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Rembetika: Greek Music From The Underworld on CD

The origins of the music we now know as Rembetica lie in the obscurity of the mid-nineteenth century, or even earlier. It can be roughly divided into two schools: The first was that created by the Greek population of Ottoman cities such as Constantinople (Istanbul) and Smyrna (Izmir). in the main, this was played in public places of entertainment by highly skilled professional musicians, using, chiefly, Violin, lyra, Sandouri, guitar and mandolin. However, the fact that there also existed a rougher, more underground, form is evidenced by the "brothel" recordings made by Yiangos Psamathianos in Constantinople in around 1912 (see Arhoolie CD 7005). Meanwhile, chiefly in the underworld of homeland Greece, there developed another form of Rembetica, played in enclosed places such as "Teethes" (hash-dens) and prisons. This was more a music of non-professional musicians performing on guitar, baglamas and bouzouki.