Singing and dancing along (A look at participation in a Rembetiko concert)

Going back home to the sunny island of Cyprus, for as much work as I had to do in such a short period of time, I had to go and listen to a live music performance of Rembetiko. 'The Mediterranean Blues', a common description for this style of music, which is still much appreciated in the countries where it was born, gives rise not simply to concerts in laid back restaurants and cafés but to a quickly spreading audience participation.

Rembetiko developed in the 1920s and 1930s in the port cities of Greece, among communities uprooted from Asia Minor in the population exchanges after the Treaty of Lausanne. This mixture of Oriental classical music, Greek folk music and Western urban environment created a unique style. With its “limping” rhythm and lyrics about depression, drugs, prison, death and unrequited love, Rembetiko became the expression of the outcast. Banned in Greece by the dictator Metaxas and in Turkey by Ataturk, Rembetiko is now been rediscovered, shared and celebrated by many from both countries.

The three performers were sitting on a table like ordinary clients, with their food and drinks in front of them. Tuning in instruments as if it were the most natural thing, they started off by playing a few familiar songs. Very soon, more people started arriving while some of them whould sing along in a low voice. The musicians nodded with satisfaction at anyone brave enough to join in even if omitting some of the lyrics. The clapping of hands that follow the rhythm of tunes is an alternative for those who are too lazy to sing, however, it requires quite an amount of experience as the uneven rhythms can often fool you. Some would also make requests for a song to the musicians by singing the first lines, and by the end of the night everyone was singing and dancing, having made contact with at least one other table of people besides the one occupied by the musicians.

Scene from Kostas Ferris' film Rembetiko

I believe that music is an art that reaches its spectator/listener with an immediacy that no other does and it has, thanks to this immediacy, managed to preserve audience participation as one of it elements-something other performative arts have lost throughout time. Audience participation in this case however is not only triggered by the music itself but by the casual setting (an unpretencious and friendly restaurant). Although it is true to say that all spectators here were out for a treat and were therefore pre-disposed to joining in and contributing to the performance, also given their backgorund and traditions, the dynamics of audience-performer influence is evident and undoubtedly has its roots with the very first musicians of Rembetiko.

After its official ban, the Mediterranean Blues had to be practiced in secret, which made

the sense of community created within those gatherings even stronger. People met and all participated in something that was not legal; whether musicians or not, they were all transgressors in the eyes of the state and on this common grounds the gap between performer and spectator never even had the time to form. This is why singing along with the musicians and singers is welcomed, as Rembetiko is about sharing.

The style of making Rembetiko and participating in it has preserved its original meaning, and although it is obviously not banned today and is no longer considered the expression of an outcast's life, musicians and audience come together not only to celebrate the Blues of the Mediterranean but to be part of a community.