Our Ten Finest Worldwide Records of This Past Year

The past twelve months have offered a rich tapestry of global releases that defied expectations. Presenting a selection of ten notable albums that defined the year in music.

10. The Percussionist Sarathy Korwar – There Already Is Beauty

An album consisting of a single, extended movement of repetitive drumming might not seem the most approachable musical proposition. However, south Asian percussionist and producer Sarathy Korwar transforms this persistent pulse into a hypnotically captivating album. Directing an trio of three drummers, Korwar develops a intricate percussive language throughout the record's 10 movements. His composition channels minimalist concepts from Steve Reich alongside traditional Indian musical phrasing, each grounded in the reiteration of a ongoing, driving figure. The longer one listens, this refrain starts to mirror the hypnotic repetition of devotional music, pulling the listener deeper into Korwar's singular percussive universe.

9. Yasmine Hamdan – I Remember I Forget

After an hiatus of eight years, Arab vocalist and composer Yasmine Hamdan re-emerges with a melancholy collection of songs. It continues exploring the Arabic-language, dub-tinged aesthetic that made her a staple in the Arab alternative scene since the nineties. Hamdan's vocal delivery is gentle and ruminative, singing tender melodies over the bowing strings of a track like Hon and the rumbling trip-hop beat of Vows. For more upbeat numbers such as Shadia and Abyss, she employs a quivering, longing vocal technique against electronic lines with North African flavors and rattling electronic percussion. The production is sparse and restrained, yet this minimalism offers the ideal environment for Hamdan's expressive songwriting to shine through. The album proves to be well worth the long anticipation.

Number Eight: The Mexican Producer Debit – Slowed Down

From Mexico electronic artist Debit specializes in eerie reinterpretations of traditional music. On her new album, Desaceleradas, she zeroes in on the 90s style of cumbia rebajada – a decelerated, dubby interpretation of the shuffling Latin American dance music genre. Debit decelerates this sound down to a crawl, processing its signature synths and syncopated rhythm through veils of distortion and noise to produce a fresh, foreboding beat. At turns atmospheric and unsettling, Debit transforms the exuberant dancefloor sound of cumbia into a lasting, ghostly memory.

Number Seven: DJ K – Radio Libertadora!

Sensory overload is the operative word for the output of São Paulo producer Kaique Vieira, AKA DJ K. Coining his own genre of "bruxaria" (witchcraft), Vieira stacks a onslaught of sirens, explosive bass tones and screamed lyrics over the enduring Brazilian genre of baile funk. This emulates the energetic sound of neighborhood block parties. On his second album, Radio Libertadora!, Vieira cranks up the intensity, adding everything from techno kick drums to the sound of the Islamic call to prayer into his frantic bruxaria mix. The result is a notably hyperactive and overwhelmingly noisy 40-minute sonic journey. Surrender to the noise and Vieira's bold productions become unexpectedly freeing.

Number Six: Mohinder Kaur Bhamra – Punjabi Disco

Religious vocalist Mohinder Kaur Bhamra's 1982 album of disco beats and Punjabi folk melodies is a reissued gem. Recorded by her son, music producer Kuljit Bhamra, Punjabi Disco's ten tracks present an strikingly compelling combination of the sharp sound of early synthesizers and drum machines with her melismatic classical Indian vocal technique. Electronic percussion mimics the undulating tones of the tabla, while synthesiser melody doubles the traditional sound of the reed organ on tracks such as Pyar Mainu Kar. Elsewhere, Latin-inflected grooves takes center stage on Soniya Mukh Tera, and Nainan Da Pyar De Gaya features a driving walking disco bassline. It's a dancefloor fusion pioneered over a decade before the global breakthrough of South Asian electronic music.

Number Five: Enji – Resonance

From Mongolia singer Enji's gentle latest record, Sonor, expands on her jazz-inflected sound to deliver some of her most wide-ranging music yet. Departing from her background in traditional Mongolian "long song" singing, the record's selection of pieces veer from the soft jazz-pop melodics 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. Featuring a full backing band rather than her standard setup of guitar and bass, Sonor's sound is still intimate, pulling the listener into the gentle soundscape of her unique voice.

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

Channeling the 60s heritage of Turkish psychedelia pioneered by groups such as Moğollar, Turkish-born, Germany-based singer Derya Yıldırım's new album alongside her group blends the metallic twang of the amplified traditional lute with drifting Mellotron and soulful tunes. It's a nostalgic vibe rooted in Yıldırım's commanding falsetto and influenced by producer Leon Michels' analogue tape aesthetic. But, on classic Turkish songs such as the folk tune Hop Bico and 1960s song Ceylan, the group reaches vibrant new territory. They create sinuous, downtempo grooves and lifting vocals that lend a fresh, unconventional twist to the Anatolian psychedelic style.

3. Lido Pimienta – The Beauty

Gregorian chants, Eastern European folk melodies and orchestral strings converge on Colombian-born singer Lido Pimienta's remarkable latest work. Orchestrating music for the sixty-member Medellín Philharmonic Orchestra, Pimienta and producer Owen Pallett traverse everything from the liturgical vocals of opener Overturn (Obertura de la Luz Eterna) to the theatrical interweaving lines of Aún Te Quiero and the rhythmic dembow rhythms of the brass and woodwind-led El Dembow del Tiempo. Ultimately, it is Pim