Lovers of Rebetika

Multi-talented musician and one of the best rebetiko singers. Of Italian nationality, he came from a musical family which came to Piraeus in 1918. In 1922 he settled in Drapetsona, where his father, who played the violin, opened a musical instrument manufacturing workshop. With the insistence of Vangelis Papazoglou and Stellakis Perpiniadis, he appeared on stage as a singer in 1934 and in 1935 rec...

Alexis Zoumbas was a Greek folk violinist who gained recognition for his recordings in the early 20th century. He is particularly known for his contributions to the Greek and Balkan music traditions, as well as his influence on American folk music. Zoumbas was born in the early 1880s in the region of Epirus, which is now part of Greece. He emigrated to the United States in the early 1900s, like ma...

The bouzouki was apparently not particularly well-known among the refugees from Asia Minor, but had been known by that name in Greece since at least 1835, from which year a drawing by the Danish artist Martinus Rørbye has survived. It is a view of the studio of the Athenian luthier Leonidas Gailas (Λεωνίδας Γάϊλας), whom the artist describes as Fabricatore di Bossuchi. The drawing clearly shows a...

Delving into the world of rare recordings from the 1920's, and one of the oldest recordings of the bouzouki!

Become a patron of this podcast https://www.patreon.com/ConKalamaras Spiros Peristeris was born in Smyrna, Ottoman Empire. His parents were Aristides, a famous musician who originated from Athens, and Despina (née Bekou) who was a Corsican Greek and an Italian citizen. Peristeris learned to play the mandolin from a young age. Around 1914, his family moved to Constantinople where Peristeris graduat...

Vassilis Tsitsanis (1915-1984) was a Greek singer, songwriter, and bouzouki player, considered one of the most influential figures in Greek music. He is often referred to as the "architect" of modern Greek popular music. Tsitsanis was born on January 18, 1915, in Trikala, Greece. He began playing the bouzouki at a young age and eventually moved to Athens in the late 1930s to pursue a car...

The bouzouki arrived in Greece following the  1919–1922 war in Asia Minor  and the subsequent  population exchange between Greece and Turkey . The early bouzoukia mostly had three courses (six strings in three pairs, known as trichordo) and were tuned in different ways, according to the scale one wanted to play. At the end of the 1950s, four-course (tetrachordo) bouzouki started to gain popularity...

Become a patron of this podcast www.patreon.com/ConKalamaras Lovers of Rebetika - A brief history of Recording companies in Greece During the period from 1920 to 1960, the Greek music industry underwent significant developments and transformations. Several recording companies played a crucial role in shaping the landscape of Greek music during that time. Here are some notable recording companies i...

This week we once again delve into the music of Rebetiko and it's historical context on how it shaped the musical landscape of Greece for ever. Rebetiko is basically an umbrella term, comprising several forms of music that evolved in Greece and Greek speaking parts of the Ottoman Empire during the mid and late 19th century, until they unified in the early 20th century to form the distinctive s...

This week we touch on some of the earlier recordings from Athens between 1939 and 1943. Support this podcast by becoming a patron ⁠www.patreon.com/ConKalamaras

Marika Ninou, born Evangelia Atamian, was an iconic and leading Greek-Armenian vocalist in the early 1950s, specialized in the rebetiko genre. There is mystery surrounding her birth, but one hypothesis is that  she was born in 1922  on the ship “Evangelistria” which brought her mother, her two sisters and her eight-year-old brother, from Smyrna to Piraeus, to flee the  Catastrophe of Smyrna , a gr...

This week we delve into some of the history and works behind Tassia Vyroni, Daizy Stavropoulou, Ioanna Georgakopoulo & Stella Haskil. Support this podcast by becoming a patron ⁠www.patreon.com/ConKalamaras

This week we delve into the works of Anna Pagana, Marika Kanaropoulo , Aggelitsa Papazoglou and more Roza Eskenazi!. Support this podcast by becoming a patron ⁠www.patreon.com/ConKalamaras

Roza Eskenazi was a renowned, multilingual Greek singer who had a long and influential career. At seven, Eskenazi moved to Greece with her family and became enamored with the local theater scene over her parents’ objections. She began dancing in taverns and theaters and quickly began singing as well. In the late 1920s, a recording mogul noticed Eskenazi, who launched her career, started touring ex...

This week we focus on the amazing Eskenazi , Abadzi and Voyiadzi and the amazing work they produced in the early 1930's.  Support this podcast by becoming a patron ⁠www.patreon.com/ConKalamaras

Anestis Delias or Anestos Delias (Greek: Ανέστης Δελιάς 1912 – 31 July 1944) was a Greek bouzouki player, composer and singer of rebetiko, also known with the nicknames Anestaki (Ανεστάκι) or Artemis (Αρτέμης). Delias real surname was Delios (Δέλιoς). He was born in Smyrna and had two younger sisters. His father Panagiotis, who was a shoemaker and a noted santuri player, taught him to play the gui...

In this podcast we discuss the identity of Smyrneika , briefly discussing the instrumentation and how it impacted the musical landscape. Support this podcast by becoming a patron ⁠www.patreon.com/ConKalamaras

With the Asia Minor Catastrophe in 1923, a great number of refugees resettled in harbor cities like Piraeus, Volos, and Thessaloniki. This intermingling of cultures had a profound impact on the urban musical landscape, with musicians constantly exchanging new ideas and inspiring each other. Support this podcast by becoming a patron ⁠www.patreon.com/ConKalamaras

This week we explore the historical perception of this music when it first came to fruition in Greece and how it was eventually accepted in the mainstream music appetite of Greeks.  Support this podcast by becoming a patron ⁠www.patreon.com/ConKalamaras

In this week's podcast, we delve into the recordings of the exceptional violinist Alexis Zoumbas, Marika Papagika and also hear a track from the Cavadhias Popular Orchestra that was recorded in Camden NJ in 1926!. Support this podcast by becoming a patron ⁠www.patreon.com/ConKalamaras

Support this podcast by becoming a patron ⁠www.patreon.com/ConKalamaras In this podcast, we introduce you to common words that come up again and again in Rebetika, also we start to delve into the rare recordings from Asia Minor and some rare recordings from Chicago!. 

This week we delve into some of the works of Yiannis Dhragatsis, Dimitris Kalinikos and Kostas Karipis!. This is the last episode for 2022, back again early 2023! Support this podcast by becoming a patron ⁠www.patreon.com/ConKalamaras

In this episode, we explore some common words that come up in Rebetika and the meaning behind them. As always we keep the podcast informal, short and conversational.  Support this podcast by becoming a patron ⁠www.patreon.com/ConKalamaras

This week we once again visit the recordings done by Rita Abadzi, Sophia Karivali, Aggelitsa Papazoglou and Georgia Mittaki.  Support this podcast by becoming a patron ⁠www.patreon.com/ConKalamaras

This week we continue to dip our toes into recordings from Athens, Constantinople ! Support this podcast by becoming a patron ⁠www.patreon.com/ConKalamaras