The music of Greece is as diverse and celebrated as its

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

. Greek music separates into two parts:

Greek traditional music Greek traditional music (, , 'traditional music'; also , , 'folk songs') includes a variety of Culture of Greece, Greek styles played by Greek people, ethnic Greeks in Greece, Cyprus, Australia, the United States and other parts of Europe. Apar ...

and

Byzantine music Byzantine music () originally consisted of the songs and hymns composed for the courtly and religious ceremonial of the Byzantine Empire and continued, after the fall of Constantinople in 1453, in the traditions of the sung Byzantine chant of East ...

. These compositions have existed for millennia: they originated in the

Byzantine period The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

and Greek antiquity; there is a continuous development which appears in the language, the rhythm, the structure and the melody. Music is a significant aspect of Hellenic culture, both within

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and in the

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...

Greek musical history

Greek musical history extends far back into

ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...

, since music was a major part of ancient Greek theater. Later influences from the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, Eastern Europe and the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

changed the form and style of Greek music. In the 19th century,

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

composers, like Nikolaos Mantzaros (1795–1872), Spyridon Xyndas (1812–1896) and

Spyridon Samaras Spyridon-Filiskos Samaras () (29 November 1861 - 7 April 1917) was a Greek composer particularly admired for his operas. His compositions were praised worldwide during his lifetime and he is arguably the most important composer of the Ionian Scho ...

(1861–1917) and symphonists, like Dimitris Lialios and Dionysios Rodotheatos revitalized Greek

art music Art music (alternatively called classical music, cultivated music, serious music, and canonic music) is music considered to be of high culture, high phonoaesthetic value. It typically implies advanced structural and theoretical considerationsJa ...

Ancient Greece

, men usually performed choruses for entertainment, celebration, and spiritual reasons. Instruments included the double-reed

aulos An ''aulos'' (plural ''auloi''; , plural ) or ''tibia'' (Latin) was a wind instrument in ancient Greece, often depicted in art and also attested by archaeology. Though the word ''aulos'' is often translated as "flute" or as " double flute", ...

and the plucked

string instrument In musical instrument classification, string instruments, or chordophones, are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer strums, plucks, strikes or sounds the strings in varying manners. Musicians play some ...

(like

pandura The pandura (, ''pandoura'') or pandore, an ancient Greek string instrument, belonged in the broad class of the lute and guitar instruments. Akkadian Empire, Akkadians played similar instruments from the 3rd millennium BC. Ancient Greece, Ancien ...

), the kanonaki, the

lyre The lyre () (from Greek λύρα and Latin ''lyra)'' is a string instrument, stringed musical instrument that is classified by Hornbostel–Sachs as a member of the History of lute-family instruments, lute family of instruments. In organology, a ...

, especially the special kind called a

kithara The kithara (), Latinized as cithara, was an ancient Greek musical instrument in the yoke lutes family. It was a seven-stringed professional version of the lyre, which was regarded as a rustic, or folk instrument, appropriate for teaching mu ...

. Music was an important part of education in ancient Greece, and boys were taught music starting at age six. Greek musical literacy created a flowering of development; Greek

music theory Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the "Elements of music, ...

included the Greek

musical mode In music theory, the term mode or ''modus'' is used in a number of distinct senses, depending on context. Its most common use may be described as a type of musical scale coupled with a set of characteristic melodic and harmonic behaviors. It ...

s, eventually became the basis for Eastern and Western

religious music Religious music (also sacred music) is a type of music that is performed or composed for Religion, religious use or through religious influence. It may overlap with ritual music, which is music, sacred or not, performed or composed for or as a ri ...

and

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

Roman era

Due to Rome's reverence for Greek culture, the Romans borrowed the Greek method of 'enchiriadic notation' (marks which indicated the general shape of the tune but not the exact notes or rhythms) to record their music, if they used any notation at all.

Byzantine era

The tradition of eastern liturgical chant, encompassing the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

-speaking world, developed in the

from the establishment of its capital,

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, in 330 until its fall in 1453. It is undeniably of composite origin, drawing on the artistic and technical productions of the classical Greek age, of Jewish religious music, and inspired by the

monophonic Monaural sound or monophonic sound (often shortened to mono) is sound intended to be heard as if it were emanating from one position. This contrasts with stereophonic sound or ''stereo'', which uses two separate audio channels to reproduce sou ...

vocal music Vocal music is a type of singing performed by one or more singers, either with instrumental accompaniment, or without instrumental accompaniment (a cappella), in which singing provides the main focus of the piece. Music which employs singing but ...

that evolved in the early (Greek) Christian cities of

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

and

Ephesus Ephesus (; ; ; may ultimately derive from ) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, in present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of Apasa, the former Arzawan capital ...

(see also Early Christian music). In his lexicographical discussion of instruments, the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

geographer

Ibn Khurradadhbih Abu'l-Qasim Ubaydallah ibn Abdallah ibn Khordadbeh (; 820/825–913), commonly known as Ibn Khordadbeh (also spelled Ibn Khurradadhbih; ), was a high-ranking bureaucrat and geographer of Persian descent in the Abbasid Caliphate. He is the aut ...

(d. 911) cited the lūrā ( bowed lyra) as a typical instrument of the Byzantines along with the ''urghun'' (

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

), ''shilyani'' (probably a type of

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...

), and the ''salandj'' (probably a

bagpipe Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, No ...

). Other instruments used in the folk Byzantine-era music, were kanonaki, oud, laouto, santouri and other instruments that are still played in post-Byzantine regions today. Vrakoforos Tabouras

Ottoman era

The

Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...

were familiar, in this period that stretched from the 15th century to the time of

Greek war of independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...

, with the traditional

Greek folk music Greek traditional music (, , 'traditional music'; also , , 'folk songs') includes a variety of Culture of Greece, Greek styles played by Greek people, ethnic Greeks in Greece, Cyprus, Australia, the United States and other parts of Europe. Apar ...

, elements of the

Ottoman music Ottoman music () or Turkish classical music (, or more recently ) is the tradition of classical music originating in the Ottoman Empire. Developed in the palace, major Ottoman cities, and Sufi lodges, it traditionally features a solo singer wi ...

, such as with surviving

and more specifically, hymns:

Church music Church music is a genre of Christian music written for performance in church, or any musical setting of ecclesiastical liturgy, or music set to words expressing propositions of a sacred nature, such as a hymn. History Early Christian musi ...

