The 10 Greatest Global Albums of This Past Year
The past twelve months have offered a rich tapestry of worldwide releases that expanded horizons. Here is a countdown of ten remarkable albums that defined the year in music.
10. The Percussionist Sarathy Korwar – There Already Is Beauty
The concept of a 40-minute, uninterrupted piece built on repetitive percussion could sound like it isn't the most accessible listening experience. But, south Asian drummer and composer Sarathy Korwar turns this persistent pulse into a strangely alluring album. Leading an ensemble of three drummers, Korwar creates a dense percussive dialect across the record's ten parts. His composition draws from Steve Reich's phasing motifs as well as classical Indian rhythmic patterns, all anchored in the reiteration of a ongoing, thrumming motif. The longer one listens, this refrain starts to mirror the hypnotic repetition of ritual music, luring the listener deeper into Korwar's singular percussive universe.
9. The Lebanese Artist Yasmine Hamdan – I Remember I Forget
Following an long absence, Lebanese singer-songwriter Yasmine Hamdan returns with a mournful album of songs. The work builds upon the Arabic-sung, dub-influenced style that made her a staple in the region's indie music scene since the nineties. Hamdan's vocal delivery is gentle and thoughtful, delivering tender melodies atop the bowing strings of a track like Hon and the rumbling trip-hop groove of Vows. On livelier tracks such as Shadia and Abyss, she employs a wavering, longing vocal technique against electronic lines with North African flavors and skittering electronic percussion. The album's sound is minimal and subtle, yet this simplicity offers the ideal canvas for Hamdan's deeply felt songwriting to resonate. The album proves to be truly deserving of the wait.
8. The Mexican Producer Debit – Slowed Down
From Mexico electronic artist Debit excels at uncanny reworkings of traditional music. On her latest release, Desaceleradas, she zeroes in on the 90s style of cumbia rebajada – a decelerated, dub-inflected version of the shuffling Latin American dance genre. Debit slows this sound even further, filtering its signature synths and syncopated rhythm through layers of murk and static to generate a fresh, menacing groove. Sometimes atmospheric and unsettling, Debit transforms the joyous dancefloor sound of cumbia into a lasting, spectral echo.
7. The São Paulo Producer DJ K – Radio Libertadora!
Sheer intensity is the operative word for the output of São Paulo producer Kaique Vieira, AKA DJ K. Inventing his own genre of "bruxaria" (witchcraft), Vieira layers a tumult of sirens, explosive bass tones and shouted lyrics over the classic Brazilian dance style of baile funk. This recreates the energetic sound of urban celebrations. On his follow-up release, Radio Libertadora!, Vieira ramps up the ferocity, incorporating everything from techno kick drums to the sound of the Islamic call to prayer into his frantic bruxaria mix. The result is a notably frenetic and deafeningly intense forty-minute listening experience. Give in to the assault and Vieira's bold productions become oddly exhilarating.
Number Six: The Singer Mohinder Kaur Bhamra – Disco Punjabi
Religious vocalist Mohinder Kaur Bhamra's early-80s release of disco music and Punjabi folk melodies is a reissued masterpiece. Produced by her son, music producer Kuljit Bhamra, Punjabi Disco's ten tracks present an unusually compelling blend of the metallic sound of electronic keyboards and drum machines with her melismatic Indian classical singing style. Drum machine patterns mirrors the undulating tones of the traditional drums, while synthesiser melody doubles the traditional sound of the reed organ on tracks such as Pyar Mainu Kar. Meanwhile, Latin-inflected grooves takes center stage on Soniya Mukh Tera, and Nainan Da Pyar De Gaya channels a driving walking disco bassline. It's a party blend created more than ten years before the rise of Asian Underground music.
5. Enji – Resonance
Mongolian singer Enji's delicate latest record, Sonor, expands on her jazz-inflected sound to deliver some of her most diverse music to date. Stepping outside her background in traditional Mongolian "long song" singing, the record's selection of pieces range from the gentle jazz-pop melodics of slow-burning number Ulbar to the German-language narration 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. Showcasing a full backing band rather than her usual setup of guitar and bass, Sonor's sound remains close, inviting the listener into the gentle soundscape of her unique voice.
Number Four: Derya Yıldırım and Her Band – Yarın Yoksa
Channeling the 60s heritage of Anatolian rock established by groups such as Moğollar, Turkish-born, Germany-based singer Derya Yıldırım's latest work with her band Grup Şimşek merges the distinctive buzz of the amplified traditional lute with dreamy keyboard and classic soul melodies. It's a retro-70s aesthetic rooted in Yıldırım's powerful high register and influenced by producer Leon Michels' warm, tape-saturated aesthetic. However, on classic Turkish songs such as the nursery rhyme Hop Bico and 1960s song Ceylan, the group reaches vibrant new territory. They create slinking, downtempo grooves and lifting vocals that lend a novel, quirky spin to the Anatolian psychedelic style.
3. The Colombian Artist Lido Pimienta – La Belleza
Gregorian chants, Czech harpsichord folksong and symphonic arrangements all come together on Colombian singer Lido Pimienta's remarkable latest work. Orchestrating music for the sixty-member 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 syncopated dembow rhythms of the woodwind-heavy El Dembow del Tiempo. Ultimately, it is Pim
