Morso

Guitarist and singer Dimitris Mystakidis is well-versed in the traditions of both Greek folk music and, especially, rebetika. And he definitely has the voice for the latter; immediately after he launches ‘Geraki’ you are reminded of the greats of the past: Markos Vamvakaris, Yiorgos Batis and others. The album is one, as the notes remind us, of the difficult times we are living through, and rebetika is a perfect vehicle for that. But although it starts off with a piece by Thanos Papanikolaou, which channels the earlier music of Pireaus and café aman, it is not all traditional rebetika, even if the debt to it can be heard throughout the album. It mostly comprises pieces composed by Mystakidis himself, and the close vocal harmony of ‘Skytali’ brings in Konstantis Pistiolis on tsampouna (bagpipe) and with it the flavour of the local musics of central and northern Greece. There follow two pieces by singer-songwriter Alexandros Emmanouilidis, ‘Ahortago Skyli’ enlivened by some great ney playing by Harris Lambrakis. ‘Apo Mikri’ and ‘Adiko Kormi’ bring electronics and, again, rebetika to the fore, underlining the social criticism that lies behind much of the album. It continues in the same vein until the surprising, upbeat and bouncy final track, ‘Ti Trehei Sto Pagkrati?’, both humorous and critical in equal measure.