The 10 Finest International Records of the Year 2025
The past twelve months have offered a rich tapestry of international music that pushed boundaries. Presenting a selection of ten notable albums that defined the year in music.
Number Ten: The Percussionist Sarathy Korwar – There Is Beauty, There Already
An album consisting of a single, extended movement of insistent drumming could sound like it isn't the most accessible musical proposition. But, south Asian drummer and composer Sarathy Korwar turns this insistent rhythm into a hypnotically captivating work. Leading an group of three drummers, Korwar creates a complex percussive vocabulary over the record's 10 movements. His composition draws from minimalist concepts from Steve Reich alongside classical Indian rhythmic patterns, each grounded in the reiteration of a persistent, pulsing figure. 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.
9. The Lebanese Artist Yasmine Hamdan – I Remember I Forget
Coming off an eight-year break, Lebanese vocalist and composer Yasmine Hamdan re-emerges with a melancholy album of songs. The work builds upon the Arabic-language, dub-influenced aesthetic that made her a staple in the region's indie music scene since the 1990s. Hamdan's voice is gentle and introspective, delivering soft melodies atop the bowing strings of a track like Hon and the rolling trip-hop groove of Vows. During more energetic moments such as Shadia and Abyss, she employs a quivering, yearning vocal technique over electronic lines with North African flavors and clattering electronic percussion. The musical backdrop is minimal and understated, yet this simplicity provides the perfect environment for Hamdan's deeply felt compositions to shine through. It is that justifies the long anticipation.
8. Debit – Slowed Down
From Mexico producer Debit excels at uncanny reworkings of historical sounds. On her latest release, Desaceleradas, she turns her attention to the 90s style of cumbia rebajada – a decelerated, dub-inflected interpretation of the shuffling Latin American dance genre. Debit slows this sound to a near-halt, filtering its signature synths and syncopated rhythm through sheets of sludge and noise to generate a new, sinister groove. At turns ambient and unsettling, Debit morphs the exuberant dancefloor sound of cumbia into a enduring, ethereal afterimage.
7. DJ K – Liberator Radio!
Sensory overload is the operative word for the records of São Paulo producer Kaique Vieira, who performs as DJ K. Coining his own genre of "bruxaria" (witchcraft), Vieira stacks a cacophony of alarms, explosive bass tones and screamed lyrics on top of the enduring Brazilian dance style of baile funk. This emulates the propulsive sound of urban celebrations. On his follow-up release, Radio Libertadora!, Vieira ramps up the intensity, throwing in everything from techno kick drums to samples of the Islamic call to prayer into his chaotic bruxaria mix. The result is a particularly frenetic and punishingly loud 40-minute listening experience. Give in to the noise and Vieira's unapologetic productions become strangely exhilarating.
Number Six: Mohinder Kaur Bhamra – Disco Punjabi
Religious vocalist Mohinder Kaur Bhamra's 1982 album of disco beats and traditional Punjabi tunes is a reissued masterpiece. Produced by her son, music producer Kuljit Bhamra, Punjabi Disco's ten tracks deliver an remarkably compelling combination of the metallic sound of 1980s synthesisers and drum machines with her fluid classical Indian vocal technique. Electronic percussion echoes the undulating tones of the traditional drums, while synth lines replicates 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 boasts a fast-paced disco bass groove. It's a dancefloor fusion delivered over a decade before the rise of Asian Underground music.
Number Five: Enji – Resonance
From Mongolia vocalist Enji's soft latest record, Sonor, expands on her jazz-influenced sound to offer some of her most diverse music to date. Departing from her training in traditional Mongolian "long song" singing, the record's eleven songs range from the gentle Norah Jones-esque melodics of downtempo number Ulbar to the German-language narration 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 ensemble rather than her standard setup of guitar and bass, Sonor's sound remains close, pulling the listener into the gentle acoustics of her singular voice.
Number Four: Derya Yıldırım and Her Band – If There Is No Tomorrow
Inspired by the 60s heritage of Anatolian rock established by groups such as Moğollar, Turkish-born, Germany-based singer Derya Yıldırım's latest work alongside her group merges the distinctive buzz of the amplified traditional lute with woozy keyboard and classic soul melodies. It's a nostalgic vibe grounded in Yıldırım's strong high register and shaped by producer Leon Michels' warm, tape-saturated aesthetic. However, on classic Turkish songs such as the folk tune Hop Bico and 60s classic Ceylan, the group ventures into lively new territory. They create slinking, downtempo grooves and soaring vocals that impart a fresh, quirky twist to the Anatolian psychedelic style.
3. Lido Pimienta – La Belleza
Sacred music, Czech harpsichord folksong and symphonic arrangements merge on Colombian singer Lido Pimienta's stunning fourth album. Arranging music for the sixty-member Medellín Philharmonic Orchestra, Pimienta and producer Owen Pallett explore 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
