The Ten Greatest Worldwide Albums of This Past Year
As the year draws to a close, we reflect on the global music that expanded horizons. Presenting a selection of ten notable albums that defined the year in music.
10. The Percussionist Sarathy Korwar – There Already Is Beauty
A continuous, 40-minute suite of insistent drumming might not seem the easiest musical proposition. But, Indian drummer and composer Sarathy Korwar turns this insistent rhythm into a unexpectedly magnetic album. Directing an group of three drummers, Korwar develops a intricate percussive language throughout the record's 10 movements. The work channels Steve Reich's phasing motifs as well as Indian classical phrasing, all anchored in the recurrence of a ongoing, thrumming motif. Over its duration, this refrain evokes the hypnotic repetition of ritual music, pulling the listener deeper into Korwar's unique percussive universe.
9. The Lebanese Artist Yasmine Hamdan – I Forget, I Remember
After an long absence, Arab singer-songwriter Yasmine Hamdan returns with a mournful set of songs. She expands on the Arabic-sung, dub-tinged style that made her a staple in the region's indie music scene since the nineties. Hamdan's voice is quiet and introspective, singing tender melodies over the bowing strings of a track like Hon and the deep trip-hop groove of Vows. On livelier tracks such as Shadia and Abyss, she adopts a quivering, longing vibrato against north African synth lines and clattering electronic percussion. The musical backdrop is minimal and understated, yet this austerity creates the perfect canvas for Hamdan's expressive compositions to resonate. This is a record truly deserving of the long anticipation.
Number Eight: The Mexican Producer Debit – Desaceleradas
From Mexico electronic artist Debit specializes in haunting reinterpretations of historical sounds. On her latest release, Desaceleradas, she focuses on the 90s style of cumbia rebajada – a decelerated, dubby interpretation of the rhythmic Latin American musical style. Debit drags this sound to a near-halt, processing its signature synths and syncopated rhythm through sheets of murk and hiss to create a new, foreboding rhythm. At turns atmospheric and uneasy, Debit transforms the celebratory dancefloor sound of cumbia into a enduring, ethereal echo.
Number Seven: DJ K – Liberator Radio!
Maximalism is the key term for the output of Brazilian producer Kaique Vieira, AKA DJ K. Inventing his own genre of "bruxaria" (witchcraft), Vieira stacks a onslaught of sirens, explosive bass tones and screamed lyrics on top of the classic Brazilian genre of baile funk. This captures the propulsive sound of neighborhood block parties. On his new record, Radio Libertadora!, Vieira ramps up the ferocity, throwing in everything from techno kick drums to the sound of the Islamic call to prayer into his frantic bruxaria mix. The result is a particularly manic and deafeningly intense 40-minute sonic journey. Surrender to the assault and Vieira's bold productions become unexpectedly freeing.
Number Six: Mohinder Kaur Bhamra – Disco Punjabi
Sikh devotional singer Mohinder Kaur Bhamra's 1982 album of disco beats and traditional Punjabi tunes is a newly appreciated masterpiece. Recorded by her son, music producer Kuljit Bhamra, Punjabi Disco's ten tracks present an strikingly compelling combination of the metallic sound of 1980s synthesisers and programmed drums with her fluid classical Indian singing style. Drum machine patterns mimics the wavelike tones of the traditional drums, while synth lines doubles the classic sound of the reed organ 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 driving walking disco bassline. It's a dancefloor fusion delivered more than ten years before the Asian Underground explosion.
5. Enji – Resonance
Mongolian vocalist Enji's delicate new release, Sonor, builds upon her jazz-influenced sound to deliver some of her most wide-ranging music so far. Moving away from her training in traditional Mongolian "long song" singing, the record's 11 tracks range from the gentle Norah Jones-esque melodics of slow-burning number Ulbar to the German spoken-word lyrics and trilling guitar lines of Unadag Dugui. The album also includes a energetic, funk-tinged cover of the 1980s Mongolian classic Eejiinhee Hairaar. Utilizing a full backing band rather than her standard setup of guitar and bass, Sonor's sound is still intimate, drawing the listener into the warm acoustics of her unique voice.
4. Derya Yıldırım and Her Band – If There Is No Tomorrow
Channeling the 60s heritage of Anatolian rock established by groups such as Moğollar, German-Turkish singer Derya Yıldırım's new album with her band Grup Şimşek merges the metallic twang of the electrified saz with dreamy keyboard and classic soul melodies. It's a retro-70s aesthetic anchored in Yıldırım's strong high register and shaped by producer Leon Michels' warm, tape-saturated sound. However, on classic Turkish songs such as the folk tune Hop Bico and 1960s song Ceylan, the group reaches dynamic new territory. They craft sinuous, slow-burning grooves and lifting vocals that lend a new, off-kilter twist to the Turkish psych sound.
3. The Colombian Artist Lido Pimienta – The Beauty
Gregorian chants, Eastern European folk melodies and symphonic arrangements merge on Colombian-born singer Lido Pimienta's stunning latest work. Arranging music for the 60-piece Medellín Philharmonic Orchestra, Pimienta and producer Owen Pallett traverse everything from the Gregorian chants of opener Overturn (Obertura de la Luz Eterna) to the dramatic interweaving lines of Aún Te Quiero and the syncopated dembow rhythms of the woodwind-heavy El Dembow del Tiempo. Yet, it is Pim
