To hear Circassian music today, start with singers such as Cherim Nakhushev, Murat Tkhagalegov and Zaur Tutov, the accordionist Aslan Tlebzu, and the field recordings of the label ORED Recordings. Below, each one with links that open straight on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube or Bandcamp.
Singers
Cherim Nakhushev
Born in Zayukovo, Kabardino-Balkaria. He sings ethnic and pop songs in Circassian, in both the eastern and western dialects, as well as in Russian and Ossetian. His first cassettes came out in the early 1990s, and in 2024 he was named an Honoured Artist of Russia.
Murat Tkhagalegov
Born in Nalchik in 1984. He sings in Kabardian, Adyghe and Russian.
Astemir Apanasov
Born in Nalchik in 1989. He sings in Russian and in languages of the Caucasus, and won the television contest “Utrennyaya Zvezda” in 2003.
Zaur Tutov
Born in 1951 in what is now Baksan, Kabardino-Balkaria. A tenor-baritone and People’s Artist of Russia (2011).
Folk and instrumental
Aslan Tlebzu
An accordionist from Adygea, born in 1981, who played with the Adyghe State Folk Song Ensemble Islamey and is described as one of the best-known Circassian folk musicians. Albums include ETHNO-Symphony (2013) and Freedom (2018).
Damir Guagov & Asker Sapiev: Adyge Oredyzhkher
An album of “old Adyg songs”, mostly tunes without words, by two musicians from Maykop: Damir plays the shichepshina, the vertical fiddle, and the pshina, the button accordion; Asker plays the phachich. Released in 2022.
Myst: Apere Oredxer
A Circassian band from the new wave of traditional music in the Western Caucasus. This album came out on ORED Recordings in 2023.
Field recordings
ORED Recordings
A label founded in 2013 by the Circassian musicians Bulat Khalilov and Timur Kodzoko to document traditional and post-traditional music of the North Caucasus, with hundreds of field recordings made at gatherings, festivities and family meetings.
Music from the Caucasus: The Archive of ORED Recordings, 2013–2023
A 15-track compilation from a decade of ORED recordings, released in 2026 by the German label TAL.
An Introduction to Ored Recordings, Pt. 1: Song
A 13-track introduction to the label’s songs, released in 2017 by the London label Death Is Not The End.
Song and dance ensembles
Nalmes
The state folk dance ensemble of Adygea, founded in 1936, with its own YouTube channel.
Kabardinka
The state dance ensemble of Kabardino-Balkaria, named Kabardinka in 1965 and rooted in an art studio opened in Nalchik in 1933.
For the dances themselves, see the guide to Circassian dance.
Balakirev’s Islamey
Mily Balakirev: Islamey (1869)
A famous piano fantasy built on a Circassian dance tune that a Circassian prince played for the composer. The score is free on IMSLP; read the story on our Islamey page.
The Circassian App’s library has a music section with many more artists, along with books, films and cartoons. For the instruments and the story of the music, read the guide to Circassian music.
Free on iPhone & Android
Circassian language and culture, in one app
Kabardian and Adyghe lessons, Habze culture lessons, a library of books, films and music, and Circassians from around the world to talk to.
4.9 on the App Store 50,000+ people in 100+ countries
Circassian music: questions
Where can I listen to Circassian music?
On Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube for singers such as Cherim Nakhushev, Murat Tkhagalegov and Aslan Tlebzu, and on Bandcamp for traditional music and field recordings from ORED Recordings.
Who are well-known Circassian singers?
Among them are Cherim Nakhushev, Murat Tkhagalegov, Astemir Apanasov and Zaur Tutov, all from Kabardino-Balkaria, and the accordionist Aslan Tlebzu from Adygea.
Is there traditional Circassian music online?
Yes. ORED Recordings has published field recordings of North Caucasus music since 2013, and albums such as Adyge Oredyzhkher feature the shichepshina fiddle and the pshina accordion.
Is Balakirev’s Islamey Circassian?
Its main theme is: Balakirev wrote that a Circassian prince played him the dance tune Islamey, which he turned into the piano fantasy in 1869.
Sources
- Wikipedia (Russian), «Нахушев, Черим Хачимович». ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9D%D0%B0%D1%85%D1%83%D1%88%D0%B5%D0%B2,_%D0%
- Wikipedia (Russian), «Тхагалегов, Мурат Анатольевич». ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A2%D1%85%D0%B0%D0%B3%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%B3
- Wikipedia (Russian), «Апанасов, Астемир Валерьевич». ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BF%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%B2
- Wikipedia (Russian), «Тутов, Заур Нажидович». ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A2%D1%83%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%B2,_%D0%97%D0%B0%D1%
- Wikipedia (English), “Aslan Tlebzu”. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aslan_Tlebzu
- Wikipedia (Russian), «Нальмэс (ансамбль)». ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9D%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BC%D1%8D%D1%81_(%D0%
- Wikipedia (Russian), «Кабардинка (ансамбль)». ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%B0%D0%B1%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%BD
- Wikipedia (English), “Islamey”. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamey
- Bandcamp: Antonovka Records, Ored Recordings, TAL, Death Is Not The End (album pages linked above). oredrecordings.bandcamp.com/
Want more like this?
The app has 64 short lessons on Circassian traditions, including four on music and dance. Plus a course in Kabardian or Adyghe to learn the language behind them.
Download free50,000+ people in 100+ countries
