🔗 Share this article This 10 Most Outstanding Worldwide Releases of This Past Year As the year draws to a close, we reflect on the worldwide sounds that expanded horizons. We explore ten exceptional albums that defined the year in music. Number Ten: The Percussionist Sarathy Korwar – There Already Is Beauty A continuous, 40-minute suite of cyclical percussion could sound like it isn't the most accessible listening experience. But, Indian percussionist and producer Sarathy Korwar transforms this driving beat into a strangely alluring piece. Leading an ensemble of three drummers, Korwar creates a dense percussive vocabulary across the record's 10 movements. The work draws from the phasing techniques of Steve Reich combined with traditional Indian musical phrasing, each grounded in the reiteration of a ongoing, driving figure. The longer one listens, this refrain begins to emulate the ceremonial rhythm of devotional music, pulling the listener deeper into Korwar's singular percussive realm. 9. The Lebanese Artist Yasmine Hamdan – I Forget, I Remember After an long absence, Lebanese singer-songwriter Yasmine Hamdan re-emerges with a contemplative collection of songs. She expands on the Arabic-sung, dub-influenced aesthetic that made her a staple in the Middle Eastern independent music landscape since the nineties. Hamdan's voice is gentle and introspective, singing soft melodies atop the bowing strings of a track like Hon and the rumbling trip-hop beat of Vows. During more energetic moments such as Shadia and Abyss, she uses a quivering, longing vocal technique against Maghrebi-inspired synth melodies and clattering electronic percussion. The album's sound is lean and subtle, yet this austerity provides the ideal setting for Hamdan's expressive songwriting to resonate. It is truly deserving of the long anticipation. 8. The Mexican Producer Debit – Desaceleradas Mexican producer Debit specializes in eerie reimaginings of archival audio. For her most recent project, Desaceleradas, she turns her attention to the 90s style of cumbia rebajada – a decelerated, dubby take of the shuffling Latin American dance music genre. Debit decelerates this sound to a near-halt, running its characteristic synths and off-beat rhythm via layers of sludge and hiss to produce a new, foreboding rhythm. Sometimes atmospheric and uneasy, Debit transforms the exuberant dancefloor sound of cumbia into a enduring, ethereal echo. Number Seven: DJ K – Radio Libertadora! Maximalism is the key term for the music of Brazilian producer Kaique Vieira, also known as DJ K. Coining his own genre of "bruxaria" (witchcraft), Vieira piles a cacophony of alarms, explosive bass tones and shouted lyrics over the enduring Brazilian dance style of baile funk. This recreates the propulsive sound of urban celebrations. On his new record, Radio Libertadora!, Vieira ramps up the intensity, incorporating everything from driving techno rhythms to samples of the Islamic call to prayer into his chaotic bruxaria mix. The result is a notably hyperactive and overwhelmingly noisy 40-minute listening experience. Surrender to the noise and Vieira's bold productions become unexpectedly liberating. 6. Mohinder Kaur Bhamra – Disco Punjabi Sikh devotional singer Mohinder Kaur Bhamra's early-80s release of disco beats and traditional Punjabi tunes is a reissued treasure. Produced by her son, music producer Kuljit Bhamra, Punjabi Disco's ten tracks deliver an unusually compelling blend of the synthetic sound of 1980s synthesisers and programmed drums with her ornate Indian classical singing style. Electronic percussion echoes the undulating tones of the tabla, while synthesiser melody parallels the classic sound of the harmonium on tracks such as Pyar Mainu Kar. At other times, Latin-inflected grooves is prominent on Soniya Mukh Tera, and Nainan Da Pyar De Gaya features a driving funky bass rhythm. It's a party blend pioneered more than ten years before the Asian Underground explosion. Number Five: The Mongolian Artist Enji – Resonance Mongolian vocalist Enji's gentle new release, Sonor, builds upon her jazz-influenced sound to deliver some of her broadest music so far. Departing from her training in traditional Mongolian "long song" singing, the record's eleven songs veer from the soft Norah Jones-esque melodies of slow-burning 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 1980s Mongolian classic Eejiinhee Hairaar. Utilizing a ensemble rather than her usual setup of guitar and bass, Sonor's sound manages to stay intimate, drawing the listener into the warm acoustics of her singular voice. 4. Derya Yıldırım and Her Band – If There Is No Tomorrow Channeling the 1960s legacy of Turkish psychedelia pioneered by groups such as Moğollar, Turkish-born, Germany-based singer Derya Yıldırım's third record alongside her group merges the metallic twang of the amplified traditional lute with dreamy keyboard and R&B-inflected lines. It's a nostalgic vibe grounded in Yıldırım's strong falsetto and shaped by producer Leon Michels' analogue tape sound. But, on Turkish standards such as the nursery rhyme Hop Bico and 60s classic Ceylan, the group finds vibrant new territory. They develop slinking, downtempo grooves and soaring vocals that give a novel, off-kilter interpretation to the Turkish psych sound. 3. Lido Pimienta – La Belleza Sacred music, Czech harpsichord folksong and orchestral strings merge on Colombian-born singer Lido Pimienta's extraordinary fourth album. Orchestrating music for the sixty-member Medellín Philharmonic Orchestra, Pimienta and producer Owen Pallett journey through everything from 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. It is Pim
