Spain has flamenco, Portugal has fado and Greece? Greece has rebetiko. Rebetiko is a synthesis of the folk music of different areas of Greece, byzantine and eastern music. Its evolution was totally affected by the historical, political and social changes happening in Greek society. Rebetiko’s origins are lost in time but during the first decades of 20th century it became very popular in Smyrna, Asia Minor. After the catastrophe of Smyrna in 1922 and the arrival of thousands of refugees in Thessaloniki, Piraeus and other harbor cities, this style of music spread across Greece. In the 30’s, rebetiko reached its classic phase but during Metaxa’s dictatorship (1936) many songs and melodies were censored due to themes concerning drugs and the eastern kind of music. After WW2, this music started to be played in nightclubs and became very popular. So a revival of rebetiko is noticed setting the basis for the music style of "laiko". In the last decades, many artists mixed rebetiko with other music styles (rock, latin, etc) bringing an interesting result. 

Initially rebetiko was associated with the working classes and considered to be a subcultural music form. Later it gained popularity among larger audiences although it is true that it became milder as the years passed. The most popular themes were those of the harsh working life, the difficult reality of the poor, love, death, drink, pleasure of using drugs and crime. The instruments that the rebetes used were normally bouzouki (an eight string oval-shape instrument) mpaglamas, guitar, violin, etc. Famous singers of rebetiko were Markos Vamvakaris, Sotiria Bellou, Vassilis Tsitsanis, Roza Eskenazi, etc. Today you may listen to this kind of music at taverns, concerts and festivals around Greece. 

Here are two of our favorite rebetika songs: The first one is called Your jealous eyes and the second Cloudy Sunday. Enjoy!!!

Links:
Your jealous eyes
Cloudy Sunday