Kazbulat Khalilov

Bulat Khalilov is a decolonial researcher of traditional and local music of the peoples of the North Caucasus, co-founder of the Ored Recordings label, music curator and journalist.

Since 2014, Ored Recordings has been documenting, researching and promoting the music of the North Caucasus with a focus on Circassian culture, music and memory. Until 2022 he lived and worked in Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria (Russia). Afterwards he emigrated to Georgia, where he was also involved in documentation and research of Georgian musical culture. Since 2025 he has been working at the University of Göttingen.

Research interests

• Sound and memory
• Traditional music as a mode of anti-colonial resistance
• Music in the Diaspora
• Nationalism and traditional music
• Issues of “tradition” and “modernity” as colonial constructs