Our 10 Greatest International Releases of This Past Year

The past twelve months have offered a rich tapestry of worldwide music that expanded horizons. We explore ten remarkable albums that shaped the year in music.

Number Ten: Sarathy Korwar – There Already Is Beauty

The concept of a 40-minute, uninterrupted piece built on cyclical drumming might not seem the most approachable musical proposition. However, Indian percussionist and producer Sarathy Korwar transforms this driving beat into a hypnotically captivating work. Leading an trio of three drummers, Korwar creates a dense percussive vocabulary over the record's ten sections. The album draws from minimalist concepts from Steve Reich combined with traditional Indian musical phrasing, each grounded in the recurrence of a ongoing, thrumming refrain. Over its duration, this refrain begins to emulate the ceremonial rhythm of ceremonial music, pulling the listener deeper into Korwar's unique percussive world.

9. Yasmine Hamdan – I Remember I Forget

After an hiatus of eight years, Lebanese singer-songwriter Yasmine Hamdan returns with a mournful collection of songs. The work builds upon the Arabic-sung, dub-influenced sound that cemented her status in the region's indie music scene since the 1990s. Hamdan's vocal delivery is soft and thoughtful, delivering delicate melodies over the string arrangements of a track like Hon and the rumbling trip-hop beat of Vows. During more energetic moments such as Shadia and Abyss, she adopts a wavering, longing vocal technique against electronic lines with North African flavors and skittering electronic percussion. The musical backdrop is minimal and understated, yet this simplicity provides the ideal environment for Hamdan's emotive songwriting to resonate. It is that justifies the long anticipation.

Number Eight: The Mexican Producer Debit – Desaceleradas

Mexican electronic artist Debit specializes in uncanny reinterpretations of traditional music. For her new album, Desaceleradas, she zeroes in on the 1990s variant of cumbia rebajada – a decelerated, dubby interpretation of the shuffling Latin American dance music genre. Debit drags this sound down to a crawl, filtering its signature synths and syncopated rhythm via layers of distortion and static to produce a new, menacing beat. Periodically ambient and uneasy, Debit transforms the celebratory dancefloor sound of cumbia into a enduring, ethereal echo.

Number Seven: The São Paulo Producer DJ K – Radio Libertadora!

Sheer intensity is the key term for the records of São Paulo producer Kaique Vieira, also known as DJ K. Coining his own genre of "bruxaria" (witchcraft), Vieira piles a onslaught of alarms, explosive bass tones and screamed 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 escalates the ferocity, incorporating everything from four-on-the-floor techno beats to the sound of the Islamic call to prayer into his chaotic bruxaria mix. The result is a especially hyperactive and overwhelmingly noisy forty-minute sonic journey. Give in to the cacophony and Vieira's brash productions become strangely exhilarating.

6. Mohinder Kaur Bhamra – Disco Punjabi

Religious vocalist Mohinder Kaur Bhamra's record from 1982 of disco music and Punjabi folk melodies is a rediscovered treasure. Produced by her son, music producer Kuljit Bhamra, Punjabi Disco's ten tracks deliver an unusually captivating fusion of the sharp sound of early synthesizers and programmed drums with her ornate Indian classical singing style. Drum machine patterns mirrors the rolling tones of the tabla, while synthesiser melody parallels the traditional sound of the harmonium on tracks such as Pyar Mainu Kar. At other times, Latin-inflected grooves takes center stage on Soniya Mukh Tera, and Nainan Da Pyar De Gaya boasts a driving funky bass rhythm. It's a party blend delivered more than ten years before the rise of Asian Underground music.

5. The Mongolian Artist Enji – Resonance

Mongolian singer Enji's delicate latest record, Sonor, develops her jazz-inflected sound to present some of her most diverse music to date. Departing from her background in traditional Mongolian "long song" singing, the record's eleven songs veer from the gentle jazz-pop 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. Showcasing a live band rather than her typical setup of guitar and bass, Sonor's sound remains close, drawing the listener into the gentle acoustics of her distinctive voice.

Number Four: Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek – If There Is No Tomorrow

Channeling the 1960s legacy of Turkish psychedelia established by groups such as Moğollar, German-Turkish singer Derya Yıldırım's third record alongside her group blends the distinctive buzz of the electrified saz with drifting Mellotron and R&B-inflected lines. It's a nostalgic vibe grounded in Yıldırım's strong high register and influenced by producer Leon Michels' warm, tape-saturated aesthetic. But, on Turkish standards such as the nursery rhyme Hop Bico and 1960s song Ceylan, the group reaches vibrant new territory. They develop sinuous, downtempo grooves and soaring vocals that lend a new, off-kilter spin to the Turkish psych sound.

3. Lido Pimienta – La Belleza

Sacred music, Eastern European folk melodies and symphonic arrangements merge on Colombian-born singer Lido Pimienta's stunning latest work. Orchestrating music for the sixty-member 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 dramatic counterpoint melodies of Aún Te Quiero and the syncopated reggaeton-inspired beats of the brass and woodwind-led El Dembow del Tiempo. It is Pim