Greek Music Express

Christos Tsiamoulis meets Halil Karaduman Late Turkish kanun virtuoso Halil Karaduman meets Greek oud player Christos Tsiamoulis in an outstanding recording that serves as the best introduction to this week’s theme: the love of the Greek audience for Turkish musicians. This Greek-Turkish rapprochement i...

From Koufonisi to Asia Minor Today we focus on two distinct aspects of Nikos Oikonomidis’ contribution: his collaboration with singer Giorgoula from the island of Koufonisi, and his study of the linkages between the islands of Naxos, Paros and Kythnos and the musical heritage of Asia Minor. The l...

Passage to Kimolos A voyage across the music tradition of the island of Kimolos, added to the long and successful “Passages” series of albums, curated by Nikos Oikonomidis. Here comes a tribute to an extremely interesting musical heritage that combines elements of Asia Minor and island tradition and...

Passage to Amorgos This 2001 album is the first attempt to record the local repertoire of the island of Amorgos – a work that reveals a rich and highly expressive material. Nikos Oikonomidis goes beyond his role as a musician, studying thoroughly the music body of the island and delving into the t...

Passage to Kythira A very special album for a very special island that lies opposite the south-eastern tip of the Peloponnese peninsula. Here, Nikos Oikonomidis mobilises important female singers like Mariza Koch and Katerina Papadopoulou, in a 1991 recording that registers the rich music heritage...

Passage to Chios The week that starts today is dedicated to songs and music from the islands, curated by the master of “nisiotika”, violin soloist Nikos Oikonomidis. Our first stop: the island of Chios and the magnificent music of its villages, from Volissos to Pyrgi and Mesta. Singer Kyriaki Spa...

Giannis Poulopoulos sings immigration songs The songs of today’s GME are mostly taken from the album “The songs of foreign lands”, which was released in 1976. This unjustifiably forgotten collection was composed by Giorgos Katsaros, written by Dimitris Iatropoulos and performed by Giannis Poulopoulos. Ο Γιάννη...

Foreign lands in rembetiko songs This is a rare collection of rebetiko songs created from the 1930s and the mid-1950s, which talk about the harsh realities of immigration Ρεμπέτικα της ξενιτιάς «Δε φοβούμαι βρε μαγκίτη και θα φύγω απ' την Αθήνα / στην Αμερική θα πάω πώς να σου το ειπώ / μέσα ...

Haris Alexiou’s “Immigration Songs” The album “Immigration Songs” is unique in many respects: it contains performances by Greece’s top art-folk singer, Haris Alexiou; the songs had been recorded by 1987 but the album was eventually released in 2020; and there are not many collections with such a...

‘Immigrants’ by Giannis Markopoulos The 1974 album “Immigrants”, composed by Giannis Markopoulos and written by George Skourtis, defined an entire era of Greek song, when it was replete with social and political messages. Markopoulos described the album as “A cycle of songs, a bitter tribute by the co...

Domna Samiou’ “Far away from home” songs The week that starts today is dedicated to immigration and to the memory of all those immigrants and refugees who have died trying to cross the Mediterranean, including all those hundreds who perished at the Pylos migrant boat disaster on June 14, 2023. We st...

Derti songs, part 5 Today we are listening to songs referring to the ultimate symbol of all lovers and all romantic souls: the moon or “feggari”, as it is called in Greek. Ντέρτι, μέρος 5ο Ένα μικρό αφιέρωμα στο απόλυτο σύμβολο κάθε ρομαντικής ψυχής: το φεγγάρι, όπως το τραγούδησαν ερμηνευτές όπως η Μελίν...

Derti songs, part 4 A journey back in time and in a relatively ‘heavy’ repertoire of erotic bitterness and longing, with artists like Dimitris Kontolazos and Vassilis Karras. Ντέρτι, μέρος 4ο Μια βόλτα πίσω στον χρόνο και σε ένα κάπως πιο «βαρύ» ρεπερτόριο ερωτικού παράπονου: Καρράς, Κοντολ...

Derti songs, part 3 A selection of songs of erotic pain performed by some of the most popular names of light folk, from Katerina Stanisi to Angela Dimitriou and from Giorgos Mazonakis to Peggy Zina. Ντέρτι, μέρος 3ο Μια επιλογή τραγουδιών ερωτικού πόνου από κάποια από τα γνωστότερα ονόματα του ελα...

Derti songs, part 2 Anna Vissi and Antonis Remos are two legends of folk-pop, this light music genre that pretty much dominated the Greek scene over the past three decades. Their mega-hits are all anthems of the bitter, unfulfilled love. Ντέρτι, μέρος 2ο Άννα Βίσση και Αντώνης Ρέμος, δύο γνωσ...

Derti songs, part 1 This week is dedicated to songs of “derti”, a Greek word that means erotic passion, longing or pain. Today’s menu includes some of the numerous hits of Natassa Theodoridou and Pashalis Terzis, two extremely popular singers of light folk or folk-pop. Ντέρτι, μέρος 1ο Τραγούδια ...

Maramis V: The Haunted In Dimitris Maramis’ contemporary musical The Haunted, three folk ballads are combined: The Bridge of Arta, The Dead Brother’s Song, and The Ghost of Charmaina. The supernatural is the common theme that links these stories together, with the ghosts of the dam...

Maramis IV: Erotokritos Dimitris Maramis has composed a contemporary musical full of powerful melodies based on Vincenzo Cornaro’s masterpiece. With Cretan musical influences and references to jazz, the composer has created a new melodic universe. This is a live recording offered by the composer e...