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Rebetiko and Songs of Istanbul

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Rebetiko is a kind of "blues" with oriental accents appeared in Greece in the early 20s. Following the exchange of population between Greece and Turkey in 1922, a million of Greek Minority Asia exile in the big Greek cities such as Athens or Thessalonica, carrying in their luggage their own musical traditions as well as those of Ottomans.

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It can be said that rebetiko is the result of the meeting of two musical streams: piraiotiko (style of Piraeus), played by the native Greek musicians, which takes a more western side using instruments such as bouzouki, little baglama and the guitar, and smyrneiko (style of Smyrna), played by the refugees of Asia Minor, which is much more oriental influenced with instruments such as the oud, the kanun or the violin.

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"Sousta Politiki" offers an unprecedented reinterpretation of this repertoire, mixing personal influences and adding original compositions.