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History of Rebetika
Music as rich in content as the blues and based on
real life, rebetika came alive in Greece during the
1920's. It was after the destruction of the city of Smirna
in Asia Minor by the Turks, and the huge influx of refugees
into Greece.
Rebetika style and instruments
The lyrics talk of their hardship, pain, love, drugs, and
politics, all of it illegal at that time but facts of real
life for people who had lost their loved ones, their homes,
their jobs and were violently thrown out form their homeland.
The music is highly influenced by eastern elements, and accompanied
by traditional instrumentation from the bouzouki and
baglama.
In the early years Rebetika was the characteristic music of
the lower classes, and was banned because of its lyrics. Soon,
though, it became very popular, and today one of the major
markers of Greek culture can be heard in places called 'Rebetadika',
mostly in Athens and Thessaloniki where the
first refugees settled.
Famous songwriters and performers of that period are Markos
Vamvakaris, Papaioannou, Batis, Payoumtzis, Stelakis Perpiniadis
and many more. |
