The Greek Urban Folk Music of the Early 20th Century
Music began – all rembetes know it – with a howl lamenting a loss. The howl became a prayer and from the hope in the prayer started music, which can never forget its origin. In it, hope and loss are a pair.
John Berger, To the Wedding
One hundred years ago, in the slums of Piraeus and Athens, two distinct musical styles began to merge: the rembetika music of the outcasts and outlaws of mainland Greece and the smyrneika of the Christian refugees from Asia Minor. When this music was experiencing its rebirth, I wanted to do my small bit in helping it along, so I put together this overview in the mid-1990s. The site has lain dormant for more than a few years now, but I think it’s worth resurrecting. I hope you’ll read ahead and learn a bit about the history of rembetika, its instruments and musicians, enjoy some listening suggestions, and take advantage of links to other related sites. I hope you enjoy browsing through these pages as much as I enjoyed putting them together!
NOTE: The site is currently incomplete. Please have patience while I slowly republish all the pages from the original site, and add supplemental material (including recordings from my collection of 78 rpms) and links!