After the storms of the final day, stars of traditional Greek music round off the Music Village festival with a voyage through the classics of rebetika. Read More
Rebetika was born in the urban underworld of Athens and Pireus. It is music of the underworld, and its lyrics tell of prison-time, drug addiction, gambling, and persecution... Read More
Someone once said that rebetika was the Greek form of the blues. They were right.
Rebetika was born in the urban underworld of Athens and Pireus over 85 years ago. It is the music of the urban underworld: of people living outside the law and on the fringes of society. Its lyrics tell of prison-time, drug addiction, gambling, and persecution.
In 1923, over one million Anatolian Greeks, many of whom spoke only Turkish, became refugees in Greece after the tragic exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey. The refugees brought along their musical traditions, instruments, vocal and compositional styles. They began organising professional unions and opening musical clubs modeled after the cafes of their lost homeland.
Rebetika was first and foremost men's music, improvised in the safe haven of the tekes - hashish dens where 'rebetes' could meet to forget the outside world. The music thrives on live performance, the atmosphere in which it was born. The very first recordings were made by emigrants in the USA around 1920, years before rebetika was recorded in its homeland. World War Two and the ensuing Greek civil war both left their mark on the rebetika, which has gained in popularity and won respect as a true musical treasure of last century.
The players featured here made their names playing different forms of traditional music – yet this was the music they all listened to as they grew up. There is plenty of space in this long set for the musicians to stretch out, and we are given some fantastic group improvisations in the taksim style (below).
The final day of the Music Village festival this year saw a large storm blow over mount Pilion. The stone paths of the village turned into cascades. Come 9pm the only dry place in the village was the main square, and it was here that the musicians set up for this beautiful set. Apart from the odd gust of mountain wind, the recording is dry, crisp and beautiful. As the set progresses the musicians take more and more liberties, giving us a wonderful voyage through the classics of Rebetika.
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