Why Rebetiko Today ?

DIVERSITY IN 20TH & 21ST CENTURY GREEK POPULAR CULTURE(S) & MEDIA PHOTOGRAPH: ALEXIA PHILIPPOU 14 March 2015 I 9am – 6.30pm Lecture Room, Radcliffe Humanities Building, Woodstock Road, Oxford THIS IS A FREE EVENT AND ALL ARE WELCOME REGISTER BY 9 MARCH AT [email protected] DIVERSITY IN 20TH & 21ST CENTURY GREEK POPULAR CULTURE(S) & MEDIA WORKSHOP PROGRAMME 9:00 – 10:00am 10:00 – 11:00am REGISTRATION PANEL 1: INQUIRING ABOUT IDENTITY: METHODOLOGIES, FRAMEWORKS, PRACTICES CHAIR: JESSICA KOURNIAKTI ‘Greece the Imagined Nation’: A Study of Selfhood and Subjectivity Through Auto‑EthnographicVisual Representations of ‘Ellinikotita’ (Greekness) Michael Chronopoulos Oral Evidences on Greek Popular Literature of the 50s and 60s Nikos Filippaios Social Media and Greeks: The Case of Facebook Stylianos Papathanassopoulos, Maria Xenofodos, Achilleas Karadimitriou, Ioulia Daga & Elias Athanasiadis 11:05 – 12:05am PANEL 2: BUILDING MUSICAL IDENTITIES CHAIR: SPIROS CHAIRETIS Greekness and Gender in the ’80s and 90’s Greek Popular Music Press Reguina Hatzipetrou-Andronikou Ασίκικο Πουλάκη ‑ Regionalising in Greek Music and Poetry after 1974 Josh Barley Why Rebetiko Today? Elli Leventaki 12:05 – 12:30pm COFFEE BREAK 12:30 – 13:30pm PANEL 3: FILMING GREEK SUBJECTIVITY: REPRESENTATIONS OF SELFHOOD, TRADITION AND HETERONORMATIVITY IN GREEK FILM AND TV CHAIR: MIKELA FOTIOU Gays and Straights “queer things up”: Negotiating Heteronormativity in Angelos Spyros Chairetis Challenging the Patriarchal Canon: Paths of Diversity in Dogtooth and Miss Violence Vera Mystaka Subversion and Stereotype in ‘Το Καφέτης Χαράς’ Annie Demosthenous DIVERSITY IN 20TH & 21ST CENTURY GREEK POPULAR CULTURE(S) & MEDIA 13:30 – 14:30 pm LUNCH 14:30 – 15:30pm PANEL 4: AN ODE TO SUFFERING: OTHERING AND IDENTIFYING IN DIGITAL AND TELEVISION MEDIA CHAIR: ELENI PHILIPPOU Infecting the Body Politic: the HIV “Death Trap” and the Porous “Other” Chloe Howe Charalambous Networks of Suffering: Encountering Diversity in Cross‑Cultural Dialogues on the Internet Huw Halstead Multiculturalism and Racism in Greek Satirical Drawings Emmanouela Tisizi 15:30 – 15:45pm SHORT BREAK 15:45 – 16:45pm PANEL 5: INTERSECTING IDENTITIES: ART AND PLACE IN MULTIMEDIA CHAIR: ELENI PHILIPPOU “And Everywhere You Turn: Gods…myths...heroes”: YouTube and the Greek Modernist Project Ioanna Zouli Nudity in the Imaret: Heritage and the Art of Exhibitions Elizabeth Cohen “Vasanizomai”: From a Message of Agony Sprayed Across the Walls of Athens, to Internet Sensation Jessica Kourniakti 16:45 – 17:15pm COFFEE BREAK 17:15 – 18:15pm ROUND-TABLE DISCUSSION 18:30 pm WINE RECEPTION Why Rebetiko Today? Oxford 2015 Abstract Rebetiko is a particular genre of music that was incorporated quite recently as part of the Greek popular culture. Through the years, it changed so many times and in so many ways, that it supposedly ceased to exist at some point. However, due to these alterations having taken place within the society by which it was produced, it never completely disappeared, but instead it evolved. Today rebetiko has suddenly started to attract the attention of young people again. Strangely, this generation is somehow able to identify with songs written almost a century ago. But why do they choose rebetiko, especially now that there are so many options? Can we talk about a revival? Is it another result of the current sociopolitical conditions, or of the “crisis”? Is it used as a means in a postmodern quest for identity? Is just tradition à la mode? Maybe the answer is hidden in our very roots. Rebetiko “Rebetiko” comes from the Turkish word “Rebet” which means “the outlaw”. It’s a music genre, whose roots are located in the late 19 th century, and is widely considered the descendent of folk singing. Their difference, besides musical criteria, is that while folk songs expressed the people of the countryside, rebetiko was created from, and addressed to the bourgeois. Damianakos summarizes it aptly when he observes that the story of rebetiko is actually the story of Greek sub-proletarians in a society on its way to capitalistic integration (Damianakos 2001: 155). So with the reduction of rural population, and its displacement towards urban centers, we witness the development of this genre. The course of rebetiko is divided in three basic periods: the primordial (before 1922), the classical (1922-1940) and the industrious (1940-1953). During the first phase, we have a small circle of anonymous musicians, who often live on the verge of illegality and spread their songs verbally. The second phase is marked by the Asia Minor Catastrophe and the arrival of numerous refugees in Greece. At that time