This 10 Best International Releases of This Past Year
Looking back on the musical landscape of international music that defied expectations. Here is a countdown of ten notable albums that characterized the year in music.
Number Ten: Sarathy Korwar – There Is Beauty, There Already
An album consisting of a single, extended movement of repetitive percussion might not seem the easiest listening experience. But, south Asian percussionist and producer Sarathy Korwar turns this persistent pulse into a hypnotically captivating work. Leading an ensemble of three drummers, Korwar develops a dense percussive language across the record's ten sections. The work references Steve Reich's phasing motifs combined with classical Indian rhythmic patterns, all anchored in the recurrence of a ongoing, pulsing motif. Over its duration, this refrain evokes the hypnotic repetition of devotional music, luring the listener further into Korwar's singular percussive world.
9. The Lebanese Artist Yasmine Hamdan – I Remember I Forget
After an long absence, Lebanese singer-songwriter Yasmine Hamdan returns with a contemplative set of songs. It continues exploring the Arabic-sung, dub-influenced aesthetic that established her as a fixture in the region's indie music scene since the nineties. Hamdan's vocal delivery is quiet and introspective, singing soft melodies atop the bowing strings of a track like Hon and the rumbling trip-hop beat of Vows. On livelier tracks such as Shadia and Abyss, she adopts a quivering, yearning vibrato against north African synth lines and rattling electronic percussion. The album's sound is lean and understated, yet this minimalism provides the ideal environment for Hamdan's deeply felt lyricism to resonate. The album proves to be well worth the long anticipation.
8. The Mexican Producer Debit – Desaceleradas
From Mexico electronic artist Debit excels at uncanny reworkings of archival audio. On her new album, Desaceleradas, she turns her attention to the 1990s variant of cumbia rebajada – a slowed, dub-inflected version of the shuffling Latin American dance genre. Debit slows this sound to a near-halt, filtering its signature synths and syncopated rhythm through layers of murk and hiss to generate a fresh, menacing rhythm. Sometimes atmospheric and uneasy, Debit converts the celebratory party music of cumbia into a persistent, ethereal memory.
7. DJ K – Radio Libertadora!
Sensory overload is the operative word for the music of São Paulo producer Kaique Vieira, who performs as DJ K. Inventing his own genre of "bruxaria" (witchcraft), Vieira layers a onslaught of sirens, explosive bass tones and shouted lyrics over the enduring Brazilian dance style of baile funk. This recreates the energetic sound of neighborhood block parties. On his second album, Radio Libertadora!, Vieira cranks up the energy, throwing in everything from techno kick drums to samples of the Islamic call to prayer into his frantic bruxaria mix. The result is a particularly manic and overwhelmingly noisy 40-minute sonic journey. Submit to the assault and Vieira's unapologetic productions become oddly exhilarating.
6. Mohinder Kaur Bhamra – Disco Punjabi
Religious vocalist Mohinder Kaur Bhamra's early-80s release of disco music and traditional Punjabi tunes is a rediscovered treasure. Produced by her son, music producer Kuljit Bhamra, Punjabi Disco's ten tracks offer an strikingly engaging combination of the synthetic sound of 1980s synthesisers and programmed drums with her melismatic Indian classical vocal technique. Drum machine patterns mimics the wavelike tones of the traditional drums, while synth lines parallels the traditional sound of the harmonium on tracks such as Pyar Mainu Kar. At other times, bossa nova rhythm comes to the fore on Soniya Mukh Tera, and Nainan Da Pyar De Gaya boasts a fast-paced disco bass groove. It's a party blend created over a decade before the Asian Underground explosion.
Number Five: Enji – Sonor
From Mongolia singer Enji's delicate fourth album, Sonor, develops her jazz-inflected sound to present some of her most wide-ranging music to date. Stepping outside her background in traditional Mongolian "long song" singing, the record's eleven songs range from the gentle jazz-pop 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-tinged 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 manages to stay close, pulling the listener into the gentle soundscape of her distinctive voice.
Number Four: Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek – Yarın Yoksa
Drawing on the psychedelic tradition of Anatolian rock pioneered by groups such as Moğollar, Turkish-born, Germany-based singer Derya Yıldırım's third record alongside her group fuses the distinctive buzz of the amplified traditional lute with drifting keyboard and soulful tunes. It's a nostalgic vibe rooted in Yıldırım's strong falsetto and influenced by producer Leon Michels' analogue tape sound. But, on classic Turkish songs such as the folk tune Hop Bico and 60s classic Ceylan, the group finds lively new territory. They develop smooth, slow-burning grooves and soaring vocals that lend a new, unconventional twist to the Turkish psych sound.
Number Three: Lido Pimienta – The Beauty
Sacred music, Czech harpsichord folksong and orchestral strings merge on Colombian-born singer Lido Pimienta's remarkable fourth album. Orchestrating music for the 60-piece Medellín Philharmonic Orchestra, Pimienta and producer Owen Pallett traverse a vast range including the Gregorian chants of opener Overturn (Obertura de la Luz Eterna) to the dramatic counterpoint melodies of Aún Te Quiero and the rhythmic dembow rhythms of the brass and woodwind-led El Dembow del Tiempo. It is Pim