. These genres have certainly reached a high degree of evolution. They were forms of a mono music that had many elements of ancient Greek origin but also, they had nothing to do with Western polyphonic music. By the beginning of the 20th century, music-cafés (καφέ-σαντάν) were popular in cities such as

and

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

, where small groups of musicians from Greece played. The bands were typically led by a female vocalist and included a

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

. The improvised songs typically exclaimed ''amán amán'', which led to the name ''amanédhes'' ( αμανέδες ''amanédes'', singular αμανές ''amanés'') or ''café-aman'' (καφέ-αμάν). Greek musicians of this period included

Marika Papagika Marika Papagika (, née Katsoris; September 1, 1890 – August 2, 1943) was a popular Greek singer in the early 20th century and one of the first Greek women singers to be heard on sound recordings. Biography Marika Papagika was born on the islan ...

, Rosa Eskenazi and Rita Abatzi. This period also brought in the

Rebetiko Rebetiko (, ), plural rebetika ( ), occasionally transliterated as rembetiko or rebetico, is a term used to designate previously disparate kinds of urban Greek music which in the 1930s went through a process of musical syncretism and develope ...

movement, which had local Smyrniote, Ottoman and Byzantine influences.

Folk music (dimotiká or demotic)

traditions are said to derive from the music played by ancient Greeks. There are said to be two musical movements in Greek folk music (παραδοσιακή μουσική):

Acritic songs The Acritic songs () are the epic poems that emerged in the Byzantine Empire probably around the ninth century. The songs celebrated the exploits of the Akritai, the frontier guards defending the eastern borders of the Byzantine Empire. The histo ...

and Klephtic songs. Akritic music comes from the 9th century '' akrites'', or border guards of the

. Following the end of the Byzantine period, klephtic music arose before the

Greek Revolution The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...

, developed among the '' kleftes'', warriors who fought against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. Klephtic music is

and uses no

harmonic In physics, acoustics, and telecommunications, a harmonic is a sinusoidal wave with a frequency that is a positive integer multiple of the ''fundamental frequency'' of a periodic signal. The fundamental frequency is also called the ''1st har ...

accompaniment. '' Dimotika tragoudia'' are only from the mainland and accompanied by

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thoug ...

s, laouto, violins and lyras, and include dance music like syrtó, kalamatianó, tsámiko and hasaposérviko, as well as vocal music like kléftiko. The lyrics are based on dimotiki (folk) poetry (usually by anonymous lyricist) and popular themes are love, marriage, humor, death, nature, water, sea, religious, about klephts, armatoloi, various war fighters or battles etc. Some notable instrumentalists include clarinet virtuosos like Petroloukas Chalkias, Giorgos Gevgelis and Yiannis Vassilopoulos, as well as laouto and

fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...

players like Nikos Saragoudas, Vasilis Kostas and Giorgos Koros. Greek folk music is found all throughout Greece,

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

, and several regions of

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, as well as among communities in countries like the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and Australia. The island of

and several regions of

are home to long-standing communities of

Greeks in Turkey The Greeks in Turkey () constitute a small population of Greek and Greek-speaking Eastern Orthodox Christians who mostly live in Istanbul, as well as on the two islands of the western entrance to the Dardanelles: Imbros and Tenedos ( and ''Bo ...

with their own unique styles of music.

Nisiótika

'' Nisiotika'' is a general term denoting folk songs from the Greek islands, especially the Aegean Islands. Among the most popular types of them is ''Ikariótiko tragoúdi'', "song from Ikaria".

=Ikariótikos

= '' Ikariótikos'' is a traditional type of dance, and also the name of its accompanying type of singing, originating in the Aegean island of

Ikaria Ikaria, also spelled Icaria (; ), is a Greece, Greek island in the Aegean Sea, 10 nautical miles (19 km) southwest of Samos. Administratively, Ikaria forms a separate municipality within the Ikaria (regional unit), Ikaria regional unit, ...

. At first it was a very slow dance, but today Ikariotikos is a very quick dance. Some specialists say that the traditional Ikariotikos was slow and the quick "version" of it is in fact

Ballos The Ballos () is a Greek folk dance and a form of sirtos. There are also different versions in other Balkan countries. The Ballos is of Greek origin, with ancient Greek elements. The name originates in the Italian ''ballo'' via Latin "ballo" ...

. Music and dancing are major forms of entertainment in Ikaria. Throughout the year Ikarians host baptisms, weddings, parties and religious festivals where one can listen and dance to live traditional Ikarian Music.

=Modern nisiótika

= Singer

Mariza Koch Mariza Koch (; born 14 March 1944) is a Greek folk music singer who has recorded many albums since starting her career in 1971. On the wider stage she is best remembered for representing her homeland at the Eurovision Song Contest 1976 with the so ...

was largely responsible for the revival of interest in Nisiótika in the 1970s and 1980s. During the 1990s and 2000s, singers such as Yiannis Parios and Stella Konitopoulou helped this music gain occasional mainstream popularity.

Cretan music

The

Cretan lyra The Cretan lyra () is a pear-shaped three-stringed Greece, Greek Violin, a traditional Greek musical instruments, musical instrument, central to the traditional music of Crete and other islands in the Dodecanese and the Aegean Islands, Aegean Ar ...

is the dominant folk instrument on the island; it is a three-stringed bowed instrument similar to the

Byzantine Lyra The Byzantine lyra or lira () was a medieval bowed string musical instrument in the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire. In its popular form, the lyra was a pear-shaped instrument with three to five strings, held upright and played by stopping ...

. It is often accompanied with laouto (which is similar to both an oud and a

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck (music), neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lu ...

), guitar, violin and (Cretan) mandolin.

Nikos Xylouris Nikos Xylouris (; 7 July 1936 – 8 February 1980), also known by the Cretan nickname Psaronikos (), was a Greek singer, Cretan Lyra player, and composer, known for performing both rural traditional and urban orchestral music. Origins and b ...

Psarantonis Antonios "Antonis" Xylouris (; born September 6, 1937), nicknamed Psarantonis (), is a Greek composer, singer and performer of Lyra (Cretan), lyra, the bowed string instrument of Crete and most popular surviving form of the medieval Byzantine ly ...

(Antonis Xylouris), Thanassis Skordalos, Kostas Moundakis, Ross Daly, Nikos Zoidakis and Vasilis Skoulas are among the most renowned players of the lýra. The

is used also in Cretan music. The most renowned player of the violin is the Antonis Martsakis which is also a dancer.

Mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

is also used in Cretan music. Loudovikos ton Anogeion (Λουδοβίκος των Ανωγείων) is a well-known mandolin player from

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

. The bass in that music coming from the laouto.

