🔗 Share this article Our 10 Finest International Records of 2025 As the year draws to a close, we reflect on the international music that expanded horizons. Presenting a selection of ten remarkable albums that characterized the year in music. 10. The Percussionist Sarathy Korwar – There Is Beauty, There Already An album consisting of a single, extended movement of insistent percussion might not seem the most accessible listening experience. However, south Asian drummer and composer Sarathy Korwar turns this driving beat into a strangely alluring piece. Directing an group of three drummers, Korwar creates a complex percussive vocabulary throughout the record's 10 movements. His composition channels minimalist concepts from Steve Reich alongside classical Indian rhythmic patterns, all anchored in the recurrence of a persistent, thrumming refrain. The longer one listens, this refrain evokes the ceremonial rhythm of ceremonial music, drawing the listener deeper into Korwar's singular percussive realm. 9. Yasmine Hamdan – I Forget, I Remember After an long absence, Arab singer-songwriter Yasmine Hamdan returns with a contemplative collection of songs. The work builds upon the Arabic-sung, dub-influenced style that cemented her status in the Middle Eastern independent music landscape since the 1990s. Hamdan's voice is quiet and introspective, delivering tender melodies over the bowing strings of a track like Hon and the rolling trip-hop beat of Vows. For more upbeat numbers such as Shadia and Abyss, she adopts a wavering, longing vocal technique against Maghrebi-inspired synth melodies and rattling electronic percussion. The production is minimal and restrained, yet this austerity creates the perfect canvas for Hamdan's emotive lyricism to take center stage. It is that justifies the long anticipation. Number Eight: The Mexican Producer Debit – Slowed Down Mexican electronic artist Debit excels at eerie reworkings of archival audio. For her most recent project, Desaceleradas, she focuses on the 90s style 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 syncopated rhythm through sheets of murk and static to generate a novel, foreboding groove. Periodically atmospheric and discomfiting, Debit morphs the exuberant party music of cumbia into a enduring, ethereal afterimage. Number Seven: DJ K – Liberator Radio! Sensory overload is the defining principle for the music of São Paulo producer Kaique Vieira, also known as DJ K. Coining his own genre of "bruxaria" (witchcraft), Vieira layers a cacophony of sirens, explosive bass tones and screamed lyrics on top of the longstanding Brazilian dance style of baile funk. This recreates the propulsive sound of neighborhood block parties. On his second album, Radio Libertadora!, Vieira cranks up the energy, incorporating everything from techno kick drums to the sound of the Islamic call to prayer into his chaotic bruxaria mix. The result is a notably manic and overwhelmingly noisy 40-minute sonic journey. Submit to the assault and Vieira's bold productions become unexpectedly liberating. 6. Mohinder Kaur Bhamra – Disco Punjabi Sikh devotional singer Mohinder Kaur Bhamra's 1982 album of disco beats and traditional Punjabi tunes is a reissued masterpiece. Recorded by her son, music producer Kuljit Bhamra, Punjabi Disco's ten tracks deliver an strikingly compelling combination of the metallic sound of early synthesizers and programmed drums with her fluid Indian classical singing style. Electronic percussion mirrors the wavelike tones of the traditional drums, while synthesiser melody replicates 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 boasts a fast-paced funky bass rhythm. It's a dancefloor fusion delivered more than ten years before the rise of Asian Underground music. Number Five: The Mongolian Artist Enji – Sonor From Mongolia vocalist Enji's soft fourth album, Sonor, develops her jazz-influenced sound to present some of her most wide-ranging music so far. Moving away from her background in traditional Mongolian "long song" singing, the record's eleven songs range from the gentle Norah Jones-esque melodies of slow-burning number Ulbar to the German spoken-word lyrics and twanging guitar lines of Unadag Dugui. The album also includes a sprightly, funk-inflected cover of the 1980s Mongolian classic Eejiinhee Hairaar. Featuring a live band rather than her usual setup of guitar and bass, Sonor's sound is still personal, drawing the listener into the tender acoustics of her unique voice. 4. Derya Yıldırım and Her Band – If There Is No Tomorrow Channeling the psychedelic tradition of Anatolian rock pioneered by groups such as MoÄŸollar, Turkish-born, Germany-based singer Derya Yıldırım's third record with her band Grup ÅžimÅŸek fuses the metallic twang of the electrified saz with woozy Mellotron and classic soul melodies. It's a retro-70s aesthetic anchored in Yıldırım's strong high register and influenced by producer Leon Michels' warm, tape-saturated sound. However, on Turkish standards such as the nursery rhyme Hop Bico and 1960s song Ceylan, the group finds vibrant new territory. They create smooth, downtempo grooves and powerful vocals that impart a novel, off-kilter twist to the Turkish psych sound. Number Three: Lido Pimienta – La Belleza Gregorian chants, Eastern European folk melodies and orchestral strings converge on Colombian-born singer Lido Pimienta's stunning latest work. Arranging music for the 60-piece MedellÃn Philharmonic Orchestra, Pimienta and producer Owen Pallett traverse a vast range including the Gregorian chants 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 woodwind-heavy El Dembow del Tiempo. Ultimately, it is Pim
