The past twelve months have offered a rich tapestry of worldwide sounds that defied expectations. We explore ten notable albums that defined the year in music.
An album consisting of a single, extended movement of cyclical percussion may not appear the easiest musical proposition. However, Indian drummer and composer Sarathy Korwar turns this driving beat into a hypnotically captivating work. Guiding an group of three drummers, Korwar develops a complex percussive dialect over the record's ten sections. The album draws from minimalist concepts from Steve Reich as well as classical Indian rhythmic patterns, all anchored in the repetition of a continual, driving figure. As the album progresses, this refrain starts to mirror the ceremonial rhythm of ritual music, drawing the listener deeper into Korwar's distinctive percussive universe.
Following an eight-year break, Arab singer-songwriter Yasmine Hamdan makes a comeback with a mournful album of songs. It continues exploring the Arabic-sung, dub-tinged sound that established her as a fixture in the region's indie music scene since the 1990s. Hamdan's vocal delivery is gentle and ruminative, singing delicate melodies over the bowing strings of a track like Hon and the deep trip-hop groove of Vows. On livelier tracks such as Shadia and Abyss, she adopts a trembling, yearning vibrato against electronic lines with North African flavors and skittering electronic percussion. The musical backdrop is sparse and subtle, yet this austerity provides the ideal setting for Hamdan's emotive songwriting to resonate. The album proves to be truly deserving of the wait.
Mexican electronic artist Debit specializes in eerie reworkings of archival audio. On her new album, Desaceleradas, she zeroes in on the 1990s variant of cumbia rebajada – a slowed, dub-inflected interpretation of the rhythmic Latin American musical style. Debit decelerates this sound even further, running its characteristic synths and syncopated rhythm via sheets of sludge and hiss to generate a new, foreboding groove. At turns ambient and uneasy, Debit converts the celebratory dancefloor sound of cumbia into a enduring, ghostly memory.
Sheer intensity is the defining principle for the output of Brazilian producer Kaique Vieira, also known as DJ K. Pioneering his own genre of "bruxaria" (witchcraft), Vieira stacks a cacophony of sirens, explosive bass tones and screamed lyrics on top of the classic Brazilian genre of baile funk. This captures the energetic sound of favela street parties. On his follow-up release, Radio Libertadora!, Vieira cranks up the energy, throwing in everything from four-on-the-floor techno beats to the sound of the Islamic call to prayer into his unruly bruxaria mix. The result is a especially hyperactive and punishingly loud 40-minute sonic journey. Surrender to the cacophony and Vieira's bold productions become oddly exhilarating.
Sikh devotional singer Mohinder Kaur Bhamra's 1982 album of disco beats and Punjabi folk melodies is a newly appreciated masterpiece. Recorded by her son, music producer Kuljit Bhamra, Punjabi Disco's ten tracks present an strikingly engaging combination of the sharp sound of early synthesizers and drum machines with her ornate classical Indian vocal technique. Electronic percussion mirrors the wavelike tones of the tabla, while synthesiser melody replicates the traditional sound of the reed organ on tracks such as Pyar Mainu Kar. Meanwhile, bossa nova rhythm takes center stage on Soniya Mukh Tera, and Nainan Da Pyar De Gaya channels a driving disco bass groove. It's a party blend pioneered over a decade before the global breakthrough of South Asian electronic music.
Mongolian vocalist Enji's delicate latest record, Sonor, builds upon her jazz-influenced sound to present some of her most wide-ranging music to date. Moving away from her training in traditional Mongolian "long song" singing, the record's selection of pieces 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 lively, funk-tinged cover of the 80s Mongolian pop hit Eejiinhee Hairaar. Featuring a ensemble rather than her usual setup of guitar and bass, Sonor's sound is still personal, drawing the listener into the gentle acoustics of her distinctive voice.
Drawing on 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 fuses the metallic twang of the electrified saz with woozy Mellotron and soulful tunes. It's a nostalgic vibe anchored in Yıldırım's powerful high register and shaped by producer Leon Michels' warm, tape-saturated 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, slow-burning grooves and powerful vocals that give a fresh, quirky interpretation to the Turkish psych sound.
Catholic requiem mass music, Czech harpsichord folksong and orchestral strings all come together on Colombian singer Lido Pimienta's extraordinary latest work. Arranging music for the sixty-member Medellín Philharmonic Orchestra, Pimienta and producer Owen Pallett journey through a vast range including the liturgical vocals of opener Overturn (Obertura de la Luz Eterna) to the theatrical interweaving lines of Aún Te Quiero and the syncopated dembow rhythms of the brass and woodwind-led El Dembow del Tiempo. It is Pim
Elara is a passionate writer and photographer who shares insights on creativity and mindful living through engaging storytelling.
