Greek Music Express

A panorama of rebetiko songs written during the Greco-Italian war and the Nazi Occupation, the harshest period of modern Greek history. We are listening to a dedicated collection of covers of such ‘protest’ songs performed by George Dalaras, as well as to originals by the grand masters of the genre, fro...

On 1 May 1944, 200 Greek communists were executed by the Nazi Occupation authorities at the firing range of the Kaisariani suburb. This criminal act was a reprisal for the killing of a German general by Greek Resistance forces. In 2017, renowned director Pantelis Voulgaris offered a moving account of...

This week, we celebrate the “Ohi Day”, i.e. the rejection by Greek dictator Metaxas of the ultimatum made by Italian dictator Mussolini, the start of Greece’s participation in World War II, the counterattack against the invading Italian forces and the resistance during the Nazi occupation. Today, we re...

Folk, popular or “laiko” song – this is the voice of the people, the struggle of those hit hard by destiny, the cry of the bouzouki and of robust voices such as Lakis Halkias, Giorgos Tzortzis and Stamatis Kokotas. Wine here is a kind of medicine to soothe the pain inflicted by love and by the socie...

The theme of wine is present not only in the traditional and folk repertoire, bur also in modern songwriting, rock and contemporary renditions of tradition. From mega-stars like Eleonora Zouganeli and Costis Maravegias to pioneering bands like Social Waste and Villagers of Ioannina City and established...

The term ‘rebetiko’ refers to the urban popular music of the Greek people, especially those of the poorest strata, that flourished up until the 1950s and was later rediscovered through the so-called rebetiko revival. This synthesis of European, traditional Greek, Byzantine and Ottoman music bec...

The light song is a genre that flourished in Greece in the first half of the 20th century, influenced by French and Latin American songs and characterised by intense theatricality and romanticism. Even though these songs are now considered outdated, they constitute an important part of Greek music...

This week, we take the finest product of Greek culture (music) and blend it with the finest product of the Greek land (wine) to produce a tribute to Greek songs about wine! Our starting point, today, is the art song genre and its greatest voices, from Eleni Vitali to Dimitra Galani, who sang the...

Elytis meets Dimitris Lagios and Michalis Tranoudakis Odysseas Elytis was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1979 for “his poetry, which, against the background of Greek tradition, depicts with sensuous strength and intellectual clear-sightedness modern man's struggle for freedom a...

Tasos Leivaditis Tasos Leivaditis is a superb poet whose (largely unacknowledged) genius inspired a series of songs and albums. We will be primarily exploring the setting of his poetry to music by composer George Tsagaris, an endeavour that reveals the tremendous political and humanistic...

Kostas VarnalisA poet whose pioneering work renews not only the linguistic but also the ideological models and contexts of Greek poetry. Varnalis was sent to internal exile for his ideas, took part in the resistance movement against the German Occupation and was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize in...

Dimitris Papadimitriou’s Cavafy With his album “An Alexandrian on an Alexandrian”, Dimitris Papadimitriou delivered a colossal work of 18 songs and six instrumentals inspired by the poetry of Constantine P. Cavafy. The encounter of Papadimitriou with Cavafy is hardly surprising, since both ...

Constantine P. Cavafy x 3 According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, Cavafy is “one of the most important figures not only in Greek poetry but in Western poetry as well”. Naturally, he has been a favourite among Greek composers too, who have turned to his poetry multiple times in search of inspiration. Tod...

Ikaria During the summer, all Ikarian villages host feasts to mark various religious and non-religious holidays. Traditional dishes, Ikarian wine, live music and lots of fun, with locals and tourists alike dancing the traditional Ikariotikos tune, singing along and partying till the...

The sun-kissed instrumentals of Giannis Spanos In our quest for the eternal Greek summer, we turn to Giannis Spanos, this beloved composer who coloured our memories with his special melodies. In particular, we turn to a relatively unknown collection of his instrumentals titled “Deep blue s...

Summertime songs Listening to Greek summertime songs at the start of October is our very own way of fighting the autumn …blues and the nostalgia for the Greek summer. From Locomondo to Eleni Dimou and from Dimitra Galani to Katsimiha brothers, we remind ourselves of the images, scents a...

Οι «Κυκλάδες» του Βασίλη Δημητρίου “Vassilis Dimitriou is well aware of the course and schools of Greek singing and thus he can express his melodic quests in different ways, using the form of the anonymous traditional song or the ‘roads’ of rebetiko or the style of Hatzidakis. The Greek ...

Katie HomataAn incredibly tender singer who became one of the leading representatives of the “Neo Kyma” – New Wave genre and a popular performer in the Athens boite scene. Homata collaborated with top-class performers, including Giannis Spanos, Giorgos Kontogiorgos and Michalis Terzis. The u...