As the year draws to a close, we reflect on the worldwide sounds that expanded horizons. We explore ten exceptional albums that defined the year in music. Number Ten: The Percussionist Sarathy Korwar – There Already Is Beauty A continuous, 40-minute suite of cyclical percussion could sound like it isn't the most accessible listening experience. But, Indian percussionist and producer Sarathy Korwar transforms this driving beat into a strangely alluring piece. Leading an ensemble of three drummers, Korwar creates a dense percussive vocabulary across the record's 10 movements. The work draws from the phasing techniques of Steve Reich combined with traditional Indian musical phrasing, each grounded in the reiteration of a ongoing, driving figure. The longer one listens, this refrain begins to emulate the ceremonial rhythm of devotional music, pulling the listener deeper into Korwar's singular percussive realm. 9. The Lebanese Artist Yasmine Hamdan – I Forget, I Remember After an long absence, Lebanese singer-songwriter Yasmine Hamdan re-emerges with a contemplative collection of songs. She expands on the Arabic-sung, dub-influenced aesthetic that made her a staple in the Middle Eastern independent music landscape since the nineties. Hamdan's voice is gentle and introspective, singing soft melodies atop the bowing strings of a track like Hon and the rumbling trip-hop beat of Vows. During more energetic moments such as Shadia and Abyss, she uses a quivering, longing vocal technique against Maghrebi-inspired synth melodies and clattering electronic percussion. The album's sound is lean and subtle, yet this austerity provides the ideal setting for Hamdan's expressive songwriting to resonate. It is truly deserving of the long anticipation. 8. The Mexican Producer Debit – Desaceleradas Mexican producer Debit specializes in eerie reimaginings of archival audio. For her most recent project, Desaceleradas, she turns her attention to the 90s style of cumbia rebajada – a decelerated, dubby take of the shuffling Latin American dance music genre. Debit decelerates this sound to a near-halt, running its characteristic synths and off-beat rhythm via layers of sludge and hiss to produce a new, foreboding rhythm. Sometimes atmospheric and uneasy, Debit transforms the exuberant dancefloor sound of cumbia into a enduring, ethereal echo. Number Seven: DJ K – Radio Libertadora! Maximalism is the key term for the music of Brazilian producer Kaique Vieira, also known as DJ K. Coining his own genre of "bruxaria" (witchcraft), Vieira piles a cacophony of alarms, explosive bass tones and shouted lyrics over the enduring Brazilian dance style of baile funk. This recreates the propulsive sound of urban celebrations. On his new record, Radio Libertadora!, Vieira ramps up the intensity, incorporating everything from driving techno rhythms to samples of the Islamic call to prayer into his chaotic bruxaria mix. The result is a notably hyperactive and overwhelmingly noisy 40-minute listening experience. Surrender to the noise and Vieira's bold productions become unexpectedly liberating. 6. Mohinder Kaur Bhamra – Disco Punjabi Sikh devotional singer Mohinder Kaur Bhamra's early-80s release of disco beats and traditional Punjabi tunes is a reissued treasure. Produced by her son, music producer Kuljit Bhamra, Punjabi Disco's ten tracks deliver an unusually compelling blend of the synthetic sound of 1980s synthesisers and programmed drums with her ornate Indian classical singing style. Electronic percussion echoes the undulating tones of the tabla, while synthesiser melody parallels the classic sound of the harmonium on tracks such as Pyar Mainu Kar. At other times, Latin-inflected grooves is prominent on Soniya Mukh Tera, and Nainan Da Pyar De Gaya features a driving funky bass rhythm. It's a party blend pioneered more than ten years before the Asian Underground explosion. Number Five: The Mongolian Artist Enji – Resonance Mongolian vocalist Enji's gentle new release, Sonor, builds upon her jazz-influenced sound to deliver some of her broadest music so far. Departing from her training in traditional Mongolian "long song" singing, the record's eleven songs veer from the soft Norah Jones-esque melodies of slow-burning 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 1980s Mongolian classic Eejiinhee Hairaar. Utilizing a ensemble rather than her usual setup of guitar and bass, Sonor's sound manages to stay intimate, drawing the listener into the warm acoustics of her singular voice. 4. Derya Yıldırım and Her Band – If There Is No Tomorrow Channeling the 1960s legacy of Turkish psychedelia pioneered by groups such as Moğollar, Turkish-born, Germany-based singer Derya Yıldırım's third record alongside her group merges the metallic twang of the amplified traditional lute with dreamy keyboard and R&B-inflected lines. It's a nostalgic vibe grounded in Yıldırım's strong falsetto and shaped by producer Leon Michels' analogue tape sound. But, on Turkish standards such as the nursery rhyme Hop Bico and 60s classic Ceylan, the group finds vibrant new territory. They develop slinking, downtempo grooves and soaring vocals that give a novel, off-kilter interpretation to the Turkish psych sound. 3. Lido Pimienta – La Belleza Sacred music, Czech harpsichord folksong and orchestral strings merge on Colombian-born singer Lido Pimienta's extraordinary fourth album. Orchestrating music for the sixty-member Medellín Philharmonic Orchestra, Pimienta and producer Owen Pallett journey through everything from 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. It is Pim