Giannis Haroulis Giannis Haroulis (; born January 13, 1981) is a Greek singer, songwriter and lute player. He plays a mixture of Greek folk and traditional Cretan music infused with rock elements and modern sounds. He was born and raised in Crete, where he lear ...

and Michalis Tzouganakis are notable artists of the instrument.

=Cretan music in media

= The Cretan music theme ''

Zorba's dance "Zorba's Dance" () is an instrumental by Greeks, Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis. The music is part of the soundtrack for the 1964 film ''Zorba the Greek (film), Zorba the Greek'', and used in the film to accompany the dance known as sirtaki. It ...

'' by

Mikis Theodorakis Michail "Mikis" Theodorakis ( ; 29 July 1925 – 2 September 2021) was a Greek composer and lyricist credited with over 1,000 works. He scored for the films '' Zorba the Greek'' (1964), '' Z'' (1969), and '' Serpico'' (1973). He was a three-ti ...

(incorporating elements from the

hasapiko The hasapiko (, , meaning “the butcher's ance��) is a Greek folk dance from Constantinople. The dance originated in the Middle Ages as a battle mime with swords performed by the Greek butchers' guild, which adopted it from the military of ...

dance) which appears in the Hollywood 1964 movie

Zorba the Greek ''Zorba the Greek'' (, , Life and Times of Alexis Zorbas) is a novel written by Nikos Kazantzakis, first published in 1946. It is the tale of a young Greek intellectual who ventures to escape his bookish life with the aid of the boisterous and m ...

remains the best-known Greek song abroad.

Other folk traditions

Other major regional musical traditions of Greece include: * Music of the Heptanese * Music of Epirus * Music of Macedonia * Music of Thrace

Notable artists

''Composers:'' * Ross Daly * Giorgos Konitopoulos * Dimitris Lagios * Alkinoos Ioannidis * Kostas Mountakis *

Dionysis Savvopoulos Dionysis Savvopoulos () (born 2 December 1944) is a prominent Greek singer-songwriter. Career Savvopoulos was born in the city of Thessaloniki, Greece (December 1944) in a middle-class family. He passed his university entrance exams and enrolle ...

''Singers:'' * Chronis Aidonidis * Yiannis Parios * Xanthippi Karathanasi *

* Domna Samiou * Michalis Violaris *

Classical music

Ionian school

It was through the

Ionian islands The Ionian Islands (Modern Greek: , ; Ancient Greek, Katharevousa: , ) are a archipelago, group of islands in the Ionian Sea, west of mainland Greece. They are traditionally called the Heptanese ("Seven Islands"; , ''Heptanēsa'' or , ''Heptanē ...

(which were under Venetian rule and influence) that all the major developments of the western European classical music were introduced to mainland Greeks. The region is notable for the birth of the first school of modern Greek classical music ( Heptanesian or Ionian school;

: Επτανησιακή Σχολή), established in 1815. Prominent representatives of this genre include Nikolaos Mantzaros, Spyridon Xyndas,

, Dionysius Rodotheatos and

Pavlos Carrer Pavlos Carrer (also Paolo Carrer; ; 12 May 1829 – 7 June 1896) was a Greek composer, one of the leaders of the Ionian art music school and the first to create national operas and national songs on Greek plots, Greek librettos and verses, as ...

. The Church music (Byzantine) of the islands is also different from the rest of Greece, with significant western and

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

influences on the Orthodox rite.

Greek national school

Manolis Kalomiris Manolis Kalomiris (; December 14, 1883, Smyrna – April 3, 1962, Athens) was a Greek classical composer. He was the founder of the Greek National School of Music. Biography Born in Smyrna (modern Izmir, Turkey), he attended school in Constanti ...

(1883–1962) was the founder of the Greek national school of music. Born in

, he attended school in

and studied piano and composition in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. His work drew influences also from the

, poetry (he was an admirer of

Kostis Palamas Kostis Palamas (; ; – 27 February 1943) was a Greek poet who wrote the words to the Olympic Hymn. He was a central figure of the Greek literary generation of the 1880s and one of the cofounders of the so-called New Athenian School (or Pala ...

) and myth, aiming to combine the

German Romanticism German Romanticism () was the dominant intellectual movement of German-speaking countries in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, influencing philosophy, aesthetics, literature, and criticism. Compared to English Romanticism, the German vari ...

with Greek motives. In 1919 he founded the

Hellenic Conservatory The Hellenic Conservatory () is an educational institution for the performing arts in modern Greece. It was founded in Athens in 1919 by the composer Manolis Kalomiris. Kalomoiris was the conservatoire's director until 1926, when he left to found ...

and in 1926 the National Conservatoire. Representatives are also Nikos Skalkottas, who drew his influences also from Greek folk tradition,

Emilios Riadis Emilios Riadis (original name Emilios Khu; ; 13 May 1880 – 17 July 1935) was a Greek composer. Biography Riadis was born in Thessaloniki, Ottoman Empire, now in Greece. He had his first music lesson in harmony and piano with a friend of Wagne ...

and the conductor Dimitris Mitropoulos.

Popular music

Greek operetta and early popular songs

The Heptanesean kantádes (καντάδες '

serenade In music, a serenade (; also sometimes called a serenata, from the Italian) is a musical composition or performance delivered in honour of someone or something. Serenades are typically calm, light pieces of music. The term comes from the Ital ...

s'; sing.: καντάδα) are based on the popular Italian music of the early 19th century and became the forerunners of the Greek modern song, influencing its development to a considerable degree. For the first part of the next century, several Greek composers continued to borrow elements from the Heptanesean style. The most successful songs during the period 1870–1930 were the so-called Athenian serenades (Αθηναϊκές καντάδες), and the songs performed on stage (επιθεωρησιακά τραγούδια 'theatrical revue songs') in

revues A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during ...

, musical comedies, operettas and nocturnes that were dominating Athens' theatre scene. Notable composers of

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

s or

nocturne A nocturne is a musical composition that is inspired by, or evocative of, the night. History The term ''nocturne'' (from French '' nocturne'' "of the night") was first applied to musical pieces in the 18th century, when it indicated an ensembl ...

s were

, Kostas Giannidis, Spyridon Kaisaris,

Dionysios Lavrangas The name Dionysius (; ''Dionysios'', "of Dionysus"; ) was common in classical and post-classical times. Etymologically it is a nominalized adjective formed with a -ios suffix from the stem Dionys- of the name of the Greek god, Dionysus, parallel ...

