Popular Musicology in Greece: The Case of Rembétiko and Laikó Musical Styles
Tuesday, February 5
7:00pm
The Athens Centre
Archimidous 48, Pangrati (Mets)
Abstract
Clearly, academic research on popular music has been developing rapidly; this can be verified by the numerous theses, books, articles, conferences, programmes of studies and so forth. However, popular musicology in Greece has not shown its will to produce fruits as yet. Evidence clearly suggests that rembétiko and laikó [urban popular styles] deserve academic treatment. Moreover, rembétiko is a syncretic musical style which, and as evidence suggests, is the very first national urban musical ‘product’ of Greece. The acculturation that happened (Ottoman-Turkish makams, Greek paradhosiaká [rural-traditional], Afro-Cuban rhythms [Latin America], Western harmony and so forth) is of major importance for Greek popular musicology. Therefore, it is an urgent necessity to give popular music studies the place they deserve, for it is not only important for Greek education, but also for the development of popular music studies globally.
[Watch the video of the lecture]
