Our 10 Finest Worldwide Records of This Past Year

The past twelve months have offered a rich tapestry of international music that defied expectations. Here is a countdown of ten notable albums that characterized the year in music.

10. The Percussionist Sarathy Korwar – There Is Beauty, There Already

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 strangely alluring album. Leading an trio of three drummers, Korwar creates a dense percussive vocabulary throughout the record's ten sections. His composition references minimalist concepts from Steve Reich alongside traditional Indian musical phrasing, each grounded in the recurrence of a persistent, pulsing refrain. As the album progresses, this refrain evokes the trance-inducing cycles of ritual music, drawing the listener deeper into Korwar's singular percussive universe.

9. Yasmine Hamdan – I Forget, I Remember

Following an eight-year break, Lebanese singer-songwriter Yasmine Hamdan makes a comeback with a contemplative set of songs. She expands on the Arabic-sung, dub-influenced sound that made her a staple in the Middle Eastern independent music landscape since the nineties. Hamdan's vocal delivery is gentle and introspective, delivering soft melodies over 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 employs a trembling, longing vibrato against electronic lines with North African flavors and clattering electronic percussion. The album's sound is sparse and subtle, yet this minimalism creates the perfect setting for Hamdan's deeply felt lyricism to resonate. This is a record well worth the wait.

8. Debit – Desaceleradas

Mexican producer Debit excels at eerie reinterpretations of traditional music. On her most recent project, Desaceleradas, she focuses on the 90s style of cumbia rebajada – a decelerated, dubby version of the rhythmic Latin American dance genre. Debit drags this sound even further, running its characteristic synths and syncopated rhythm via layers of sludge and noise to produce a novel, sinister beat. Periodically ambient and unsettling, Debit morphs the joyous party music of cumbia into a persistent, ghostly afterimage.

7. DJ K – Radio Libertadora!

Sheer intensity is the defining principle for the music of Brazilian producer Kaique Vieira, AKA DJ K. Inventing his own genre of "bruxaria" (witchcraft), Vieira layers a tumult of alarms, explosive bass tones and shouted lyrics over the longstanding Brazilian dance style of baile funk. This recreates the energetic sound of urban celebrations. On his second album, Radio Libertadora!, Vieira escalates the ferocity, incorporating everything from driving techno rhythms to the sound of the Islamic call to prayer into his chaotic bruxaria mix. The result is a particularly hyperactive and punishingly loud forty-minute sonic journey. Surrender to the assault and Vieira's brash productions become unexpectedly exhilarating.

Number Six: The Singer Mohinder Kaur Bhamra – Disco Punjabi

Religious vocalist Mohinder Kaur Bhamra's 1982 album of disco music and Punjabi folk melodies is a reissued treasure. Recorded by her son, music producer Kuljit Bhamra, Punjabi Disco's ten tracks present an strikingly captivating blend of the metallic sound of 1980s synthesisers and drum machines with her melismatic Indian classical singing style. Drum machine patterns mirrors the undulating tones of the traditional drums, while synthesiser melody doubles the classic sound of the harmonium on tracks such as Pyar Mainu Kar. Elsewhere, bossa nova rhythm is prominent on Soniya Mukh Tera, and Nainan Da Pyar De Gaya channels a up-tempo funky bass rhythm. It's a party blend delivered more than ten years before the Asian Underground explosion.

5. Enji – Sonor

Mongolian vocalist Enji's delicate latest record, Sonor, expands on her jazz-influenced sound to present some of her most wide-ranging music so far. Departing from her background 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 spoken-word lyrics and twanging guitar lines of Unadag Dugui. The album also includes a energetic, funk-tinged cover of the 1980s Mongolian classic Eejiinhee Hairaar. Utilizing a live band rather than her standard setup of guitar and bass, Sonor's sound manages to stay personal, drawing the listener into the tender acoustics of her unique voice.

Number Four: Derya Yıldırım and Her Band – If There Is No Tomorrow

Channeling the 1960s legacy of Anatolian rock established by groups such as Moğollar, German-Turkish singer Derya Yıldırım's third record with her band Grup Şimşek merges the distinctive buzz of the electrified saz with drifting Mellotron and soulful tunes. It's a 1970s throwback sound anchored in Yıldırım's commanding high register and influenced by producer Leon Michels' warm, tape-saturated aesthetic. Yet, on Turkish standards such as the nursery rhyme Hop Bico and 1960s song Ceylan, the group ventures into dynamic new territory. They create smooth, slow-burning grooves and lifting vocals that give a new, quirky spin to the Anatolian psychedelic style.

3. Lido Pimienta – The Beauty

Sacred music, Czech harpsichord folksong and symphonic arrangements all come together on Colombian-born singer Lido Pimienta's remarkable latest work. Arranging music for the 60-piece Medellín Philharmonic Orchestra, Pimienta and producer Owen Pallett explore a vast range including the liturgical vocals of opener Overturn (Obertura de la Luz Eterna) to the theatrical counterpoint melodies of Aún Te Quiero and the syncopated dembow rhythms of the brass and woodwind-led El Dembow del Tiempo. Ultimately, it is Pim