, Nikos Hatziapostolou, while

Theophrastos Sakellaridis Theophrastos Sakellaridis (Θεόφραστος Σακελλαρίδης) (7 September 1883 2 January 1950), was a Greek composer, conductor, and basic creator of Greek operetta. Biography Sakellaridis was born in Athens on 7 September 1883. H ...

' ''The Godson'' remains probably the most popular operetta. Despite the fact that the Athenian songs were not autonomous artistic creations (in contrast with the serenades) and despite their original connection with mainly dramatic forms of Art, they eventually became hits as independent songs. Notable actors of Greek operettas, who made also a series of melodies and songs popular at that time, include Orestis Makris, Kalouta sisters, Petros Epitropakis, Vasilis Avlonitis,

Afroditi Laoutari Afroditi Laoutari (, 1893–1975) was a famous Greek singer and actress in musical theatre. She was born in Patras in 1893. At an early age, she became involved with the musical theatre of , a leading operatic producer, where it didn't take lon ...

, Rena Vlahopoulou, Eleni Papadaki,

Aris Maliagros Aris Maliagros (; also Aris Malliagros; 17 August 1895 in Argostoli, Kefalonia – 18 December 1984) was a Greece, Greek actor who played several aristocratic roles. He was famous as the "master with the monocle". Biography Maliagros studied at ...

, Marika Nezer,

Marika Krevata Marika Krevata (Greek: Μαρίκα Κρεβατά; 12 June 1910 – 14 September 1994) was a Greek actress of theatre and film. Biography Marika Krevata was the daughter of Stamatis Krevatas (musician) and his wife, Sofia. She was born in Athe ...

and others.

Italian opera Italian opera is both the art of opera in Italy and opera in the Italian language. Opera was in Italy around the year 1600 and Italian opera has continued to play a dominant role in the history of the form until the present day. Many famous ope ...

had also a great influence on the musical aesthetics of the modern Greeks. Some popular operettas include: *''Kritikopoula'' (

, 1916) *''The Godson'' (

, 1918) *''I want to see the Pope'' (

, 1920) *''Oi Apachides ton Athinon'' ( Nikos Hatziapostolou, 1921) *''Beba'' (

, 1928) After 1930, wavering among American and European musical influences as well as the Greek musical tradition, Greek composers begin to write music using the tunes of the

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries from a combination of Arge ...

samba Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilians, Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or ...

waltz The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...

, swing,

bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It h ...

foxtrot The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band (usually vocal) music. The dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a time ...

, some times combined with melodies in the style of

Athenian Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

serenades' repertory.

Nikos Gounaris Nikos Gounaris (; Zagora, 1915 – 5 May 1965 in Athens) was a Greek tenor who was enormously popular as a "pop" singer in the 1950s. Biography Gounaris began playing the mandolin at the age of four. He attended the musical Conservatory of Mu ...

was probably the most renowned composer and singer of the time (often called "Mr. Greece"). Giorgos Mouzakis was a prominent virtuoso

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

er (borrowed

latin jazz Latin jazz is a genre of jazz with Latin American rhythms. The two main categories are Afro-Cuban jazz, rhythmically based on Cuban popular dance music, with a rhythm section employing ostinato patterns or a clave (rhythm), clave, and Afro-Brazil ...

elements), while Attik and

Michalis Souyioul Michail Sougioultzoglou ( ; 1 August 1906 – 16 October 1958), known professionally as Michalis Souyioul ( ) was a prominent Greek composer of light music in the early 20th century. Biography He was born in Aydın, in the Ottoman Empire on ...

were also among the most succeeded and popular composers. Notable singers of this style include also Fotis Polymeris,

Sofia Vembo Sofia Bembou (; 10 February 1910 – 10 March 1978), known professionally as Sofia Vembo (), was a leading Greek singer and actress active from the interwar period to the early postwar years and the 1950s. She became best known for her perfor ...

(a star of the era), Mary Lo, Danaë Stratigopoulou, Stella Greca and Tony Maroudas.

Notable artists

''(1910s–1960s)'' ''Composers:'' * Attik (Kleon Triantafyllou) * Kostas Giannidis * Kostas Kapnisis * Giorgos Mouzakis *

(Souyioultzoglou) * Giorgos Giannakopoulos (lyricist) * (lyricist) *

Alekos Sakellarios Alekos Sakellarios (; 13 November 1913 in Athens – 28 August 1991 in Athens) was a Greece, Greek writer and a director. He was born in Athens and grew up in Agios Panteleimonas, Athens, Agios Panteleimonas and began to study journalism a ...

(lyricist) * Mimis Traiforos (lyricist) ''Singers:'' * Ioannis Filandros/ Spyros Koronis duo *

* Tony Maroudas * Kakia Mendri * Fotis Polymeris * Luisa Poselli *

Danaë In Greek mythology, Danaë (, ; ; , ) was an Argive princess and mother of the hero Perseus by Zeus. She was credited with founding the city of Ardea in Latium during the Bronze Age. Family Danae was the daughter and only child of King Acr ...

Rebetiko

'' was initially associated with the lower and poor classes, but later reached greater general acceptance as the rough edges of its overt subcultural character were softened and polished. Rebetiko probably originated in the music of the larger Greek cities, most of them coastal, in today's Greece and Asia Minor. Emerged by the 1920s as the urban folk music of Greek society's outcasts. The earliest Greek

rebetiko Rebetiko (, ), plural rebetika ( ), occasionally transliterated as rembetiko or rebetico, is a term used to designate previously disparate kinds of urban Greek music which in the 1930s went through a process of musical syncretism and develope ...

singers (refugees, drug-users, criminals and itinerants) were scorned by mainstream society. They sang heartrending tales of drug abuse, prison and violence, usually accompanied by the

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', , from Greek , from Turkish ) is a musical instrument popular in West Asia (Syria, Iraq), Europe and Balkans (Greece, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Turkey). It is a member of the long-necked lute fam ...

. In 1923, after the

population exchange between Greece and Turkey The 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey stemmed from the "Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations" signed at Lausanne, Switzerland, on 30 January 1923, by the governments of Greece and Turkey. It involv ...

, many ethnic Greeks from

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

fled to Greece as a result of the Greco-Turkish War. They settled in poor neighborhoods in

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; ; , Ancient: , Katharevousa: ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens city centre along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf in the Ath ...

