuring a full backing band rather than her standard setup of guitar and bass, Sonor's sound is still intimate, inviting the listener into the warm soundscape of her unique voice.
4. Derya Yıldırım and Her Band – Yarın Yoksa
Drawing on the psychedelic tradition of Anatolian rock established by groups such as Moğollar, Turkish-born, Germany-based singer Derya Yıldırım's third record alongside her group merges the electric jangle of the amplified traditional lute with dreamy keyboard and soulful tunes. It's a nostalgic vibe anchored in Yıldırım's strong falsetto and influenced by producer Leon Michels' warm, tape-saturated aesthetic. However, on classic Turkish songs such as the nursery rhyme Hop Bico and 60s classic Ceylan, the group finds vibrant new territory. They craft smooth, slow-burning grooves and lifting vocals that give a novel, quirky spin to the Anatolian psychedelic style.
Number Three: Lido Pimienta – The Beauty
Gregorian chants, Eastern European folk melodies and orchestral strings merge on Colombian-born singer Lido Pimienta's stunning latest work. Arranging music for the 60-piece Medellín Philharmonic Orchestra, Pimienta and producer Owen Pallett explore 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 rhythmic reggaeton-inspired beats of the woodwind-heavy El Dembow del Tiempo. It is Pim
