The 10 Finest Global Albums of This Past Year
The past twelve months have offered a rich tapestry of global sounds that pushed boundaries. Here is a countdown of ten notable albums that shaped the year in music.
Number Ten: Sarathy Korwar – There Already Is Beauty
The concept of a 40-minute, uninterrupted piece built on insistent percussion might not seem the easiest musical proposition. But, south Asian percussionist and producer Sarathy Korwar transforms this insistent rhythm into a hypnotically captivating work. Guiding an group of three drummers, Korwar crafts a intricate percussive dialect over the record's ten parts. His composition draws from Steve Reich's phasing motifs alongside classical Indian rhythmic patterns, everything tethered in the repetition of a ongoing, driving motif. Over its duration, this refrain begins to emulate the trance-inducing cycles of ceremonial music, drawing the listener deeper into Korwar's singular percussive universe.
9. Yasmine Hamdan – I Forget, I Remember
After an hiatus of eight years, Arab singer-songwriter Yasmine Hamdan returns with a mournful collection of songs. She expands on the Arabic-sung, dub-tinged sound that cemented her status in the Middle Eastern independent music landscape since the 1990s. Hamdan's voice is soft and introspective, delivering delicate melodies atop the bowing strings of a track like Hon and the rolling trip-hop groove of Vows. On livelier tracks such as Shadia and Abyss, she adopts a wavering, longing vibrato against Maghrebi-inspired synth melodies and clattering electronic percussion. The production is sparse and restrained, yet this minimalism provides the ideal environment for Hamdan's emotive songwriting to resonate. It is truly deserving of the long anticipation.
Number Eight: The Mexican Producer Debit – Desaceleradas
From Mexico producer Debit has a knack for uncanny reinterpretations of traditional music. For her most recent project, Desaceleradas, she turns her attention to the 1990s variant of cumbia rebajada – a decelerated, dub-inflected interpretation of the rhythmic Latin American dance genre. Debit slows this sound down to a crawl, filtering its signature synths and syncopated rhythm through veils of distortion and noise to generate a fresh, menacing beat. Periodically atmospheric and unsettling, Debit transforms the joyous dancefloor sound of cumbia into a persistent, ethereal memory.
Number Seven: DJ K – Liberator Radio!
Sensory overload is the operative word for the records of São Paulo producer Kaique Vieira, who performs as DJ K. Pioneering his own genre of "bruxaria" (witchcraft), Vieira stacks a cacophony of alarms, pummeling bass tones and shouted lyrics over the classic Brazilian dance style of baile funk. This captures the propulsive sound of favela street parties. On his new record, Radio Libertadora!, Vieira ramps up the ferocity, adding everything from driving techno rhythms to samples of the Islamic call to prayer into his frantic bruxaria mix. The result is a particularly manic and overwhelmingly noisy forty-minute listening experience. Give in to the assault and Vieira's bold productions become unexpectedly freeing.
Number Six: Mohinder Kaur Bhamra – Punjabi Disco
Religious vocalist Mohinder Kaur Bhamra's 1982 album of disco music and Punjabi folk melodies is a newly appreciated masterpiece. Produced by her son, music producer Kuljit Bhamra, Punjabi Disco's ten tracks deliver an remarkably captivating blend of the sharp sound of early synthesizers and programmed drums with her melismatic Indian classical singing style. Electronic percussion mimics the undulating tones of the tabla, while synthesiser melody replicates the traditional sound of the reed organ on tracks such as Pyar Mainu Kar. Elsewhere, bossa nova rhythm is prominent on Soniya Mukh Tera, and Nainan Da Pyar De Gaya boasts a up-tempo funky bass rhythm. It's a club-ready hybrid created over a decade before the rise of Asian Underground music.
5. Enji – Resonance
From Mongolia singer Enji's gentle latest record, Sonor, develops her jazz-influenced sound to offer some of her most wide-ranging music yet. Departing from her background in traditional Mongolian "long song" singing, the record's 11 tracks range from the soft Norah Jones-esque melodies of downtempo 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. Utilizing a full backing band rather than her usual setup of guitar and bass, Sonor's sound is still intimate, pulling the listener into the tender soundscape of her singular voice.
4. Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek – Yarın Yoksa
Drawing on the 60s heritage of Anatolian rock established by groups such as Moğollar, Turkish-born, Germany-based singer Derya Yıldırım's latest work alongside her group fuses the metallic twang of the electrified saz with woozy Mellotron and R&B-inflected lines. It's a nostalgic vibe rooted in Yıldırım's commanding falsetto and influenced by producer Leon Michels' warm, tape-saturated aesthetic. Yet, on Turkish standards such as the folk tune Hop Bico and 60s classic Ceylan, the group finds vibrant new territory. They craft sinuous, slow-burning grooves and soaring vocals that lend a novel, off-kilter twist to the Anatolian psychedelic style.
Number Three: The Colombian Artist Lido Pimienta – La Belleza
Gregorian chants, Eastern European folk melodies and symphonic arrangements converge 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 dramatic counterpoint melodies of Aún Te Quiero and the rhythmic reggaeton-inspired beats of the brass and woodwind-led El Dembow del Tiempo. Ultimately, it is Pim