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

, and

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. Many of these immigrants were highly educated, such as songwriter

Vangelis Papazoglou Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou (, ; 29 March 1943 – 17 May 2022), known professionally as Vangelis ( ; , ), was a Greek musician, composer, and producer of electronic, progressive, ambient, and classical orchestral music. He composed ...

, and Panagiotis Toundas, composer and leader of

Odeon Records Odeon Records is a record label founded in 1903 by Max Straus and Heinrich Zuntz of the International Talking Machine Company in Berlin, Germany. The label's name and logo come from the Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe in Paris. History Straus a ...

' Greek subsidiary, who are traditionally considered as the founders of the

school of

. Another tradition from Smyrna that came along with the Greek refugees was the ''tekés'' (τεκές) 'opium den', or

hashish Hashish (; ), usually abbreviated as hash, is a Compression (physics), compressed form of resin (trichomes) derived from the cannabis flowers. European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Lisbon, As a Psychoactive drug, psychoactive ...

dens. Groups of men would sit in a circle, smoke hashish from a

hookah A hookah (also see #Names and etymology, other names), shisha, or waterpipe is a single- or multi-stemmed instrument for heating or vaporizing and then smoking either tobacco, flavored tobacco (often ''muʽassel''), or sometimes Cannabis (drug ...

, and improvise music of various kinds. With the coming of the Metaxas

dictatorship A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, who hold governmental powers with few to no Limited government, limitations. Politics in a dictatorship are controlled by a dictator, ...

was suppressed due to the uncompromising lyrics. Hashish dens,

baglamas The baglamas ( ), plural '' baglamades'') or baglamadaki (), a long necked bowl-lute, is a plucked string instrument used in Greek music; it is a smaller version of the bouzouki pitched an octave higher (nominally D-A-D), with unison pairs o ...

and

were banned, or at least playing in the eastern-style manner and scales. Some of the earliest legends of Greek music, such as the quartet of

Anestis Delias Anestis Delias ( – 31 July 1944) was a Greeks, Greek bouzouki player, composer and singer of ''rebetiko''. Delias was from a musical family of İzmir, Smyrna in Anatolia, who arrived on the Greek mainland as a young Greek refugees, refugee du ...

Markos Vamvakaris Markos Vamvakaris (; 10 May 1905 – 8 February 1972), was a Greek musician of ''rebetiko'', universally referred to by ''rebetiko'' writers and fans simply by his first name, Markos. The great significance of Vamvakaris for the rebetiko is als ...

, Stratos Payioumtzis and

Yiorgos Batis Yiorgos Batis (, also Giorgos Batis) (1885 – 10 March 1967) was one of the first rebetes influential to ''rebetiko'' music. His real name was Yiorgos Tsoros although he was known as Yiorgos Ampatis. He had a great love for music and musical ...

came out of this music scene. Vamvakaris became perhaps the first renowned

musician after the beginning of his solo career. Other popular rebetiko songwriters and singers of this period (1940s) include: Dimitris Gogos (better known as Bayandéras),

Stelios Perpiniadis Stelios Perpiniadis (; 14 May 1899 – 4 September 1977), better known as Stellakis (Greek: Στελλάκης), was a Greek folk musician who wrote, sang, and played guitar in the ''rebetiko'' style. He was the father of Greek folk musician, Vangel ...

, Spyros Peristeris, Giannis Papaioannou, and Apostolos Hatzichristos. The scene was soon popularized further by stars like

Vassilis Tsitsanis Vassilis Tsitsanis ( 18 January 1915 – 18 January 1984) was a Greek songwriter and bouzouki player. He became one of the leading Greek composers of his time and is widely regarded as one of the founders of modern Rebetiko and Laiko music. Tsi ...

. His song Συννεφιασμένη Κυριακή - ''Synnefiasméni Kyriakí'' became an anthem for the oppressed Greeks when it was composed in 1943 (during the

Axis occupation of Greece during World War II The occupation of Greece by the Axis Powers () began in April 1941 after Nazi Germany invaded the Kingdom of Greece in order to assist its ally, Italy, in their ongoing war that was initiated in October 1940, having encountered major strategic ...

), despite the fact that it was not recorded until 1948. He was followed by female singers like Marika Ninou, Ioanna Yiorgakopoulou, and

Sotiria Bellou Sotiria Bellou () (August 22, 1921 – August 27, 1997) was a Greek singer and performer of the ''rebetiko'' style of music. She was one of the most famous ''rebetisa'' of all, mentioned in many music guides, and a contributor to the 1984 Briti ...

. In 1953,

Manolis Chiotis Manolis Chiotis (Greek: Μανώλης Χιώτης; March 21, 1921 – March 21, 1970) was a Greek rebetiko and laiko composer, singer, and bouzouki player.English translation He is considered one of the greatest bouzouki soloists of all time. H ...

added a fourth pair of strings to the

, which allowed it to be played as a guitar and set the stage for the future '

electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. In the context of history of technology and economic development, electrification refe ...

' of

. This final era of rebetiko (mid 1940s–1953) also featured the emergence of

night clubs A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighting displays, and a ...

(κέντρα διασκεδάσεως) as a means of popularizing music. By the late 1950s, rebetiko had declined; it only survived in the form of ''archontorebetiko'' (αρχοντορεμπέτικο "posh rebetiko"), a refined style of rebetiko that was far more accepted by the upper class than the traditional form of the genre. The mainstream popularity of archontorebetiko paved the way for éntekhno and laïkó. In the 1960s

popularized the eight-string bouzouki and set the stage for the future '

' of

in its original form was revived during the Junta of 1967–1974, when the

Regime of the Colonels In politics, a regime (also spelled régime) is a system of government that determines access to public office, and the extent of power held by officials. The two broad categories of regimes are democratic and autocratic. A key similarity acros ...

banned it. After the end of the Junta, many revival groups (and solo artists) appeared. The most notable of them include Opisthodromiki Kompania, Rembetiki Kompania, Babis Tsertos, Agathonas Iakovidis and others.

Éntekhno

Drawing on

's internationalization by Tsitsanis and Chiotis, '' éntekhno'' (or ''éntechno'') arose in the late 1950s. Éntekhno (art song) is

orchestral music An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, a ...

with elements from Greek folk

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular r ...

and

melody A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of Pitch (music), pitch and rhythm, while more figurativel ...

