PopMatters' 10 Best Global Music Albums of 2023



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1.
by 
Album • Jun 02 / 2023
Zamrock
Noteable Highly Rated
2.
by 
Album • Mar 31 / 2023
Anatolian Rock Psychedelic Rock Neo-Psychedelia
Popular

“Portals to environments few could have ever envisaged.” -- The Quietus Their 5th album in as many years Aşk (deeper feeling of love), marks an exuberant return to the 70s Anatolian folk-rock sound that characterised Altın Gün’s first two albums. It is a record that radiates the infectious energy found in the Amsterdam-based sextet’s celebrated live performances and next levels the group’s ground breaking sonic palette of Turkish psychedelic groove pop, sci-fi disco and dreamy acid folk. ------------------ The first thing that grabs you about Altın Gün’s new album is the energy. With Aşk, the Amsterdam-based sextet turn away from the electronic, synth-drenched sound of their 2021 albums, Âlem and Yol. While those two, created at home during the pandemic, paid homage to the electronic pop of the 80s and early 90s, Aşk, marks an exuberant return to the 70s Anatolian folk-rock sound that characterised Altın Gün’s first two albums, On (2018) and Gece (2019). But there’s development here too. Aşk is the closest the band have come so far to capturing the infectious energy of their live performances. “It’s definitely connecting more with a live sound – almost like a live album,” says bassist Jasper Verhulst. “We, as a band, just going into a rehearsal space together and creating music together instead of demoing at home.” “We didn’t record it like we did the last album,” agrees vocalist Merve Daşdemir. “We basically produced that one at home because of the pandemic. Now we’ve gone back to recording live on tape.” “We took a very traditional approach to recording a rock album, like in the 70s,” Verhulst adds. In this instance, that doesn’t just mean getting six musicians together in a room with a few microphones. “It’s also about the gear that we are using,” says Verhulst, “the tape and everything.” It’s this attention to detail in using vintage equipment and recording techniques that gives the album such a warm and welcoming sound. But, above all, this is the sound of friends and collaborators joyfully reconvening to make music together again in real time and space. There’s also a deliberate return to the source in the material they’ve chosen for this album. All ten tracks are new readings of traditional Turkish folk tunes, revealing how these ancient songs remain eternally resonant and ripe for reinterpretation. “These songs have been covered so many times, always,” says Daşdemir “But not really in psychedelic pop versions,” Verhulst adds. The album begins with “Badi Sabah Olmadan,” which also featured on Âlem as a burbling electronic excursion. But this is a different trip entirely. The opening snare roll cracks tight like a starting pistol, signalling a headlong flight into driving space rock, with Erdinç Ecevit supplying dolorous vocals and gnarled electric saz, and Thijs Elzinga’s razored slide guitar suggesting an Anatolian cousin to Pink Floyd’s psychedelic barn-stormer “One of These Days.” The saz and slide guitar are all over “Su Sızıyor” too, a reggae-funk groove with Verhulst and drummer Daniel Smienk in-the-pocket like Sly and Robbie, providing a tight backdrop for Daşdemir’s pleading, teasing vocals. On “Dere Geliyor,” Ecevit adds ethereal keyboards, rolling into a deeply-dosed synth solo with Chris Bruinings’ clattering hand drums and stumbling time signatures summoning an epic prog-folk feel. “Çit Çit Cedene” is the only track on the album that has previously had a 70s psych-folk makeover, by none other than Anadolu-psych legend Barış Manço. Here, Altın Gün add extra punch to his sultry funk vibe, with Ecevit unfurling another mind-blowing synth solo. The spirit of Barış Manço can also be detected in “Kalk Gidelim,” which bears distinct traces of Manço’s seductive classic “Lambaya Puf De.” How many more worlds do Altın Gün visit in this joyful expedition? “Rakiya Su Katamam” is glowering space rock as though Gong had taken a stopover on the Bosphorus. “Canim Oy” is a psychedelic freak-beat stomper from a world where Istanbul’s Kadiköy district was the Carnaby Street of the east. “Güzelliğin On Para Etmez” is a dreamy acid-folk anthem. And the finale, “Doktor Civanim,” is an irresistible slice of sci-fi disco camp with lava-lamp synth squiggles that wouldn’t sound out of place next to Barış Manço’s “Ben Bilirim.” Fresh yet timeless. Rooted in antiquity yet yearning for heavenly futures. Aşk wants to take you places. All you have to do is strap yourself in.

