The 10 Top International Albums of the Year 2025
The past twelve months have offered a rich tapestry of worldwide releases that expanded horizons. Presenting a selection of ten exceptional albums that shaped the year in music.
Number Ten: The Percussionist Sarathy Korwar – There Already Is Beauty
The concept of a 40-minute, uninterrupted piece built on repetitive drumming could sound like it isn't the most approachable musical proposition. Yet, south Asian drummer and composer Sarathy Korwar converts this persistent pulse into a unexpectedly magnetic work. Leading an ensemble of three drummers, Korwar creates a complex percussive dialect across the record's ten parts. His composition channels minimalist concepts from Steve Reich as well as traditional Indian musical phrasing, everything tethered in the reiteration of a continual, driving figure. As the album progresses, this refrain evokes the hypnotic repetition of devotional music, pulling the listener deeper into Korwar's unique percussive realm.
Number Nine: The Lebanese Artist Yasmine Hamdan – I Remember I Forget
Following an long absence, Arab vocalist and composer Yasmine Hamdan returns with a contemplative set of songs. The work builds upon the Arabic-language, dub-tinged aesthetic that established her as a fixture in the Middle Eastern independent music landscape since the nineties. Hamdan's vocal delivery is soft and introspective, singing soft melodies atop the string arrangements of a track like Hon and the deep trip-hop groove of Vows. During more energetic moments such as Shadia and Abyss, she adopts a trembling, longing vibrato over Maghrebi-inspired synth melodies and rattling electronic percussion. The production is minimal and understated, yet this austerity provides the perfect environment for Hamdan's expressive lyricism to take center stage. This is a record well worth the wait.
Number Eight: The Mexican Producer Debit – Desaceleradas
From Mexico producer Debit specializes in uncanny reimaginings of historical sounds. On her latest release, Desaceleradas, she focuses on the 90s style of cumbia rebajada – a slowed, dub-inflected version of the shuffling Latin American dance music genre. Debit decelerates this sound even further, processing its signature synths and syncopated rhythm via sheets of sludge and noise to create a novel, sinister rhythm. Periodically atmospheric and unsettling, Debit transforms the joyous dancefloor sound of cumbia into a enduring, ethereal memory.
7. The São Paulo Producer DJ K – Radio Libertadora!
Maximalism is the operative word for the records of Brazilian producer Kaique Vieira, AKA DJ K. Coining his own genre of "bruxaria" (witchcraft), Vieira layers a cacophony of alarms, explosive bass tones and screamed lyrics over the longstanding Brazilian dance style of baile funk. This recreates the propulsive sound of urban celebrations. On his follow-up release, Radio Libertadora!, Vieira escalates the ferocity, incorporating everything from techno kick drums to samples of the Islamic call to prayer into his unruly bruxaria mix. The result is a especially hyperactive and punishingly loud 40-minute listening experience. Give in to the cacophony and Vieira's brash productions become strangely exhilarating.
Number Six: The Singer Mohinder Kaur Bhamra – Disco Punjabi
Religious vocalist Mohinder Kaur Bhamra's early-80s release 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 strikingly captivating fusion of the synthetic sound of 1980s synthesisers and drum machines with her fluid classical Indian singing style. Electronic percussion mirrors the rolling tones of the traditional drums, while synth lines doubles the classic sound of the reed organ 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 dancefloor fusion delivered more than ten years before the global breakthrough of South Asian electronic music.
5. Enji – Resonance
From Mongolia vocalist Enji's delicate new release, Sonor, builds upon her jazz-influenced sound to present some of her broadest music yet. Stepping outside her training in traditional Mongolian "long song" singing, the record's 11 tracks range from the gentle jazz-pop melodies of slow-burning number Ulbar to the German spoken-word lyrics and twanging guitar lines of Unadag Dugui. The album also includes a lively, funk-inflected cover of the 80s Mongolian pop hit Eejiinhee Hairaar. Showcasing a full backing band rather than her standard setup of guitar and bass, Sonor's sound remains intimate, pulling the listener into the gentle acoustics of her distinctive voice.
4. 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 new album alongside her group blends the distinctive buzz of the amplified traditional lute with woozy keyboard and R&B-inflected lines. It's a 1970s throwback sound rooted in Yıldırım's strong high register and influenced by producer Leon Michels' warm, tape-saturated aesthetic. Yet, on Turkish standards such as the nursery rhyme Hop Bico and 60s classic Ceylan, the group finds vibrant new territory. They develop sinuous, slow-burning grooves and soaring vocals that impart a fresh, unconventional interpretation to the Anatolian psychedelic style.
Number Three: Lido Pimienta – The Beauty
Sacred music, Czech harpsichord folksong and orchestral strings all come together on Colombian singer Lido Pimienta's remarkable fourth album. Arranging music for the 60-piece Medellín Philharmonic Orchestra, Pimienta and producer Owen Pallett explore a vast range including 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. It is Pim