; its lyrical themes are often based on the work of famous Greek poets. As opposed to other forms of Greek urban folk music, éntekhno concerts would often take place outside a hall or a night club in the

open air Open air, open-air or openair may refer to: *''Open Air'', a BBC television program *Open-air cinema or outdoor cinema *Open-air concert, a concert taking place outside *Open-air museum, a distinct type of museum exhibiting its collections out-of- ...

and

Manos Hadjidakis Manos may refer to: Films * The Hands (film), ''The Hands'' (film) (Spanish: ''Las manos''), a 2006 Argentinean-Italian film * ''Manos: The Hands of Fate'', 1966 horror film Other uses * Manos (album), ''Manos'' (album), by The Spinanes * Manos (n ...

were the most popular early composers of éntekhno

song cycles A song cycle () is a group, or cycle, of individually complete songs designed to be performed in sequence, as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online'' The songs are either for solo voice or an ensemble, or rarely a combination of solo songs mingl ...

. They were both educated in

Classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

and -among other reasons- the lacking of a wide public for this kind of music in Greece, drove them to the invention of Éntekhno, in which they transferred some values of Western art music, such as ballads tune. Theodorakis was the first composer to use the bouzouki in this genre of music, trying to include this organ into the mainstream culture. Other significant Greek songwriters included Stavros Kouyoumtzis, Manos Loïzos, and Dimos Moutsis. Significant lyricists of this genre are

Nikos Gatsos Nikos Gatsos (; 8 December 1911 – 12 May 1992) was a Greek poet, translator and lyricist. Biography According to Harvard University, he "had a profound influence on the post-war generation of Greek poets. Writing of both loss and hope, Gatsos� ...

, Manos Eleftheriou and poet Tasos Livaditis. By the 1960s, innovative albums helped éntekhno become close to mainstream, and also led to its appropriation by the

film industry The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production company, production companies, film studios, cinematography, animation, film production, screenwriting, pre- ...

for use in soundtracks. A specific form of éntekhno was the so-called "political song"; songs with political message, of the Left, which arose during the

military junta A military junta () is a system of government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''Junta (governing body), junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the Junta (Peninsular War), national and local junta organized by t ...

and became very popular after its fall in the late '70s.

Manos Loizos Manos may refer to: Films * ''The Hands'' (film) (Spanish: ''Las manos''), a 2006 Argentinean-Italian film * '' Manos: The Hands of Fate'', 1966 horror film Other uses * ''Manos'' (album), by The Spinanes * Manos (name) * Mano (stone) A mano ...

, guitarist Panos Tzavellas,

Maria Dimitriadi Maria Dimitriadi () (11 April 1950 – 6 January 2009), was a Greek singer. She was one of the most renowned performers of the songs of Mikis Theodorakis and Thanos Mikroutsikos. Dimitiradi primarily connected with political left-wing songs during ...

and

Maria Farantouri Maria Farantouri or Farandouri (; born 28 November 1947 in Athens) is a Greek singer and also a political and cultural activist. She has collaborated with Greek composers such as Mikis Theodorakis, who wrote the score for Pablo Neruda's ''Canto G ...

were some representatives.

Thanos Mikroutsikos Athanasios "Thanos" Mikroutsikos (; 13 April 1947 – 28 December 2019) was a Greece, Greek composer and politician. He is considered one of the most important composers of the recent Greek musical scene. Biography Personal life He was born on ...

released an album featuring Greek partisan songs of the Greek resistance, with his own orchestration. A form of éntekhno which is even closer to western classical music was introduced during the late 1970s by Mikroutsikos. (See the section ' Other popular trends' below for further information on Néo Kýma and contemporary éntekhno.) Notable ''éntekhno'' works include: *''Six folk paintings'' (

Manos Hatzidakis Manos Hatzidakis (also spelled Hadjidakis; ; 23 October 1925 – 15 June 1994) was a Greek composer and theorist of Greek music, widely regarded as one of the greatest Greek composers of all time. He was one of the main proponents of the " Ént ...

, 1951) *''Epitaphios'' (

, 1960, poetry by

Yiannis Ritsos Yiannis Ritsos ( ; 1 May 1909 – 11 November 1990) was a Greek poet and communist and an active member of the Greek Resistance during World War II. While he disliked being regarded as a political poet, he has been called "the great poet of th ...

) *''Epifania'' (

, 1962, poetry by

Giorgos Seferis Giorgos or George Seferis (; ), the pen name of Georgios Seferiadis (Γεώργιος Σεφεριάδης; March 13 – September 20, 1971), was a Greek poet and diplomat. He was one of the most important Greek poets of the 20th century, and ...

) *'' Dead brother's song'' (

, 1962) *''Mikres Kyklades'' (

, 1963, poetry by

Odysseas Elytis Odysseas Elytis (; , pen name of Odysseas Alepoudelis, ; 2 November 1911 – 18 March 1996) was a Greek poet, man of letters, essayist and translator, regarded as the definitive exponent of romantic modernism in Greece and the world. He is one ...

) *''To Axion Esti'' (

, 1964, poetry by

) *'' Gioconda's Smile'' (

, 1965) *''Romiossini'' (

, 1966, poetry by

) *''Ballos'' (

, 1970) *''O Megalos Erotikos'' (

, 1972) *''Eighteen Short Songs of the Bitter Motherland'' (

, 1973, poetry by

) *''Our Great Circus'' (

Stavros Xarchakos Stavros Xarchakos, Greek: Σταύρος Ξαρχάκος (born 14 March 1939) is a Greek composer and conductor. Stavros Xarchakos was born in Athens, where he studied at the Athens Conservatoire. He has family origins from the Mani Peninsul ...

for the theatrical play of Iakovos Kambanellis, 1974) *''Tetralogia'' ( Dimos Moutsis, 1975, poetry by Constantine P. Cavafy, Kostas Karyotakis,

and

) *''Stavros tou Notou'' (Southern Cross) (

, 1979, poetry by

Nikos Kavvadias Nikos Kavvadias (; ; 11 January 1910 – 10 February 1975) was a Greek poet, writer and a sailor by profession. He used his travels around the world, the life at sea and its adventures, as powerful metaphors for the escape of ordinary people, ou ...

)

Notable artists

''Composers:'' *

* Manos Loïzos * Yannis Markopoulos *

* Dimos Moutsis *

Mimis Plessas Dimitrios "Mimis" Plessas (; 12 October 1924 – 5 October 2024) was a Greek musician, composer, conductor and pianist. Life and career Plessas was born in Athens. He attended the Lycée Léonin school in the Athens suburb of Nea Smyrni, and ...

* Argiris Kounadis *

(lyricist) * Manos Eleftheriou (lyricist) ''Singers:'' *

Anna Vissi Anna Vissi (, , ; born 20 December 1957) is a Greek Cypriot singer. She studied music at conservatories and performed locally before moving to the professional scene in Athens, in 1973, where she signed with Minos EMI#Merger with Minos Matsas ...