3.
Album • Jun 23 / 2023
Afrobeats
4.
Album • Oct 27 / 2023
Deep House Latin House
Popular Highly Rated
5.
by 
Album • Sep 15 / 2023
Tishoumaren
7.
by 
Album • May 19 / 2023
Tishoumaren
Noteable Highly Rated
8.
Album • May 12 / 2023
Southern African Music

Composer, singer, and pianist Bokani Dyer’s sixth album *Radio Sechaba* possesses South African and American jazz sensibilities, while attaching to its core sound traditional and contemporary undertones. With shades of choral, Afrobeat, folk, and hip-hop further adding eclectic textures, the unification of musical styles mimics the thematic ethos of the album. “At the core of it I’m thinking about nation building,” Dyer tells Apple Music. “We live in this society where people are so separated because of superficial engagement. Bridging that gap requires more openness.” An exploratory impulse underscores the vibrant harmonies, soaring trumpets, wailing horns, and rhythmic bass that ensue, linking the personal, familial, and communal while giving expression to the notion of nation building in a musical context. “The album incorporates quite a lot of influences and goes to different places,” Dyer says. “So even in the making of the music I was trying to embody these ideas of freedom and openness.” Below, he expands on the motifs occurring across these compositions. **Radio freedom** “I’ve been thinking for a while now about where we are in South Africa in terms of the progress we’ve made into democracy. When I look at how people connect with each other, I think there’s still a lot that can be done. A lot of things that are very personal, I feel, also impact the nation-building idea. The way I think about *Radio Sechaba* is as prescribed listening. When you switch on the radio, you don’t really know what you’re going to experience, and you’re not really sure what kind of journey it’s going to take you on! I thought it would be interesting to say, ‘The agenda for this radio station is building and empowering.’ You know, it’s interesting because I didn’t know much about Radio Freedom and just came across it. It was an anti-apartheid, underground radio station tying into these same ideas. The other ideas I’m expressing on the album are things I think translate globally—themes like the ills of social media, being true to yourself, and personal liberation.” **Personal liberation** “These songs capture moments in time where I feel certain things very strongly and want to put them down as significant experiences or ideas. This is stuff I’ve gone through, seen, and think about—from a reminder to myself that you can actually miss a lot of stuff if you’re not present in the moment \[‘Be Where You Are’\] to the journey towards being comfortable in your own skin. ‘Resonance of Truth’ is about being true to yourself and doing things that mean something to you. It’s a song about personal freedom…about people tuning in to themselves to find what resonates with them as individuals. It’s a personal thing but also about a spirit of community; being at home within yourself and also wherever you are.” **State of the nation** “We see a lot of people who—when they’re given power—end up enriching themselves. There’s so much poverty around us and there are so many people who aren’t holding up their end of the bargain. So ‘Mogaetsho’ is a song about this betrayal. The reason I say *mogaetsho* \[a Setswana word that most closely translates as ‘my fellow man’\] is because there’s been a Black government for 30 years, so it’s people who have a connection to \[the\] struggle. It makes it more necessary to ask, ‘What’s going on?’ and ‘Why?’—these are the kind of questions that I’m asking. In my eyes, I feel like there’s personal work that needs to be done. People need to look within, get to know and confront themselves because a nation is made up of individuals. I think that kind of introspection is important—and then looking outside you, thinking and caring about other people. Even though we aren’t related, we’re family and should treat each other accordingly. That’s what makes a stronger nation.” **Spirit people** “‘Spirit People’ just kind of came to me and is about history, ancestry, and people who lead with spirit. I was thinking about the sound of South African jazz and the influence of someone like Jonas Gwangwa. ‘Medu’ is a lament and a tribute; it means ‘roots’ in Sepedi and was also the name of the anti-apartheid art collective formed in Botswana around the time I was born. My father (who also plays on the track) was part of that grouping, so it speaks to my connection to him, my history, and where I come from.” **Musical structure and collaborations** “I think I was looking at all my musical influences and not really thinking about trying to keep it a certain thing. I was trying to give myself the freedom to try out different sounds while also thinking about the live experience of the album. That was in the back of my mind, thinking, ‘OK I have these songs, how do I translate them best?’ The album was recorded in different batches; the first was the acoustic stuff, then later was the live band setup, which I kind of discovered as I was recording. It was interesting because I was learning about the sound, then got to ‘Resonance of Truth’ and was like, ‘This sounds like what I want it to be like.’ Most of the tracks have the same kind of band setup—two trumpets, guitar, Rhodes, bass, drums, and vocals. “I wanted to open it up to different voices and I don’t think too hard if I think somebody’s got something interesting to offer. Sereetsi, I’ve been aware of for a while now. I met him the last time I was in Botswana and he co-wrote quite a few of the songs. I have Damani Nkosi on here; he was visiting South Africa and has great ideas about things. I’ve been a big fan of Yonela \[Mnana\] for a long time, but with Amaeshi \[Ikechi\] that wasn’t really planned. He was playing bass on “Spirit People” and not really as a feature, but it called something within him and he just took the stage. It’s beautiful when you have moments like that!”

9.
Album • Jul 31 / 2023
10.
Album • Feb 17 / 2023
Gwo Ka Downtempo

In the tropical Caribbean forest a river runs, the streaming water drowning out the rustling of leaves, the pulse of insects and the birds’ cry. The song of a man, more powerful than that of the waters, rises to the tops of the ancient trees. Polobi, balanced on a rock, launches a melody towards the infinity of the sky. Drawing inspiration from the heart of the tropical forest, the mystical character of Polobi and his musicians collaborate with idiosyncratic producer Doctor L (Les Amazones d’Afrique, Mbongwana Star), forging a radical new take on the Gwo Ka musical tradition from the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. An electro-acoustic palette and offbeat rhythms adorn these deeply rooted Creole songs with a unique sound universe.