rebetiko is more widely spread, as the first well known musicians start to record their songs, having as common subjects women, love and hashish. The third and final phase is primarily associated with the working class, who was exhausted after the German occupation and the civil war. Under these circumstances, there is a reorientation of the ideology of rebetiko, which is no longer regarded as marginal as before. It is no coincidence, that a little bit later it is adopted by the bourgeoisie, only to be soon outplaced by laiko (Greek popular folk music). We also observe a reduction in the use of rebetiko slang, something which probably contributed at its further “socialization”. During this period, songs still talk about love and women, but now they also express the sorrow and protest of the people. Despite all its diversifications, rebetiko always keeps certain morphological characteristics, such as the simplicity of words, the spontaneity, the naivety in its style, the rhymes, the collective character, the oral dissemination, and the habit of performing the same piece differently, depending on the mood of the moment. The collective production of the songs is intertwined with the very nature of rebetiko, since transmitter and receiver are not clearly distinct in this genre. Maybe that’s one of the reasons why rebetiko survives to this day and is considered expressively perfect, as a true creation of the people. It’s not only the long term process from generation to generation that forms it and rounds it up to its completion, but also the fact that through this procedure, the forces of its perpetual adaptation act upon the common aesthetics (Damianakos 2001: 77). In other words, it’s because it is changing along with the society in which we are in as well, that it is difficult to realize the fermentation process at that time. While we may think that it stays unalterable, rebetiko is an ever evolving construction that undergoes, from the beginning, a perpetual (re)- negotiation and redevelopment within all its forms of tradition and realization (Gauntlett 2001: 135). So, as we will see below, it is still advancing today in a way, even if rebetika songs are no longer produced, with the primary meaning of the term. Now we can only talk about evolution through the various performances, since the social conditions in which it was originally produced, as well as the corresponding categories of the marginalized people of the time, no longer exist. Theoretically, the final year of production of rebetiko is 1953. However, already in the ‘40s, many people were asking for the prohibition of rebetika, because they were considered songs of the underworld, which were written and performed by criminals. It’s a fact that this genre was produced on the spot by commensal groups (the so-called rebetes), in the context of this local symbiotic team, which most often was quite marginalized indeed. As a result, rebetiko was considered a cultural symbol of social integration and selfrecognition, for the main reason that it encoded in a coherent sign-message system the whole evaluative and moral code of these sub-proletarian groups (Damianakos 2001: 80), who always kept clear distances from the prevailing class. Today, that the circumstances have changed, this assessment is no longer valid, as rebetiko is addressed to a wider range of people within the Greek society. So, when Damianakos claims that marginalized cultures survive as long as they remain outside the channels of wide commercial dissemination (Damianakos 2001: 133), he doesn’t clarify what will happen if they become part of this system. Rebetiko survived despite its commercialization, and so was the case for other elements of popular culture too, because they were incorporated over time in the Greek tradition, and later they were considered acceptable as parts of it. However, for rebetiko this happened quite recently, when there was a “safe distance” from the past, and it no longer reminded the “song of rayahs 1”, nor it was seen as an “expression of a fatalistic depression” (Vlisidis 2006: 219). These days rebetiko is mostly viewed as a vivid memory of an unknown period in the past, for which we probably have formed an idealistic image. So, the last few years we witness a considerable increase in the number of the people who listen to, and play rebetiko, and that’s definitely something worth studying 2. The best way to do so is with primary research, since according to the requirements of other researchers, it is urgent for young scholars to undertake infrastructure projects at the field of oral history (Kotaridis 1996: 327). So, through certain interviews of young people that play rebetiko today, we will try to approach this phenomenon and interpret it socially. Interviewing an avocational group of musicians As we mentioned above, in order to talk about rebetiko today, it is important to take into consideration the opinion and the experience of young people who are involved with this kind of music. As this field is quite large, in this study we will focus on a specific avocational group that plays rebetiko at Ioannina 3. It consists of four persons, around their thirties, who agreed to talk about their 1 “Rayah” was called every non-Muslim inhabitant of the Ottoman Empire. It was an insulting term that suggested vassalage or slavery. 