Haris Alexiou Haris Alexiou (, ; born 27 December 1950 in Thebes, Greece as Hariklia Roupaka, , ) is a Greek singer whose career has spanned over 5 decades. She is one of the most popular singers in Greece. She has worked with important Greek songwriters and c ...

Grigoris Bithikotsis Grigoris Bithikotsis (Greek Γρηγόρης Μπιθικώτσης, ; December 11, 1922 – April 7, 2005) was a Greek folk singer/songwriter with a career spanning five decades. He is considered one of the most important figures in Greek popular ...

* Giorgos Dalaras *

* Antonis Kalogiannis * Giannis Koutras *

Manolis Mitsias Manolis Mitsias (Greek: Μανώλης Μητσιάς, ; born 26 February 1946) is a Greek singer. He has been a significant artistic presence in the laïko, light laïko and entekhno genres of modern Greek music. Early life Mitsias was born i ...

Vicky Moscholiou Vicky Moscholiou (Greek: Βίκυ Μοσχολιού, ; 23 May 1943 – 16 August 2005), was a Greek performer with a significant repertoire and a huge contribution to the Greek culture and the history of lyrical (entechno) and urban folk (laiko) ...

Nana Mouskouri Ioanna "Nana" Mouskouri ( ; born 13 October 1934) is a Greek singer and politician. Over the span of her career, she has released an estimated 450 albums in at least thirteen languages, including Greek language, Greek, French language, French, ...

* Nena Venetsanou *

Dimitris Mitropanos Dimitris Mitropanos (; 2 April 1948 – 17 April 2012) was a Greek singer. He was renowned for his mastery of Laïkó, a Greek music style. Biography Mitropanos lived in his native city of Trikala in northwest Thessaly until the age of 16, beg ...

Laïkó

'' Laïkó'' (λαϊκό τραγούδι 'song of the people' / 'popular song' or αστική λαϊκή μουσική 'urban folk music'), is a

music genre that is composed in

Greek language Greek (, ; , ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language, constituting an independent Hellenic languages, Hellenic branch within the Indo-European language family. It is native to Greece, Cyprus, Italy (in Calabria and Salento), south ...

in accordance with the tradition of the

people. Laïkó followed after the commercialization of rebetiko music. Until the 1930s the Greek

discography Discography is the study and cataloging of published sound recordings, often by specified artists or within identified music genres. The exact information included varies depending on the type and scope of the discography, but a discography entry ...

was dominated by two musical

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

s: the

(''dimotiká'') and the ''elafró tragoudi'' (literally: "light song"). The latter was the Greek version of the international urban music of the era. ''Classic laïkó'' (κλασικό/παλιό λαϊκό) as it is known today, was the mainstream popular music of

during the 1960s and 1970s. It was dominated by singers such as

, Marinella,

Stelios Kazantzidis Stelios Kazantzidis (Greek: Στέλιος Καζαντζίδης; 29 August 1931 – 14 September 2001) was one of the most prominent Greek singers. He was of Pontian and Asia Minor roots. A top artist of Greek music, or Laïkó, he collaborat ...

, Panos Gavalas and others. Among the most significant songwriters and lyricists of this period are considered George Zambetas, Manolis Hiotis and

; of course the big names of this kind are still in Greek business. The more cheerful version of laïkó, called ''elafró laïkó'' (ελαφρολαϊκό, ''elafrolaïkó'' 'light laïkó') and it was often used in musicals during the Golden Age of Greek cinema. Contemporary laïkó (σύγχρονο λαϊκό), also called ''modern laïkó,'' is currently Greece's mainstream music genre. Some of the strongest

Greek dances Greek dance (''choros''; ) is an old tradition, being referred to by authors such as Plato, Aristotle, Plutarch and Lucian. There are different styles and interpretations from all of the islands and surrounding mainland areas. Each region formed ...

and

s of today's Greek music culture ''laïká'' are Nisiotika, Syrta, Hasapika, Kalamatiana,

zeibekiko Zeibekiko (, ) is a Greek dances, Greek folk dance, similar to Turkish Zeybek (dance), Zeybek dance. Origin and history It takes its name from the Zeybeks, an irregular militia living in the Aegean Region of the Ottoman Empire from late 17th ...

, syrtaki and Greek belly dance and the most of them are set to music by the Greek instrumental

. Thus, on the one hand there is the homogenized

popular song, with all the idioms of traditional

, and on the other, the peculiar musical trends of the urban

(song of the cities) known also in Greece as ''αστικό''. Other significant songwriters and lyricists of this category are considered George Zambetas, Akis Panou, Apostolos Kaldaras, Giorgos Mitsakis, Stavros Kouyioumtzis,

Lefteris Papadopoulos Lefteris (Eleftherios) Papadopoulos (; born 14 November 1935) is a Greek lyricist, writer and journalist. Lefteris Papadopoulos was born in Athens, Greece on 14 November 1935. He was the son of Greek Pontian refugees, with a father from a vill ...

and Eftichia Papagianopoulos. Many artists have combined the traditions of éntekhno and laïkó with considerable success, such as the composers

and

. During the same era, there was also another kind of soft music (ελαφρά μουσική, also called ελαφρό, ''elafró'' 'soft (song)', literally 'light') which became fashionable; it was represented by ensembles of singers/musicians such as the Katsamba Brothers duo, the Trio Kitara, the Trio Belcanto, the Trio Atene and others. The genre's sound was an imitation of the then contemporary Cuban and Mexican folk music, but also had elements from the early Athenian popular songs.

Notable artists

''Composers:'' *

* Apostolos Kaldaras * Stavros Kouyioumtzis *

* Giorgos Zampetas *

(lyricist) * Pythagoras Papastamatiou (lyricist) * Eftichia Papagianopoulos (lyricist) * Kostas Virvos (lyricist) ''Singers:'' *

Pantelis Pantelidis Pantelis Pantelidis (; 23 November 1983 – 18 February 2016) was a Greek singer, songwriter and lyricist. He died on 18 February 2016 in a car crash. Biography Born on November 23, 1983, Pantelis Pantelidis grew up in Nea Ionia, a small suburb ...

Stratos Dionysiou Stratos Dionysiou (; November 8, 1935 – May 11, 1990), nicknamed "To Geraki tis Pistas" (The hawk of the stage), was a Greek singer, composer and lyricist. Early life Stratos Dionysiou was born on November 8, 1935, in Nigrita, Serres. He was the ...

