CaucasTalk

LINKS to MUSIC BELOW!! 👇

Riddle: What do you get when you cross Circassian death metal, two-stringed fiddles, sharp ears and a big heart? The audiological phenomenon—and our friends—known as Ored Recordings. For over a decade Ored founders Bulat Khalilov and Timur Kodzoko have been on the hunt for local sounds of the North Caucasus. To them this does not mean purely old or so-called “traditional” music; tradition can be created in an instant. Rather they seek what is authentically born of local creativity, be it old or new. Though based in Nalchick, capital of the republic of Kabardino-Balkarian, their work and partnerships have ranged across the Caucasus, Europe and even the wider world. As you will hear, their tastes are eclectic as is their playlist. Follow the links below to hear more of their work and to support them with your purchases of their music.

Links for Episode 95

Ored Recordings on Bandcamp:https://oredrecordings.bandcamp.com/

Ored Recordings on SoundCloud (with reposts—see what THEY’RE listening to!):https://soundcloud.com/ored-recordings-1

Ored Recordings on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/oredrecordings

Intro track: S’adouno – Vagiorko Ma (Géorgien)https://oredrecordings.bandcamp.com/track/sadouno-vagiorko-ma-g-orgien

Outro track (Kalmykian grandmas): Дорҗин Татьяна болн Билцгин Мария – Хүрмин дун (II)https://oredrecordings.bandcamp.com/track/ii-2

At long last, the stars  aligned and not only did we record our first in-person recording session since 2019, but we brought our wonderful WIVES with us! Hollie and Cristi share from their years of mothering in the North Caucasus a taste of what it has been like for them. From birth stories to playground parables, we hear from the women who’ve done it both their experience and what they have learned from their local friends. We cover a lot of ground in the rip-roaring laugh fest, so buckle up your carseat. The ladies are in the studio.

Hava is many things—an Ingush mother, a beloved grandmother, but also an entrepreneur who has opened two 5-star hotels, a polyglot, and an artisan. Most interesting, perhaps, is her artisanal work with fish leather. Yes, you read that right—tanned fish skin. Under the tutelage of another Ingush innovator, Hava tans the skins of sturgeon, salmon, and even eel to make crafts which defy expectation.

Links for Episode 92

Hava’s fish leather handicrafts: @avaganti

The Moscow Times’ “The Word’s Worth” by Michele Berdy

Feedspot: Top 20 Russia History Podcasts You Must Follow in 2021!

Top 20 Russia History Podcasts You Must Follow in 2021

Welcome back to a new year of CaucasTalk! For our first episode back after our break, we were dazzled and privileged to interview three of the North Caucasus’ own female Fulbright Scholars. These young women all studied and taught for a year or more in the US and are now back in the Russia determined to make a difference. Their perspective is as  bright as it is unique.

We’ve done it! We’ve come to the end of the year, and what a year it has been. While the ride has been bumpy for all of us, we actually are grateful for growth and progress of CaucasTalk. We want to give a great, big shout out of thanks to you our listeners, Facebook commenters, promoters, friends, and family for helping this podcast exist. It remains, to our knowledge, the only English-language source in the world committed to positive news from the North Caucasus. We ended the year with a survey and will launch 2021 with a brand new Newsletter—so sign up at the link below and don’t miss out! Our community only gets stronger the more who join it. Thank you for listening, have a happy New Year, and please spread the word by sharing CaucasTalk with your family and friends. We’ll see you in 2021!

Sign up for our new Newsletter!: http://eepurl.com/cXWXgr

Was it Bill Cosby who said that kids say the darndest things? This has always been true, and as it is our goal to give our listeners the most unfiltered view of the North Caucasus, what could be better, we thought, than hearing from our own children? Rather than sick all eight of them on you at once, today we interview each of our oldest (and most articulate) offspring. You will hear from their perspective a bit of what life is like in the Caucasus. Of course we think they’re cute, but we’re also pretty sure you’ll agree.

Allow us to take you for a ride today—literally. As of the last month, both your CaucasTalk hosts have become proud car owners. This means we have gained first-hand driving experience in the North Caucasus. And this is no small thing. In fact, it’s incredible. We both feel extremely awesome and are loving the freedom of the road and the wind blowing  through our hair. But the road to driving success was a tortuous one. Today we regale you with tales from our crazy adventures first buying, then driving cars in the North Caucasus. If you think buying a car is tricky in your home culture, just wait till you hear this.

“Russian Car Driver” video game

We love to share with our listeners what life is like in the Caucasus today.  But it’s also important to hear what life was like at other times.  Elina, a Russian born and raised in pre-war Grozny, Chechnya, shares with us today what life during her childhood was like.  If you’ve only learned about Chechnya through media outlets, you may be surprised at what you hear!  Today Elina is a psychologist, an artist, a teacher of English and of German in Pyatigorsk.

History was made yet again last Saturday night when Khabib Nurmagomedov defended his undefeated record as the undisputed UFC lightweight champion of the world. He choked out American interim UFC champion Justin Gaethje in the second round to bring his record to 29-0. What followed the fight was as stunning as the fight itself as Khabib fell to his face weeping, and then announced his retirement from UFC fighting right there on the mat in the octagon. We cover all this and more in depth, from his relationship to his parents to analysis of his final words. The fight was made even more spectacular in light of aspects of the cultural context of the North Caucasus which we unfold for you. Congratulations Khabib Nurmagomedov on an honorable and historic career!

Watch the fight here:

We give to you one of our most popular episodes ever – Music in the North Caucasus (Episode 13, December 15, 2017). It’s got some of the most listens of any of our shows. Check out the original shownotes:

This episode is the proverbial tip of the iceberg. It’s a lump on the tip of the iceberg. It’s snow dusting the lump the tip of the iceberg. You get our point: the topic of “Music in the Caucasus” is deep and wide and, much like the iceberg, much of it remains obscured to us outsiders looking in.

Today Eli takes us on a brief audio tour of some of local instruments from Dagestan using ethnographic recordings he took during his summer travels. We reflect on what marks out “folk” music from other kinds, such as classical and pop. And, most special, Andrew sings. Just a bit. But it’s inspirational.

Links for Episode 13

Article: “The Role of Music in Human Culture” – Interview with Moby, Hans Zimmer, Rita Ora, and Rusty Rueff

Ored Recordings – Recordings of authentic music of the North Caucasus, based in Nalchik, founded and directed by Bulat Khalilov

Ored’s, “The Song of the Dog & the Boar”

Ethnomusicological Insights of the North Caucasus –  A treasure trove of ethnomusicology from the whole Caucasus region.

Lezginka – Caucasian War Dance – Lots of video clips of Lezginka in various cultural settings.

Rasul Gamzatov Homepage – Bio, history, and poems.

Timestamps

2:40 – Ethnomusicology3:20 – Our intro music… what is it??6:04 – Rusty Rueff quotation on “What is music?”7:42 – “Arrival”10:17 – Andrew sings11:14 – Andrew sings again19:58 – Sir Robin bravely ran away…23:38 – Ored Recordings23:56 – CLIP: “The Story of the Dog & the Boar”27:29 – Advice on how to listen to foreign music28:39 – The pandur31:35 – The kumuz32:00 – The mandolin34:17 – The chagana / mountain fiddle35:13 – The flute38:36 – The accordion40:19 – Lezginka43:25 – News Minute! – Rasul Gamzatov in India