Musicians of the Nalchik Underground
The photo project Musicians of the Nalchik Underground tells about various active units of the urban underground: an old-school academic composer, rock musicians, a DJ, an electronic musician, a folk group, a label, and even online radio.
Original musical phenomena often appear in small towns far from Moscow and St. Petersburg. Isolation, a measured, sometimes too slow life pace and a deep cultural background help to create something unique. Nalchik, the capital of Kabardino-Balkaria, has always had every chance to create its own underground — a notable musical phenomenon.
The Jprjej is a group combining ethnographic experience and musical traditionalism with an experimental approach. Their repertoire consists of ritual, historical and epic songs of the Circassians.
Bjami is a project of Bashir Khatsukov, a musician and a member of many Nalchik bands. Online radio combines two polar directions: refined local pop music and experimental music.
Dzhabrail Khaupa is the most unobvious hero of the project. A classic of Circassian academic music and a poet of advanced age does not really fit the definition of ‘underground musician’. But, given the conventionality and illusory nature of the Nalchik musical environment, Dzhabrail can be called an important figure for the local underground.
RK is a supporter of progressive sound. For many years he has been collecting vinyl records with avant-garde, retro-futuristic and simply bizarre music. His vinyl collection forms the basis for a variety of mixes and curated playlists: industrial techno, funk, jungle and other less popular genres in Nalchik.
Jash Teua is an electronic project by Zalim Bekulov. A young musician has already received a diploma from a local institute of arts, worked in an academic choir and participated in a Circassian electro-folk project. The influence of electronic performers dominates in his works, but now and again, among electronic passages and broken rhythms, pseudo-folk parts and vocal choruses appear.
Awake For Life is a band that has had two incarnations. In 2012–2015, young guys played the hardest music for Nalchik — fast and aggressive deathcore. There was nothing innovative in their reading of the genre, but charisma and good canonicity brought the group to the leaders of the hardcore scene in the Caucasus. In 2020, the former deathcore bands are back with a new lineup and more experimental music.
Ored Recordings has not become a commercially successful label in its 6 years of existence, but has achieved some success in terms of promoting traditional music. Residents of the publishing house perform at the main indie festivals in Russia.
