Our Ten Greatest Global Releases of This Past Year

The past twelve months have offered a rich tapestry of worldwide sounds that pushed boundaries. We explore ten remarkable albums that characterized the year in music.

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

A continuous, 40-minute suite of insistent drumming may not appear the most accessible musical proposition. Yet, south Asian percussionist and producer Sarathy Korwar converts this persistent pulse into a unexpectedly magnetic album. Guiding an ensemble of three drummers, Korwar develops a complex percussive vocabulary across the record's ten sections. The work channels minimalist concepts from Steve Reich combined with traditional Indian musical phrasing, each grounded in the repetition of a ongoing, thrumming refrain. The longer one listens, this refrain starts to mirror the hypnotic repetition of ceremonial music, pulling the listener further into Korwar's unique percussive universe.

Number Nine: The Lebanese Artist Yasmine Hamdan – I Forget, I Remember

Coming off an long absence, Arab singer-songwriter Yasmine Hamdan makes a comeback with a contemplative album of songs. It continues exploring the Arabic-sung, dub-influenced aesthetic that established her as a fixture in the region's indie music scene since the 1990s. Hamdan's vocal delivery is soft and introspective, delivering tender melodies atop the string arrangements of a track like Hon and the rolling trip-hop groove of Vows. During more energetic moments such as Shadia and Abyss, she adopts a quivering, yearning vocal technique against north African synth lines and skittering electronic percussion. The production is minimal and understated, yet this simplicity creates the ideal canvas for Hamdan's expressive songwriting to shine through. It is well worth the wait.

Number Eight: The Mexican Producer Debit – Slowed Down

Mexican electronic artist Debit specializes in eerie reimaginings of historical sounds. On her most recent project, Desaceleradas, she turns her attention to the 1990s variant of cumbia rebajada – a decelerated, dub-inflected interpretation of the rhythmic Latin American dance genre. Debit drags this sound even further, filtering its signature synths and off-beat rhythm via sheets of sludge and static to create a fresh, menacing rhythm. At turns ambient and unsettling, Debit morphs the celebratory dancefloor sound of cumbia into a enduring, ghostly echo.

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

Sensory overload 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 stacks a onslaught of sirens, pummeling bass tones and screamed lyrics on top of the classic Brazilian dance style of baile funk. This emulates the driving sound of urban celebrations. On his follow-up release, Radio Libertadora!, Vieira cranks up the energy, throwing in 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 deafeningly intense 40-minute listening experience. Submit to the cacophony and Vieira's unapologetic productions become oddly freeing.

6. Mohinder Kaur Bhamra – Disco Punjabi

Religious vocalist Mohinder Kaur Bhamra's early-80s release of disco beats and traditional Punjabi tunes is a newly appreciated gem. Produced by her son, music producer Kuljit Bhamra, Punjabi Disco's ten tracks present an remarkably engaging combination of the sharp sound of electronic keyboards and programmed drums with her ornate Indian classical vocal technique. Drum machine patterns mimics the undulating tones of the tabla, while synthesiser melody parallels the classic sound of the reed organ on tracks such as Pyar Mainu Kar. At other times, Latin-inflected grooves comes to the fore on Soniya Mukh Tera, and Nainan Da Pyar De Gaya channels a driving walking disco bassline. It's a dancefloor fusion delivered over a decade before the Asian Underground explosion.

5. Enji – Resonance

Mongolian singer Enji's delicate fourth album, Sonor, develops her jazz-influenced sound to offer some of her broadest music yet. Moving away from her training in traditional Mongolian "long song" singing, the record's 11 tracks travel from the gentle 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 energetic, funk-inflected cover of the 1980s Mongolian classic Eejiinhee Hairaar. Showcasing a live band rather than her typical setup of guitar and bass, Sonor's sound is still intimate, pulling the listener into the tender acoustics of her distinctive voice.

4. Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek – If There Is No Tomorrow

Channeling the psychedelic tradition of Turkish psychedelia pioneered by groups such as Moğollar, German-Turkish singer Derya Yıldırım's latest work alongside her group blends the metallic twang of the amplified traditional lute with dreamy keyboard and classic soul melodies. It's a nostalgic vibe rooted in Yıldırım's strong falsetto and influenced by producer Leon Michels' analogue tape sound. However, on classic Turkish songs such as the folk tune Hop Bico and 1960s song Ceylan, the group finds dynamic new territory. They craft smooth, slow-burning grooves and powerful vocals that lend a novel, quirky twist to the Anatolian psychedelic style.

Number Three: The Colombian Artist Lido Pimienta – The Beauty

Gregorian chants, Czech harpsichord folksong and orchestral strings all come together 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 liturgical vocals of opener Overturn (Obertura de la Luz Eterna) to the theatrical counterpoint melodies of Aún Te Quiero and the syncopated reggaeton-inspired beats of the woodwind-heavy El Dembow del Tiempo. Yet, it is Pim