2 Actually, just a few days ago (11/6/2015), there was a tribute to the famous rebetis Markos Vamvakaris in Barbican, UK, in order to celebrate the 40 th anniversary of his death. Among others, there were read parts of his biography and Alex Kapranos (the Franz Ferdinand front man) sang some of his famous songs. 3 Ioannina, or Yannena, is the capital and the largest city of Epirus, a department at the north-west of Greece. music, their views on rebetiko, and the reasons why, not only them, but also numerous people are getting more and more involved with it 4. Each of them began to play an instrument on his own, and the group was created later on. At first they used to gather in a house to play just for fun. “Many people started playing like we did”, says Andrew 5. “It is helpful that most of the musicians didn’t study music at that time. They learned the same way we did. So the songs are accessible and relatively easy for someone who starts from scratch” (Andrew, interview 9/2/2014). After some practice, “playing at a kafenio 6 is the next step”, Lefteris 7 explains. “And if you play one time and things go well you start to like it. But you do it in order to have fun with your friends. And there can’t be too many people because the instruments are not supported by electric power” (Lefteris, interview 5/2/2014). However, when playing in public there is a slight difference, because there is an audience that has to be satisfied. Indoors there is a chance to experiment more, but in public it’s more interesting, as the songs are more or less known. For example, Stefanos 8 says: “we want more people to come and add other instruments too, so that the sound gets better” (Stefanos, interview 7/1/2014). Moreover, the fact that they are amateurs makes things a bit different, as Yiannis9 explains: “we aren’t professionals that play because they have to. We want to have a good time. Others expect to be heard. I don’t care if I’m playing and no one is listening, as long as I’m having fun” (Yiannis, interview 12/1/2014). They seem to think of it more as a celebration, in which they are a part of, rather than a formal public performance. 4 For reasons of proper research behavior they are not mentioned by their real names, but with nicknames. 5 From interview that was given for this paper, in a friendly tone, with Andrew, in 9/2/2014 at Ioannina. Andrew is member of a local avocational group of rebetiko, in which he plays baglama (it’s an instrument smaller than bouzouki with three double strings). 6 “Kafenio” is the traditional Greek coffee house that serves spirits as well. 7 From interview that was given for this paper, in a friendly tone, with Lefteris, in 5/2/2014 at Ioannina. Lefteris is member of a local avocational group of rebetiko, in which he plays mainly bouzouki (traditional Greek musical instrument). 8 From interview that was given for this paper, in a friendly tone, with Stefanos, in 7/1/2014 at Ioannina. Stefanos is member of a local avocational group of rebetiko, in which he plays guitar. 9 From interview that was given for this paper, in a friendly tone, with Yiannis, in 12/1/2014 at Ioannina. Yiannis is member of a local avocational group of rebetiko, in which he plays tzouras (it’s an instrument smaller than bouzouki with six or eight strings). At first, playing all together was almost a need, and then going public was the natural next step. Besides, as they realized from the beginning, rebetiko had to be played by a group, not individually, because then it would lose its essence. “You can’t play alone. I had a friend who played the blues and we played together. Communication is really important too” (Lefteris, interview 5/2/2014). There is a certain feeling when playing with your friends the music you love, as part of that team. They also point out that this way it is more likely to listen to more songs. The concepts of “companionship” and “collectivity” seem to be of great importance in this kind of music, and usually they don’t only concern the members of the