This 10 Greatest International Albums of the Year 2025
As the year draws to a close, we reflect on the worldwide sounds that defied expectations. Here is a countdown of ten remarkable albums that defined the year in music.
Number Ten: The Percussionist Sarathy Korwar – There Already Is Beauty
A continuous, 40-minute suite of insistent percussion may not appear the easiest listening experience. However, south Asian percussionist and producer Sarathy Korwar transforms this persistent pulse into a hypnotically captivating work. Directing an trio of three drummers, Korwar develops a dense percussive language over the record's ten parts. The work channels the phasing techniques of Steve Reich as well as Indian classical phrasing, everything tethered in the reiteration of a persistent, pulsing refrain. Over its duration, this refrain begins to emulate the ceremonial rhythm of ritual music, pulling the listener further into Korwar's unique percussive realm.
Number Nine: The Lebanese Artist Yasmine Hamdan – I Remember I Forget
After an hiatus of eight years, Arab vocalist and composer Yasmine Hamdan makes a comeback with a contemplative set of songs. The work builds upon the Arabic-sung, dub-tinged sound that made her a staple in the Middle Eastern independent music landscape since the 1990s. Hamdan's vocal delivery is quiet and introspective, singing tender melodies over the bowing strings of a track like Hon and the rumbling trip-hop groove of Vows. For more upbeat numbers such as Shadia and Abyss, she adopts a trembling, yearning vocal technique over Maghrebi-inspired synth melodies and clattering electronic percussion. The musical backdrop is sparse and subtle, yet this minimalism provides the ideal setting for Hamdan's expressive lyricism to shine through. This is a record well worth the wait.
8. Debit – Desaceleradas
Mexican electronic artist Debit has a knack for haunting reimaginings of historical sounds. On her most recent project, Desaceleradas, she zeroes in on the 1990s variant of cumbia rebajada – a decelerated, dubby version of the rhythmic Latin American dance genre. Debit slows this sound to a near-halt, filtering its characteristic synths and syncopated rhythm through veils of sludge and hiss to generate a novel, foreboding groove. At turns atmospheric and uneasy, Debit morphs the joyous dancefloor sound of cumbia into a enduring, ethereal echo.
7. DJ K – Liberator Radio!
Maximalism is the operative word for the records of São Paulo producer Kaique Vieira, also known as DJ K. Inventing his own genre of "bruxaria" (witchcraft), Vieira layers a tumult of sirens, explosive bass tones and screamed lyrics over the classic Brazilian genre of baile funk. This captures the driving sound of favela street parties. On his second album, Radio Libertadora!, Vieira cranks up the energy, adding everything from driving techno rhythms to the sound of the Islamic call to prayer into his unruly bruxaria mix. The result is a notably frenetic and overwhelmingly noisy forty-minute listening experience. Surrender to the cacophony and Vieira's brash productions become unexpectedly freeing.
Number Six: The Singer Mohinder Kaur Bhamra – Disco Punjabi
Religious vocalist Mohinder Kaur Bhamra's record from 1982 of disco music and Punjabi folk melodies is a newly appreciated gem. Recorded by her son, music producer Kuljit Bhamra, Punjabi Disco's ten tracks present an unusually engaging combination of the metallic sound of early synthesizers and drum machines with her fluid Indian classical vocal technique. Drum machine patterns mimics the undulating tones of the tabla, while synth lines parallels the traditional sound of the harmonium on tracks such as Pyar Mainu Kar. Meanwhile, Latin-inflected grooves is prominent on Soniya Mukh Tera, and Nainan Da Pyar De Gaya boasts a up-tempo walking disco bassline. It's a club-ready hybrid delivered over a decade before the Asian Underground explosion.
Number Five: Enji – Resonance
Mongolian singer Enji's delicate latest record, Sonor, builds upon her jazz-influenced sound to deliver some of her broadest music yet. Departing from her background in traditional Mongolian "long song" singing, the record's selection of pieces range from the gentle jazz-pop melodies of slow-burning number Ulbar to the German spoken-word lyrics and trilling guitar lines of Unadag Dugui. The album also includes a energetic, funk-tinged cover of the 80s Mongolian pop hit Eejiinhee Hairaar. Showcasing a live band rather than her usual setup of guitar and bass, Sonor's sound remains intimate, pulling the listener into the gentle acoustics of her unique voice.
Number Four: Derya Yıldırım and Her Band – Yarın Yoksa
Drawing on the 60s heritage of Turkish psychedelia established by groups such as Moğollar, German-Turkish singer Derya Yıldırım's third record with her band Grup Şimşek merges the metallic twang of the amplified traditional lute with dreamy Mellotron and soulful tunes. It's a 1970s throwback sound rooted in Yıldırım's commanding high register and shaped by producer Leon Michels' warm, tape-saturated sound. But, on classic Turkish songs such as the nursery rhyme Hop Bico and 60s classic Ceylan, the group ventures into dynamic new territory. They craft sinuous, slow-burning grooves and powerful vocals that impart a new, unconventional spin to the Anatolian psychedelic style.
Number Three: Lido Pimienta – The Beauty
Gregorian chants, Eastern European folk melodies and orchestral strings all come together on Colombian singer Lido Pimienta's extraordinary fourth album. Orchestrating music for the 60-piece Medellín Philharmonic Orchestra, Pimienta and producer Owen Pallett journey through a vast range including the Gregorian chants 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. Yet, it is Pim
