What is rebetiko music? Rebetiko is a musical and cultural expression directly linked to song and dance that initially spread among the urban lower and working-class populations in the early twentieth century. It is music full of different rhythms and lyrics that paint a picture of life and Greek psychology from the 1920s through to the early 1950s. Often described as ‘the Greek blues’, it is not just a type of music, but a way of life.
How is Rebetiko relevant today? The themes of immigration and displacement, love, everyday life, joy, hope, nostalgia, missing home, betrayal, friendship…these remain themes that concern our lives now and forever. Also, in practical terms, Rebetiko is a great way to educate young people on the principles of music through improvisation, learning to work together in a group, supporting each other…listening and making room for each other…these are not just values for a classroom or a band, but also for how to live in a community.
What is the Rebetiko Carnival and how did it come about? The Rebetiko Carnival is a registered charity that presents concerts, workshops, lectures, outreach work and education work through the medium of Greek music….not always just Rebetiko. One part of the Rebetiko Carnival is the biannual festival (lasting almost a month) whereby musicians from Greece collaborate with musicians based throughout the UK, not just London. It was created by a small group of friends, who were interested in the philanthropic and therapeutic side of music as well as the performing. Outreach and education is at the heart of what we do. Everything else is built on top of that.
How did you decide on the name for the charity? The “Rebetiko” speaks for itself. However, there is a lot of research and study of rebetiko nowadays, and though this is essential and so important it can give the impression of something too academic sometimes. We thought that the concerts and events themselves will show the diligence and thoughtfulness that we put into the music and how it is presented, but we wanted to create a feeling of celebration and fun as well. My roots are lso Brazilian, so what better way to convey this than the sense of a “Carnival”? Rebtiko Carnival!
In what way is the Rebetiko Carnival embracing the idea of “community” and what type of work do you do? We are very conscious that there are gaps and tensions between groups of people…that there are also people who are unable to go out and enjoy music in the way that we do. We are so lucky. We create projects that bring together people from all generations from young children, to over 80s, whereby we work together and they come together in a musical performance, all sharing the stage. We create spaces where professionals and non-professional musicians can meet, socialise and play together, the most important aspect of these sessions being to just meet people and communicate through chatting and making music, free from any labels we put on ourselves. We have created a community choir. We also visit hospitals, hospices, prisons, elderly people’s homes, special needs residences and anyone we can think of who does not have the ease of hearing music in performance venues outside their home.
What’s your vision as the artistic director/founder of RC? There is no end goal. It is a continuous, evolving and all-embracing journey. The festival is one part of it, but the most important work is what happens in between…the legacy that can be created and kept alive for the future. We hope that we can continue to bridge gaps between cultures, and people wherever they may be. The collaborative nature of our work is a magnet for bringing people together. We hope the community we serve and that we are trying to expand and reach more people will keep growing, helped by our projects. In terms of the music we just think it is the most wonderful music in the world. We by no means think everyone should love it…people have the right to their own tastes, but we just want to expose as many people as possible to it so that they at least know it is there and make their own decision about it. The vision for the festival and charity through the musicians is that we get to a point where all the musicians taking part in what we do not only perform on the bigger stages but are also involved in the community and outreach work. Artistically, through the advice and ideas of the many great musicians and rebetiko enthusiasts we work with, we want to keep creating exciting and imaginative events that not only put on a performance of rebetiko music but also present things in new and creative ways, even abstract and challenging ways that present this music and culture through perspectives that have not been seen before.
What are your plans for the rest of 2023? In September 2022, after the whole Covid debacle and other issues, we were not even sure that the festival or the RC as a charity were going to continue. Now, 8 months later, with the support and encouragement of so many people, old friends and new faces on the block, that believed in what we were doing, we are more unified and stronger together than we have ever been. It has been quite a journey. So, to begin with…we will all take a short break, rest and absorb the incredible year we have had culminating in the June festival. Then get back to planning more exciting events. To be honest we have not looked much further than the June festival in terms of events, since this takes up so much time and energy. However, we already have a lot of outreach work set up, plus certain things that have been born through the festival such as our regular monthly jam sessions will continue throughout the year. After the festival, we will all have a sit down with some food and drink and actually put a plan of events into action for 2023/2024.
Why should people come to the festival and what should they expect from it? People will hear the most intoxicating and joyful music. You do not need to be Greek to understand it. Think Portuguese Fado, Cuban music, African, Balkan, Spanish…the music speaks for itself whether you understand the lyrics or not. Also, it is a rare opportunity to hear so many very special musicians, bringing with them instruments and sounds that are not common in this part of the world. all within the space of a month of very varied music. Rebetiko has all sorts of influence and does not have just one sound. We have tried to represent different types of rebetiko and the music that influenced its development through the festival.
Do you do projects just with Rebetiko, or do you include anything beyond this music specifically? Projects beyond rebetiko are important to us. Our guiding principle is not just the music itself but the spirit of rebetiko…one of discovery, new sounds challenging the system. We encourage performances of musicians’ own compositions, we collaborate with musicians from different cultures and create fusion concerts. We also perform rebetiko in the context of different styles of musicians, collaborating with jazz musicians and classical musicians to bring the musical worlds together.
Are your projects only music based, or do you involve other art forms, too? Absolutely. In Greece itself this music is a part of the Shadow puppet theatre culture called “Karagiozis”. It accompanies these performances. However, we are really keen to create projects that bring Art, photography and theatre together with the music itself.
Is this music just for Greeks? It is for everyone! Our community is maybe 60% Greeks. The rest…both in terms of who performs and who comes to listen and take part in our projects are from everywhere. Some of our most dedicated supporters, who actually make donations to our charity without which we could not do our work, are non Greeks. Many of the community and school projects we do are also for non-Greek schools. As I mentioned in an earlier question, what is important is the principles that one can learn through this music…these are not nationality specific, but universal.
Rebetiko Carnival runs from 3-24 June in venues across the UK, including London, Southampton, Oxford, and Brighton. Tickets are available here.
www.rebetikocarnival.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/rebetikocarnival/
