This 10 Top Worldwide Releases of This Past Year
Looking back on the musical landscape of global music that defied expectations. Here is a countdown of ten notable albums that defined the year in music.
Number Ten: Sarathy Korwar – There Is Beauty, There Already
The concept of a 40-minute, uninterrupted piece built on repetitive drumming may not appear the easiest musical proposition. But, Indian percussionist and producer Sarathy Korwar converts this persistent pulse into a hypnotically captivating album. Directing an trio of three drummers, Korwar crafts a intricate percussive dialect over the record's ten sections. His composition references minimalist concepts from Steve Reich combined with classical Indian rhythmic patterns, all anchored in the reiteration of a persistent, driving motif. As the album progresses, this refrain evokes the hypnotic repetition of devotional music, luring the listener deeper into Korwar's unique percussive universe.
9. Yasmine Hamdan – I Remember I Forget
Following an eight-year break, Lebanese singer-songwriter Yasmine Hamdan returns with a melancholy collection of songs. The work builds upon the Arabic-language, dub-tinged sound that made her a staple in the Arab alternative scene since the nineties. Hamdan's vocal delivery is quiet and thoughtful, delivering delicate melodies atop the string arrangements of a track like Hon and the deep trip-hop groove of Vows. For more upbeat numbers such as Shadia and Abyss, she adopts a trembling, longing vocal technique over north African synth lines and rattling electronic percussion. The musical backdrop is sparse and understated, yet this minimalism provides the perfect environment for Hamdan's emotive compositions to shine through. It is truly deserving of the wait.
Number Eight: The Mexican Producer Debit – Slowed Down
Mexican producer Debit has a knack for uncanny reworkings of historical sounds. On her new album, Desaceleradas, she zeroes in on the 1990s variant of cumbia rebajada – a slowed, dub-inflected interpretation of the shuffling Latin American dance music genre. Debit drags this sound even further, filtering its characteristic synths and syncopated rhythm via sheets of sludge and noise to produce a new, menacing beat. Sometimes ambient and unsettling, Debit converts the celebratory party music of cumbia into a persistent, ethereal afterimage.
7. The São Paulo Producer DJ K – Radio Libertadora!
Maximalism is the defining principle for the records of Brazilian producer Kaique Vieira, also known as DJ K. Inventing his own genre of "bruxaria" (witchcraft), Vieira layers a cacophony of sirens, explosive bass tones and shouted lyrics over the longstanding Brazilian genre of baile funk. This emulates the propulsive sound of favela street parties. On his new record, Radio Libertadora!, Vieira escalates the energy, incorporating everything from techno kick drums to samples of the Islamic call to prayer into his chaotic bruxaria mix. The result is a particularly manic and punishingly loud forty-minute sonic journey. Submit to the assault and Vieira's bold productions become unexpectedly freeing.
Number Six: The Singer Mohinder Kaur Bhamra – Disco Punjabi
Religious vocalist Mohinder Kaur Bhamra's early-80s release of disco music and traditional Punjabi tunes is a reissued treasure. Produced by her son, music producer Kuljit Bhamra, Punjabi Disco's ten tracks deliver an strikingly engaging blend of the metallic sound of 1980s synthesisers and programmed drums with her melismatic classical Indian singing style. Electronic percussion mimics the wavelike tones of the tabla, while synth lines doubles the traditional sound of the harmonium on tracks such as Pyar Mainu Kar. Elsewhere, bossa nova rhythm takes center stage on Soniya Mukh Tera, and Nainan Da Pyar De Gaya channels a fast-paced walking disco bassline. It's a dancefloor fusion delivered over a decade before the global breakthrough of South Asian electronic music.
5. The Mongolian Artist Enji – Resonance
From Mongolia singer Enji's gentle latest record, Sonor, develops her jazz-inflected sound to deliver some of her most wide-ranging music to date. Departing from her training in traditional Mongolian "long song" singing, the record's selection of pieces veer from the gentle Norah Jones-esque melodics of downtempo 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. 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 acoustics of her unique voice.
Number Four: Derya Yıldırım and Her Band – Yarın Yoksa
Drawing on the 1960s legacy of Anatolian rock pioneered by groups such as Moğollar, Turkish-born, Germany-based singer Derya Yıldırım's new album alongside her group blends the electric jangle of the amplified traditional lute with drifting Mellotron and classic soul melodies. It's a nostalgic vibe rooted in Yıldırım's strong falsetto and shaped by producer Leon Michels' warm, tape-saturated sound. However, on Turkish standards such as the folk tune Hop Bico and 1960s song Ceylan, the group ventures into vibrant new territory. They craft sinuous, slow-burning grooves and powerful vocals that lend a new, quirky twist to the Anatolian psychedelic style.
3. Lido Pimienta – The Beauty
Gregorian chants, Eastern European folk melodies and symphonic arrangements merge on Colombian-born singer Lido Pimienta's remarkable fourth album. Arranging music for the sixty-member Medellín Philharmonic Orchestra, Pimienta and producer Owen Pallett traverse everything from the liturgical vocals of opener Overturn (Obertura de la Luz Eterna) to the theatrical interweaving lines of Aún Te Quiero and the rhythmic reggaeton-inspired beats of the brass and woodwind-led El Dembow del Tiempo. It is Pim
