This 10 Greatest International Albums of 2025

Looking back on the musical landscape of international sounds that defied expectations. Here is a countdown of ten exceptional albums that characterized the year in music.

10. The Percussionist Sarathy Korwar – There Is Beauty, There Already

The concept of a 40-minute, uninterrupted piece built on repetitive drumming could sound like it isn't the most accessible musical proposition. But, Indian drummer and composer Sarathy Korwar transforms this insistent rhythm into a hypnotically captivating work. Guiding an trio of three drummers, Korwar crafts a dense percussive vocabulary across the record's ten parts. The album draws from minimalist concepts from Steve Reich alongside traditional Indian musical phrasing, all anchored in the repetition of a persistent, driving motif. The longer one listens, this refrain begins to emulate the hypnotic repetition of ritual music, luring the listener deeper into Korwar's singular percussive universe.

Number Nine: Yasmine Hamdan – I Remember I Forget

Following an long absence, Lebanese singer-songwriter Yasmine Hamdan re-emerges with a contemplative album of songs. It continues exploring the Arabic-language, dub-influenced sound that established her as a fixture in the region's indie music scene since the 1990s. Hamdan's vocal delivery is soft and thoughtful, singing soft melodies atop the bowing strings of a track like Hon and the rumbling trip-hop groove of Vows. On livelier tracks such as Shadia and Abyss, she uses a wavering, longing vocal technique over Maghrebi-inspired synth melodies and clattering electronic percussion. The album's sound is sparse and understated, yet this simplicity provides the perfect environment for Hamdan's deeply felt compositions to shine through. This is a record well worth the wait.

Number Eight: Debit – Desaceleradas

Mexican electronic artist Debit excels at uncanny reinterpretations of historical sounds. For her new album, Desaceleradas, she focuses on the 1990s variant of cumbia rebajada – a decelerated, dubby take of the shuffling Latin American dance music genre. Debit decelerates this sound to a near-halt, processing its signature synths and off-beat rhythm via sheets of sludge and hiss to create a novel, foreboding groove. At turns ambient and unsettling, Debit morphs the joyous party music of cumbia into a lasting, spectral memory.

7. DJ K – Radio Libertadora!

Sensory overload is the operative word for the records of Brazilian producer Kaique Vieira, also known as DJ K. Coining his own genre of "bruxaria" (witchcraft), Vieira layers a tumult of alarms, pummeling bass tones and shouted lyrics over the longstanding Brazilian dance style of baile funk. This recreates the driving sound of urban celebrations. On his new record, Radio Libertadora!, Vieira ramps up the intensity, adding everything from techno kick drums to samples of the Islamic call to prayer into his unruly bruxaria mix. The result is a particularly frenetic and deafeningly intense forty-minute listening experience. Surrender to the cacophony and Vieira's brash productions become oddly liberating.

Number Six: The Singer Mohinder Kaur Bhamra – Punjabi Disco

Religious vocalist Mohinder Kaur Bhamra's early-80s release of disco beats and Punjabi folk melodies is a rediscovered treasure. Produced by her son, music producer Kuljit Bhamra, Punjabi Disco's ten tracks offer an unusually compelling blend of the synthetic sound of electronic keyboards and drum machines with her melismatic Indian classical vocal technique. Electronic percussion mirrors the undulating tones of the traditional drums, 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 features a driving disco bass groove. It's a dancefloor fusion pioneered over a decade before the Asian Underground explosion.

Number Five: Enji – Sonor

Mongolian singer Enji's soft new release, Sonor, builds upon her jazz-influenced sound to deliver some of her most diverse music so far. Stepping outside her training in traditional Mongolian "long song" singing, the record's 11 tracks range from the gentle Norah Jones-esque melodies of slow-burning number Ulbar to the German-language narration lyrics and twanging guitar lines of Unadag Dugui. The album also includes a energetic, funk-tinged cover of the 1980s Mongolian classic Eejiinhee Hairaar. Utilizing a ensemble rather than her standard setup of guitar and bass, Sonor's sound remains intimate, drawing the listener into the gentle acoustics of her unique voice.

Number Four: Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek – If There Is No Tomorrow

Inspired by the 1960s legacy of Turkish psychedelia established by groups such as Moğollar, Turkish-born, Germany-based singer Derya Yıldırım's third record alongside her group blends the distinctive buzz of the electrified saz with dreamy keyboard and classic soul melodies. It's a 1970s throwback sound grounded in Yıldırım's strong falsetto and influenced by producer Leon Michels' analogue tape aesthetic. But, on classic Turkish songs such as the nursery rhyme Hop Bico and 60s classic Ceylan, the group finds dynamic new territory. They create smooth, slow-burning grooves and powerful vocals that lend a novel, unconventional spin to the Anatolian psychedelic style.

3. Lido Pimienta – The Beauty

Sacred music, Eastern European folk melodies and symphonic arrangements all come together on Colombian-born singer Lido Pimienta's stunning latest work. Arranging music for the 60-piece Medellín Philharmonic Orchestra, Pimienta and producer Owen Pallett traverse everything from the Gregorian chants of opener Overturn (Obertura de la Luz Eterna) to the theatrical counterpoint melodies of Aún Te Quiero and the rhythmic reggaeton-inspired beats of the brass and woodwind-led El Dembow del Tiempo. Ultimately, it is Pim