Our Ten Best International Records of This Past Year

As the year draws to a close, we reflect on the global sounds that defied expectations. Presenting a selection of ten remarkable albums that shaped the year in music.

Number Ten: Sarathy Korwar – There Is Beauty, There Already

A continuous, 40-minute suite of insistent drumming may not appear the most approachable musical proposition. But, south Asian drummer and composer Sarathy Korwar transforms this persistent pulse into a hypnotically captivating work. Guiding an trio of three drummers, Korwar crafts a intricate percussive language across the record's ten sections. The work channels minimalist concepts from Steve Reich alongside traditional Indian musical phrasing, all anchored in the reiteration of a ongoing, thrumming refrain. As the album progresses, this refrain begins to emulate the ceremonial rhythm of ritual music, drawing the listener further into Korwar's singular percussive world.

Number Nine: Yasmine Hamdan – I Remember I Forget

Coming off an long absence, Lebanese singer-songwriter Yasmine Hamdan re-emerges with a melancholy set of songs. The work builds upon the Arabic-sung, dub-influenced style that cemented her status in the Arab alternative scene since the nineties. Hamdan's voice is soft and thoughtful, delivering tender melodies over the bowing strings of a track like Hon and the rumbling trip-hop groove of Vows. During more energetic moments such as Shadia and Abyss, she employs a trembling, longing vibrato against north African synth lines and clattering electronic percussion. The musical backdrop is sparse and understated, yet this simplicity offers the ideal setting for Hamdan's expressive songwriting to shine through. This is a record that justifies the long anticipation.

Number Eight: Debit – Slowed Down

Mexican electronic artist Debit excels at eerie reinterpretations of traditional music. On her new album, Desaceleradas, she focuses on the 90s style of cumbia rebajada – a slowed, dub-inflected version of the rhythmic Latin American dance genre. Debit slows this sound even further, filtering its signature synths and off-beat rhythm through veils of sludge and hiss to create a new, foreboding rhythm. Sometimes ambient and discomfiting, Debit morphs the exuberant party music of cumbia into a enduring, ghostly afterimage.

7. The São Paulo Producer DJ K – Radio Libertadora!

Sheer intensity is the defining principle for the output of São Paulo producer Kaique Vieira, AKA DJ K. Inventing his own genre of "bruxaria" (witchcraft), Vieira piles a onslaught of sirens, explosive bass tones and shouted lyrics on top of the longstanding Brazilian genre of baile funk. This recreates the driving sound of urban celebrations. On his new record, Radio Libertadora!, Vieira escalates the energy, throwing in everything from techno kick drums to the sound of the Islamic call to prayer into his chaotic bruxaria mix. The result is a especially manic and overwhelmingly noisy forty-minute listening experience. Submit to the noise and Vieira's brash productions become strangely liberating.

Number Six: The Singer Mohinder Kaur Bhamra – Punjabi Disco

Sikh devotional singer Mohinder Kaur Bhamra's early-80s release of disco music and traditional Punjabi tunes is a newly appreciated masterpiece. Produced by her son, music producer Kuljit Bhamra, Punjabi Disco's ten tracks deliver an unusually engaging combination of the sharp sound of early synthesizers and drum machines with her melismatic classical Indian vocal technique. Drum machine patterns mirrors the rolling tones of the traditional drums, while synth lines replicates the classic sound of the harmonium on tracks such as Pyar Mainu Kar. At other times, bossa nova rhythm takes center stage on Soniya Mukh Tera, and Nainan Da Pyar De Gaya channels a fast-paced funky bass rhythm. It's a club-ready hybrid created over a decade before the global breakthrough of South Asian electronic music.

Number Five: Enji – Resonance

Mongolian vocalist Enji's delicate new release, Sonor, builds upon her jazz-influenced sound to deliver some of her most diverse music yet. Departing from her training in traditional Mongolian "long song" singing, the record's 11 tracks travel from the soft Norah Jones-esque melodics of slow-burning number Ulbar to the German spoken-word lyrics and twanging guitar lines of Unadag Dugui. The album also includes a lively, funk-inflected cover of the 1980s Mongolian classic Eejiinhee Hairaar. Showcasing a full backing band rather than her typical setup of guitar and bass, Sonor's sound manages to stay personal, inviting the listener into the gentle acoustics of her unique voice.

4. Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek – Yarın Yoksa

Channeling the 60s heritage of Anatolian rock established by groups such as Moğollar, German-Turkish singer Derya Yıldırım's latest work with her band Grup Şimşek merges the electric jangle of the amplified traditional lute with woozy keyboard and R&B-inflected lines. It's a retro-70s aesthetic rooted in Yıldırım's strong high register and influenced by producer Leon Michels' warm, tape-saturated aesthetic. Yet, on Turkish standards such as the folk tune Hop Bico and 1960s song Ceylan, the group ventures into lively new territory. They create slinking, downtempo grooves and powerful vocals that give a fresh, unconventional interpretation to the Anatolian psychedelic style.

3. Lido Pimienta – The Beauty

Sacred music, Czech harpsichord folksong and orchestral strings all come together on Colombian-born singer Lido Pimienta's remarkable latest work. Arranging 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 interweaving lines of Aún Te Quiero and the syncopated reggaeton-inspired beats of the brass and woodwind-led El Dembow del Tiempo. Ultimately, it is Pim