group, but also the audience. It is not unusual for listeners to start participating somehow, in order to contribute to the music. Stefanos distinctively says: “we may be four basic members, but everyone is welcome, even if the whole team changes in the middle of the concert! If four other musicians come, take the instruments and play, its fine” (Stefanos, interview 7/1/2014). This is something that is not easily seen in other music genres, and Andrew explains why: “when you play old songs, even if you slightly change them, there is a guiding principal that even a person outside the group, who has once heard the song before, will be able to follow” (Andrew, interview 9/2/2014). Yiannis adds another perspective: “another musician may join us with his own instrument and start playing a song, and then we will be the ones trying to follow him. That’s so cool. That’s a little bit jazz style actually” (Yiannis, interview 12/1/2014). This casual atmosphere and the team spirit make rebetiko an approachable kind of music. Especially when the musicians are amateurs, people feel even more comfortable to participate. What’s more, it’s possible to play almost everywhere. “These instruments don’t need a thing. We can play right here right now” (Lefteris, interview 5/2/2014). Another fascinating element in rebetiko, apart from the tunes, is the lyrics, as they describe actual incidents of the everyday life of people who lived in a different era. Yiannis believes that We are attracted by the atmosphere, in the way we have it in mind today. It’s that atmosphere that we want more, and not the one of the big music stage. Maybe we are trying to revive it? I think it was more magical. The other kind of music (laiko), we saw it evolving to skyladika 10, and lost its charm. ( Yiannis , interview 12/1/2014) Lefteris has a similar explanation: “rebetiko has a kind of vagrancy in it, and someone in his 20s can be easily attracted by it” (Lefteris, interview 5/2/2014). In the same spirit, Andrew admits that he was “intrigued by the whole story of rebetiko and the people involved in it: underground dudes, inside tekedes 11, playing music”, and he confessed that if he was alive at that period, he would probably be among these guys (Andrew, interview 9/2/2014). It’s a fact that the special circumstances back then, in conjunction with our distance from them now, attract young people today, and this appeal is enhanced by a blur image we have about rebetes and their lives. That is of importance, because “in the past it was a way of life, both for those who played and listened to this music. Now if this way of life could exist, it would be completely marginal” (Yiannis, interview 12/1/2014). On the other hand Stefanos thinks that “the everyday life hasn’t changed much, neither the problems, neither love. The words may have changed but the meaning stays the same” (Stefanos, interview 7/1/2014). Maybe there is a certain degree of empathy, but in a different way. Rebetiko may exist to this day, but not with the same sense that it did back then, as Andrew suggests. It was a phenomenon of a specific time and place. The circumstances through which rebetiko emerged, no longer exist. I don’t think that today we are producing rebetiko. Rebetiko stopped at some point, changed form, and now its influences come through various kinds of music. (Andrew, interview 9/2/2014) All four members of the group agree on that more or less, and see the current performances as proof of evolution of the genre, given that even by playing a tune differently it’s possible to create a variation. Yiannis explains it simply: 10 “Skyladika” are low quality songs that emerged after laiko. “Skylos” means dog in Greek, which suggests that these songs remind of dog barking. 11 “Tekes” comes from the Turkish word “Tekke”, and used to refer to a place where Islamic monks gathered in search of spirituality. At the time of rebetiko it described a place full of smoke from cigarettes or hashish, where sub-proletarians gathered to have a good time. It’s true that we are repeating old songs. Today you can’t produce rebetiko, and if someone is trying, he is making something different. The sound is different, and so is the technology. On the other hand, these tunes have been played so many times that it’s possible to spot variations from one musician to another. The songs may be old, but they are played differently and that’s a type of progress for me. Everyone adds his personal touch and makes them different in a way. There’s been an evolution but it doesn’t concern the production of the songs. When someone adds a beat, or uses other instruments, electric ones, that’s an evolution as well. ( Yiannis , interview 12/1/2014) Lefteris seems to share the same opinion: I believe there are musicians, whose songs could easily be played at that time, technically speaking, and there are also composers who write within the philosophy of rebetiko. But these are not rebetika. Rebetiko was what happened back then. (Lefteris, interview 5/2/2014) But why are we still talking about rebetiko today? “It’s a fashion that is at its pick right now”, says Yiannis distinctively. “There are lots of people who listen to it now and it’s getting really popular. I think this has been going on for the past ten years almost” (Yiannis, interview 12/1/2014). Everyone agrees that there’s been a shift towards rebetiko and traditional music recently, even though laiko is still prevailing, especially in larger music scenes. However, “we mustn’t forget that”, from the little local places, “rebetiko has never left” (Stefanos, interview 7/1/2014). Lefteris suggests that this shift took place due to a total change of perception. Before, things weren’t as honest as today. Now people are looking for more genuine things, because the previous ones have faded out. These days there are no longer big music stages, and no one is buying records. People want to have fun without paying too much money. And maybe there’s a kind of demystification as well: it’s not only the star that plays… it’s not a big deal, I can do it too. (Lefteris, interview 5/2/2014) So one of the reasons rebetiko spread so widely lately, and became almost à la mode, lies in the current social circumstances, and is directly related with experiences of the past. Having seen the mistakes in the way of life of the previous generation, young people today have started to look for something different. That’s really important, because it suggests, and presupposes, that there have been some alterations in another level. We see more people going to kafenia than we used to, there are more musicians now, and it’s also easier to learn to play. Furthermore, we are talking about the 3 rd generation, which, as the 3 rd generation immigrants, are trying to reclaim their characteristics. So I think rebetiko and traditional music are so popular at this moment because they represent some kind of identity. (Lefteris, interview 5/2/2014) It’s a fact that the previous generation was clearly euro centered, and that was reflected at its musical choices as well, while this generation seems to have different interests. Right now, going back to the roots and getting to know tradition, seem to be the real needs for young people. From this point of view we can talk about a search for identity, but we must not forget that rebetiko “had waned for many decades, hence it’s considered something new” for people today (Yiannis, interview 12/1/2014). As we can see, there are numerous factors that led to that turn to rebetiko again, but that’s not all. The whole group agrees that the “crisis” is not one of them though. On the contrary, they feel that it is due to musical criteria mostly, since lately many musicians, as Thanasis Papakonstantinou 12, added to their songs melodies or instruments that were normally used in rebetiko. After that, there were many musicians who “took the old songs and really changed them” (Yiannis, interview 12/1/2014), and then people got to know them and got used to them. Lefteris observes that there have been some changes in the field of education too, like the foundation of the Department of Traditional Music in Arta 13, and of other schools that focus on traditional instrument manufacture. This way, rebetiko, and tradition in general, have become academic subjects too. There have always been, and always will probably, be certain people that love this music, as Andrew claims, but now that rebetiko is in fashion, it’s for its 12 Greek composer, song writer and singer, whose music combines various elements of Greek music and rock. 13 Arta is the second biggest city of Epirus, after Ioannina. own benefit, Yiannis thinks. “The progress that’s been going on for the past few years has definitely saved this genre…especially some unknown songs that would have been forgotten soon, could now become a success” (Yiannis, interview 12/1/2014). That’s promising for sure, even though the very few people that never stopped playing rebetiko hadn’t realized the importance of their action. Stefanos believes that “for these people, there is no other kind of music. They don’t have in mind that rebetiko survives through them” (Stefanos, interview 7/1/2014). Even so, rebetiko became really popular lately and almost got to the point of mainstream. Yiannis thinks that “the more massive something becomes, the more likely it is