Music — Rembetiko, Bouzouki & Modern

Greek music is as diverse as the country itself — from the oriental sounds of Rembetiko to folk Dimotika to modern pop and the vibrant indie scene of Athens.

Rembetiko — the Greek Blues

Rembetiko originated in the 1920s in the port cities (Piraeus, Thessaloniki) — born from the pain of the Asia Minor refugees who had lost everything. The lyrics speak of poverty, drug use (hashish!), unrequited love, and life on the fringes of society. The instrument: the Bouzouki, a long-necked lute whose sound became synonymous with Greek music.

The big names: Vassilis Tsitsanis (the "Patriarch"), Markos Vamvakaris (the rough pioneer from Syros), Sotiria Bellou (the voice of female Rembetiko). Today, the genre is experiencing a renaissance — live music and dancing in Athenian Rembetadika (Rembetiko clubs) often last until the early hours.

Laiko & Entechno

Laiko (folk music) is mainstream — catchy, emotional, danceable. Singers like Stelios Kazantzidis and Giorgos Dalaras are national treasures. In the Bouzoukia (nightclubs), people dance to live music and throw flower pots — literally: hundreds of euros are spent on trays full of carnations, which are thrown at the singer's feet.

Entechno (art music) fused Greek folk music with classical composition in the 1960s. Mikis Theodorakis (Zorba the Greek, Canto General) and Manos Hadjidakis (Oscar for "Never on Sunday") made Greek music world-famous. Theodorakis' music was banned under the junta — listening to his songs risked arrest.

Folk Dance

Greek dance is communal — people hold each other's shoulders or hands and dance in a circle. The main dances: Sirtaki (actually invented for the film Zorba, but now folklore), Kalamatianos (the pan-Greek dance), Tsamiko (heroic dance), Hasapiko (butcher's dance, basis of the Sirtaki), Zeimbekiko (the solo dance — a man dances out his emotions alone, others clap in rhythm. Spectators: NEVER intervene!).