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CD RELEASE "Rebetiki Istoria: Rebetika Songs of Greece"

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       A Selection of Old Beloved Rebetika Songs including:

Zousa Monahos Horis Agaph (I Lived Alone Without Love) Dimitris Gongos Bayianteras
Enas Satraphs Thilikos (A Female Tyrant) Ioannis Papaioannou
Xtipo Nekroi Ki'Anoikste Me (I Am Knocking Dead, Open For Me) Yiorgos Mitsakis

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REBETIKI ISTORIA - the name means "Rebetika History" - is a leading Greek traditional music group specializing in early-style rebetika. Rebetika is one of the oldest genres of Greek urban popular song. Often characterized as "the blues of Greece," the music expresses the hardship and joys of everyday life including topics life love, loss and poverty. At times, the music was censored and its musicians ostracized, and at times it was lauded as the greatest expression of Greek music and culture. Rebetika musicians like Markos Vamvakaris and Vassilis Tsitsanis changed the history of Greek popular music with song like "Your Eyelashes Shine" and "Cloudy Sunday" injecting it with a poignant realism and subtle musicality. For 35 years, Rebetiki Istoria has led the rebetiko revival, producing authentic rebetika performances reminiscent of the earliest rebetika stars. The group maintains an extraordinary repertoire including popular rebetika songs like "Cloudy Sunday" and little-known gems like "The Orphans Sorrow." The musicians combine stunning musicianship with technical accuracy, emotional intensity and delicate sensitivity. Few musicians capture the style and complexity of the early recordings like Rebetiki Istoria.

PAVLOS VASILEIOU is the lead singer and mastermind behind Rebetiki Istoria. A leading proponent of early-style rebetika, Vasileiou maintains an enormous repertoire of songs and has mastered the complex art of the improvisational amanes.  Byzantine hymns are a central influence on his vocal style, as Vasileiou received his vocal training as a chanter in the Greek Orthodox church. In 2013, Vasileiou was awarded the King, Chavez, Parks Visiting Professorship by the University of Michigan for his contribution to the diversity of social and cultural perspectives in Greece and abroad.

U.S. CONCERT TOURS. The Rebetiki Istoria band is located in Athens, Greece. The band performs regular concert tours throughout the United States. Tour events include lecture-recitals at universities and schools; concerts, demonstrations and dances at churches, museums and cultural centers. The group offers pre-concert educational talks by ethnomusicologist and rebetiko musician Dr. Yona Stamatis, Assistant Professor of Ethnomusicology at the University of Illinois, Springfield. To schedule a concert on the Oct-Nov 2019 North American concert tour, please send a message through the Contact Page.

BOOKING. To book Rebetiki Istoria in your city, please fill out the Contact Form located at the top of this webpage under the link "Contact."

PRESS

 "Rebetiki Istoria delivers a visceral encounter with the exquisitely poignant music of the Greek rebetika tradition. Combining cultivated artistry with an unshakable reverence for this inveterate genre, Rebetiki Istoria is a commanding tour de force  of consummate artistry all too rare on the modern stage."  - Dr. Nicholas Field, Musicology, Michigan State University

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"Rebetiki Istoria is a cultural treasure producing rebetika performances heard only on the earliest recordings. Their musicianship is unrivaled, providing the perfect aural backdrop - the flowing modal melodies decorating the driving ostinato rhythm. Pavlos Vassiliou does not merely interpret rebetika songs, he inhabits them. His performances offer a musical experience so compelling that one is transported through time and space by their searching emotional intensity. " - Dr. Yona Stamatis, Ethnomusicology, University of Illinois, Springfield
                                                                                                                     
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"Pavlos has the voice of legends... He simply sings the songs-thousands of songs over the course of a year, perhaps the biggest repertoire in all Athens[...] His singing draws on deeply felt but carefully controlled emotions. Rebetiki Istoria lives and breathes the legacy of rebetika." - Dr. Artemis Leontis, Modern Greek Studies, University of Michigan (Artemis Leontis. 2009. Culture and Customs of Greece. Westport CT: Greenwood. 150-151)

Media

Click to Watch Pavlos Vassiliou and the Rebetiki Istoria band perform an improvised amanes. Stamps Auditorium, University of Michigan. 2012.

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Click to Watch an interview with Pavlos Vassiliou and Dr. Yona Stamatis about Rebetiki Istoria with Vicky Flessa on the leading "Sta Akra" interview show on Greek national television channel ERT. 2015.

Click to watch "Tradition Heard: Episode 1" a brief video about Rebetiki Istoria by NY filmmaker Orestis Tsonopoulos.

Click to watch members of Rebetiki Istoria and Dr. Pantelis Polychronidis (piano) perform selections from Epitaphios by Mikis Theodorakis. The concert took place in Stamps Auditorium at the University of Michigan in 2013. It was sponsored by the U of M Center for Chinese Studies and the Modern Greek Program.

Click to watch Rebetiki Istoria perform an excerpt from "I Will Take an Airplane" by Panayiotis Tountas. The concert took place in Stamps Auditorium at the University of Michigan in 2012. It was sponsored by the U of M Center for Chinese Studies and the Modern Greek Program.