As the year draws to a close, we reflect on the international music that expanded horizons. Presenting a selection of ten remarkable albums that characterized the year in music. 10. The Percussionist Sarathy Korwar – There Is Beauty, There Already An album consisting of a single, extended movement of insistent percussion might not seem the most accessible listening experience. However, south Asian drummer and composer Sarathy Korwar turns this driving beat into a strangely alluring piece. Directing an group of three drummers, Korwar creates a complex percussive vocabulary throughout the record's 10 movements. His composition channels minimalist concepts from Steve Reich alongside classical Indian rhythmic patterns, all anchored in the recurrence of a persistent, thrumming refrain. The longer one listens, this refrain evokes the ceremonial rhythm of ceremonial music, drawing the listener deeper into Korwar's singular percussive realm. 9. Yasmine Hamdan – I Forget, I Remember After an long absence, Arab singer-songwriter Yasmine Hamdan returns with a contemplative collection of songs. The work builds upon the Arabic-sung, dub-influenced style that cemented her status in the Middle Eastern independent music landscape since the 1990s. Hamdan's voice is quiet and introspective, delivering tender melodies over the bowing strings of a track like Hon and the rolling trip-hop beat of Vows. For more upbeat numbers such as Shadia and Abyss, she adopts a wavering, longing vocal technique against Maghrebi-inspired synth melodies and rattling electronic percussion. The production is minimal and restrained, yet this austerity creates the perfect canvas for Hamdan's emotive lyricism to take center stage. It is that justifies the long anticipation. Number Eight: The Mexican Producer Debit – Slowed Down Mexican electronic artist Debit excels at eerie reworkings of archival audio. For her most recent project, Desaceleradas, she focuses on the 90s style 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 syncopated rhythm through sheets of murk and static to generate a novel, foreboding groove. Periodically atmospheric and discomfiting, Debit morphs the exuberant party music of cumbia into a enduring, ethereal afterimage. Number Seven: DJ K – Liberator Radio! Sensory overload is the defining principle for the music of São Paulo producer Kaique Vieira, also known as DJ K. Coining his own genre of "bruxaria" (witchcraft), Vieira layers a cacophony of sirens, explosive bass tones and screamed lyrics on top of the longstanding Brazilian dance style of baile funk. This recreates the propulsive sound of neighborhood block parties. On his second album, Radio Libertadora!, Vieira cranks up the energy, incorporating everything from techno kick drums to the sound of the Islamic call to prayer into his chaotic bruxaria mix. The result is a notably manic and overwhelmingly noisy 40-minute sonic journey. Submit to the assault and Vieira's bold productions become unexpectedly liberating. 6. Mohinder Kaur Bhamra – Disco Punjabi Sikh devotional singer Mohinder Kaur Bhamra's 1982 album of disco beats and traditional Punjabi tunes is a reissued masterpiece. Recorded by her son, music producer Kuljit Bhamra, Punjabi Disco's ten tracks deliver an strikingly compelling combination of the metallic sound of early synthesizers and programmed drums with her fluid Indian classical singing style. Electronic percussion mirrors the wavelike tones of the traditional drums, while synthesiser melody replicates 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 boasts a fast-paced funky bass rhythm. It's a dancefloor fusion delivered more than ten years before the rise of Asian Underground music. Number Five: The Mongolian Artist Enji – Sonor From Mongolia vocalist Enji's soft fourth album, Sonor, develops her jazz-influenced sound to present some of her most wide-ranging music so far. Moving away from her background in traditional Mongolian "long song" singing, the record's eleven songs range from the gentle Norah Jones-esque melodies of slow-burning number Ulbar to the German spoken-word lyrics and twanging guitar lines of Unadag Dugui. The album also includes a sprightly, funk-inflected cover of the 1980s Mongolian classic Eejiinhee Hairaar. Featuring a live band rather than her usual setup of guitar and bass, Sonor's sound is still personal, drawing the listener into the tender acoustics of her unique voice. 4. Derya Yıldırım and Her Band – If There Is No Tomorrow Channeling the psychedelic tradition of Anatolian rock pioneered by groups such as MoÄŸollar, Turkish-born, Germany-based singer Derya Yıldırım's third record with her band Grup ÅžimÅŸek fuses the metallic twang of the electrified saz with woozy Mellotron and classic soul melodies. It's a retro-70s aesthetic anchored in Yıldırım's strong high register and influenced by producer Leon Michels' warm, tape-saturated sound. However, on Turkish standards such as the nursery rhyme Hop Bico and 1960s song Ceylan, the group finds vibrant new territory. They create smooth, downtempo grooves and powerful vocals that impart a novel, off-kilter twist to the Turkish psych sound. Number Three: Lido Pimienta – La Belleza Gregorian chants, Eastern European folk melodies and orchestral strings converge on Colombian-born singer Lido Pimienta's stunning latest work. Arranging music for the 60-piece MedellÃn Philharmonic Orchestra, Pimienta and producer Owen Pallett traverse a vast range including the Gregorian chants 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 woodwind-heavy El Dembow del Tiempo. Ultimately, it is Pim