to decay quickly” (Yiannis, interview 12/1/2014). On the other hand Lefteris says that in the case of rebetiko “it can’t be easily commercialized because someone can’t become a huge star just by playing rebetiko” (Lefteris, interview 5/2/2014). Andrew shares the same opinion: “It was exploited as much as possible. Anyway everyone comes to his own conclusions depending on his point of view. After all it’s nice to hear rebetiko on the radio sometimes” (Andrew, interview 9/2/2014). Finally, concerning the future of rebetiko, Stefanos seems to be quite optimist: “I don’t think it’s going to be ruined again. The people who play and listen to this kind of music love it dearly. If it’s going to be loved by many more, so be it” (Stefanos, interview 7/1/2014). Conclusion After having analyzed rebetiko, generally at first, and then through the interviews of an avocational group in Ioannina, several conclusions are drawn. Firstly, groups that play rebetiko today are mostly related with the third phase of this genre, as outlined in the first chapter. They are organized social teams, but they are open to public and accepted by it. Moreover, the people that constitute them belong mainly to the working class; or they could be either unemployed or underemployed. So, we can’t talk about their marginalization today, because as we mentioned above, on the one hand rebetiko is quite popular these days, and on the other hand, the majority of the population is now part of the same social class (or is afraid of becoming a part of it soon). I will agree with the respondents on the fact that the “crisis” didn’t directly affect the flourishing of rebetiko, but it did contribute in the proletarization of a big part of the population. So, due to the current financial situation in Greece, there was indirectly created the appropriate ground for rebetiko to become popular. When at some point the pomposity of the previous generation died down, because of the aggravation of the economy, the next generation demystified a lot of things that were considered given till then, such as the big music scenes and the “stars”. On the contrary, young people turned to simpler, collective and approachable options, and rebetiko was one of them. This choice was enhanced by a renewed interest in tradition as a whole, with which we may now be in position to deal with. As Eagleton supports, societies progressed because they were conscious of their cultural history, and not by putting it aside (Eagleton 2003: 101), which is what Greeks did for the past decades. Maybe they weren’t ready to realize a few things, for example the fact that Greece has eastern and western elements as well, just like rebetiko does. An indicative example, was the attitude of the academic folklorists in1973, who shone by their absence from a concentration in the name of rebetiko. However, the motive of this turn today seems to be a need for quest of a lost identity, after all these years of a strictly euro centered orientation. So here comes the 3 rd generation, as we mentioned before, to start a discourse with tradition, and reclaim it with new terms this time. Besides, according to Kiourtsakis, tradition is not just part of our cultural heritage, but it’s mostly the way this heritage is utilized (Kiourtsakis 1989: 29). Certainly, it’s a fact that every time our society referred to rebetiko, did it for different reasons than the time before (Kotaridis 1996: 14) and so does the current generation. For example, Holst explains: “In 1966 it wasn’t easy to talk to Greeks about rebetika […] they weren’t interested in that music anymore, because it was old and seemed to have Turkish roots” (Holst 1995: 16). Today, after a few decades, there is probably the right distance from that period of time, and we may now have the ability to look at things differently, and find them interesting or even consider them idealistic sometimes. As we can see from the interviews too, the lyrics of the songs, for instance, hold a certain attraction to young people these days, because they refer to an unfamiliar everyday life, of which they have no memory. Moreover, many of them got in touch with rebetiko through more recent types of music, which means that they first heard the melodies in some sort of covers, and then they discovered the original. We also mustn’t forget that this whole move towards tradition was reinforced through education as well, with the foundation of relevant schools or departments. We can talk about a combination of factors that turned people to rebetiko after all these years, and overall it was probably a juncture of social and musical maturity. 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