Our Ten Greatest Global Albums of This Past Year
Looking back on the musical landscape of global releases that defied expectations. Presenting a selection of ten notable albums that defined the year in music.
10. The Percussionist Sarathy Korwar – There Is Beauty, There Already
An album consisting of a single, extended movement of repetitive percussion might not seem the easiest musical proposition. Yet, Indian drummer and composer Sarathy Korwar turns this insistent rhythm into a strangely alluring work. Leading an trio of three drummers, Korwar creates a intricate percussive language throughout the record's ten parts. His composition channels Steve Reich's phasing motifs as well as traditional Indian musical phrasing, all anchored in the repetition of a ongoing, pulsing refrain. The longer one listens, this refrain evokes the trance-inducing cycles of ceremonial music, luring the listener further into Korwar's singular percussive realm.
9. The Lebanese Artist Yasmine Hamdan – I Forget, I Remember
After an eight-year break, Arab vocalist and composer Yasmine Hamdan re-emerges with a mournful collection of songs. It continues exploring the Arabic-language, dub-tinged sound that cemented her status in the Middle Eastern independent music landscape since the nineties. Hamdan's vocal delivery is gentle and introspective, singing soft melodies over 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 adopts a quivering, longing vibrato over electronic lines with North African flavors and clattering electronic percussion. The album's sound is lean and understated, yet this austerity provides the ideal setting for Hamdan's expressive songwriting to shine through. It is that justifies the long anticipation.
8. The Mexican Producer Debit – Desaceleradas
From Mexico producer Debit specializes in uncanny reworkings of traditional music. On her latest release, Desaceleradas, she turns her attention to the 1990s variant of cumbia rebajada – a decelerated, dub-inflected version of the rhythmic Latin American dance music genre. Debit decelerates this sound down to a crawl, running its characteristic synths and syncopated rhythm through sheets of sludge and static to produce a novel, sinister groove. At turns ambient and uneasy, Debit converts the joyous party music of cumbia into a lasting, ghostly echo.
7. The São Paulo Producer DJ K – Radio Libertadora!
Sheer intensity is the operative word for the output of Brazilian producer Kaique Vieira, also known as DJ K. Inventing his own genre of "bruxaria" (witchcraft), Vieira piles a tumult of sirens, explosive bass tones and screamed lyrics over the classic Brazilian genre of baile funk. This recreates the energetic sound of neighborhood block parties. On his second album, Radio Libertadora!, Vieira escalates the intensity, incorporating everything from techno kick drums to samples of the Islamic call to prayer into his unruly bruxaria mix. The result is a particularly manic and punishingly loud forty-minute sonic journey. Submit to the cacophony and Vieira's bold productions become strangely freeing.
Number Six: Mohinder Kaur Bhamra – Punjabi Disco
Religious vocalist Mohinder Kaur Bhamra's 1982 album of disco music and traditional Punjabi tunes is a rediscovered gem. Produced by her son, music producer Kuljit Bhamra, Punjabi Disco's ten tracks offer an remarkably engaging blend of the metallic sound of electronic keyboards and programmed drums with her fluid classical Indian vocal technique. Electronic percussion mirrors the undulating tones of the traditional drums, while synth lines parallels the classic sound of the harmonium on tracks such as Pyar Mainu Kar. Elsewhere, bossa nova rhythm comes to the fore on Soniya Mukh Tera, and Nainan Da Pyar De Gaya features a up-tempo funky bass rhythm. It's a dancefloor fusion delivered over a decade before the rise of Asian Underground music.
Number Five: Enji – Resonance
From Mongolia singer Enji's soft latest record, Sonor, expands on her jazz-influenced sound to present some of her most wide-ranging music yet. Departing from her training in traditional Mongolian "long song" singing, the record's 11 tracks travel from the gentle Norah Jones-esque melodies of downtempo number Ulbar to the German-language narration lyrics and twanging guitar lines of Unadag Dugui. The album also includes a sprightly, funk-inflected cover of the 80s Mongolian pop hit Eejiinhee Hairaar. Featuring a ensemble rather than her typical setup of guitar and bass, Sonor's sound manages to stay intimate, pulling the listener into the gentle soundscape of her singular voice.
Number Four: Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek – If There Is No Tomorrow
Drawing on the 1960s legacy of Anatolian rock established by groups such as Moğollar, Turkish-born, Germany-based singer Derya Yıldırım's third record alongside her group merges the distinctive buzz of the electrified saz with woozy Mellotron and soulful tunes. It's a retro-70s aesthetic rooted in Yıldırım's strong high register and influenced by producer Leon Michels' warm, tape-saturated sound. But, on Turkish standards such as the folk tune Hop Bico and 1960s song Ceylan, the group ventures into vibrant new territory. They create sinuous, slow-burning grooves and powerful vocals that impart a new, unconventional interpretation to the Turkish psych sound.
Number Three: The Colombian Artist Lido Pimienta – La Belleza
Gregorian chants, Czech harpsichord folksong and orchestral strings converge on Colombian singer Lido Pimienta's remarkable latest work. Orchestrating music for the sixty-member Medellín Philharmonic Orchestra, Pimienta and producer Owen Pallett journey through a vast range including the Gregorian chants of opener Overturn (Obertura de la Luz Eterna) to the theatrical interweaving lines of Aún Te Quiero and the syncopated reggaeton-inspired beats of the brass and woodwind-led El Dembow del Tiempo. Yet, it is Pim