* Panos Gavalas *

Giannis Kalatzis Giannis Kalatzis (, 29 April 1938 – 13 July 2017) was a Greek singer who was especially popular in Greece in the late 1960s and the first half of the 1970s. Giannis Kalatzis was born in Thessaloniki in 1943. His career as a singer began in the ...

* Mary Linda * Marinella *

Tolis Voskopoulos __notoc__ Apostolos "Tolis" Voskopoulos (; 26 July 1940 – 19 July 2021) was one of the legends of modern Greek music The music of Greece is as diverse and celebrated as its History of Greece, history. Greek music separates into two parts: ...

Modern laïká

'' Modern laïká'' (μοντέρνα λαϊκά)—also ''contemporary laïkó''/''laïká'' (σύγχρονο λαϊκό/σύγχρονα λαϊκά) or ''laïko-pop'' (λαϊκο-πόπ)—is currently Greece's mainstream music along with some pop recordings. Modern laïká emerged as a style in the early 1980s. An indispensable part of the contemporary laïká culture is the písta (πίστα; pl.: πίστες) "dance floor/venue". Night clubs at which the DJs play only contemporary laïká where colloquially known on the 1990s as ellinádika. Over the years until today, the aim of Greek music scene is only one: ''quality.'' Virtuoso musicians and expressive singers take every season, with more professionalism and love for what they do to entertain the Greek audience, to lure and to make it dance with the songs and music that everyone loves. All this music effort take place in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and internationally. Greek-American music includes

and

. The Greek music culture exists as a serious aspect of Hellenic culture, both within

and in the diaspora. Renowned songwriters of modern laïká include Alekos Chrysovergis,

Nikos Karvelas Nikos Karvelas (; born 8 September 1951) is a Greek musician, composer, singer, songwriter, record producer and author. He has sold millions of records as a producer and is most recognizable for his four-decade-long collaboration with Anna Vi ...

Phoebus Apollo is one of the Olympian deities in ancient Greek and Roman religion and Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, music and dance, truth and prophecy, healing and diseases, the Sun and light, poetry, ...

, Nikos Terzis and

Christos Dantis Christos Dantis (; born Christos Vlachakis, 26 September 1966), is a Greek multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, lyricist, and record producer best known for his hits such as "To Palio Mou Palto" and "Ena Tragoudi Akoma" and later for co-w ...

. Renowned lyricists include Giorgos Theofanous, Evi Droutsa and Natalia Germanou. ;2010s In the 2010s, several new artists emerged. Artists, such as Kostas Martakis, Panos Kalidis, Ioakim Fokas, Stella Kali, Stan, Katerina Stikoudi, Demy and X-Factor contestants such as Konstantinos Argyros, Eleftheria Eleftheriou and

Ivi Adamou Ivi Adamou (, ; born 24 November 1993) is a Greek Cypriot singer. Born and raised in Agia Napa, she rose to recognition in Greece and Cyprus following her participation in the The X Factor (Greece series 2), second season of the The X Factor (G ...

. Several artists sometimes incorporated

dance-pop Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...

elements in their laïko-pop recordings.

Terminology

In effect, there is no single name for modern laïká in the

, but it is often formally referred to as σύγχρονο λαϊκό (), a term which is however also used for denoting newly composed songs in the tradition of "proper" laïkó; when ambiguity arises, σύγχρονο ('contemporary') λαϊκό or disparagingly λαϊκο-ποπ ('folk-pop', also in the sense of "westernized") is used for the former, while γνήσιο ('genuine') or even καθαρόαιμο ('pureblood') λαϊκό is used for the latter. The choice of contrasting the notions of "westernized" and "genuine" may often be based on

ideological An ideology is a set of beliefs or values attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely about belief in certain knowledge, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones". Form ...

and

aesthetic Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy,'' , acces ...

grounds.

Criticism

Despite its popularity, the genre of modern laïká (especially laïko-pop) has come under scrutiny for "featuring musical clichés, average singing voices and slogan-like lyrics" and for "being a hybrid, neither laïkó, nor pop".

Skyládiko

'' Skyládiko'' (; pl.: ''Skyládika''; , meaning "doghouse") is a derogatory term to describe some branches of laïkó music and some of the current nightclubs in Greece in which a form of popular Greek music is performed. It is performed with electric

and

guitars The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

. It is associated with mass entertainment of lower quality and until the 1970s was marginal, but gained popularity after the 1980s. Critics of this genre relate it with modern laïká, mentioning the low quality and the indispensable common part of the ''pista'' (πίστα, pl.: πίστες) "dance floor/venue".

Other popular trends

Dionysis Savvopoulos 2008 Heraklion concert

New Wave (Néo Kýma)

Folk singer-songwriters (τραγουδοποιοί) first appeared in the 1960s after

' 1966 breakthrough album ''Fortigó''. Many of these musicians started out playing '' Néo Kýma'', "New wave" (not to be confused with

new wave music New wave is a music genre that encompasses pop music, pop-oriented styles from the 1970s through the 1980s. It is considered a lighter and more melodic "broadening of Punk subculture, punk culture". It was originally used as a catch-all fo ...

, the British-born genre), a mixture of éntekhno and

chanson A (, ; , ) is generally any Lyrics, lyric-driven French song. The term is most commonly used in English to refer either to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval music, medieval and Renaissance music or to a specific style of ...

s from

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Savvopoulos mixed American musicians like

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

and

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

with Macedonian folk music and politically incisive lyrics. In his wake came more folk-influenced performers like Arleta,

, Mihalis Violaris, Kostas Hatzis and the composer

Giannis Spanos Ioannes "Giannis" Spanos (, ; 26 July 1934 – 30 October 2019), also transliterated as Yannis Spanos, was a Greek music composer and lyricist. In his early days as a musician he was also a piano accompanist. Spanos won the music prize at the 1971 ...

. This music scene flourished in a specific type of '' boîte de nuit''.

Political song

A notable musical trend in the 1970s (during the Junta of 1967–1974 and a few years after its end) was the rise in popularity of the

topical song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usuall ...

s (πολιτικό τραγούδι "political song"). Classic éntekhno composers associated with this movement include

Giannis Markopoulos Yannis Markopoulos (; 18 March 1939 – 10 June 2023) was a Greek composer. Biography Early life and education Yannis Markopoulos was born in 1939 in Heraklion, Crete. Born into one of the old families of the island — his father was an atto ...

, and Manos Loïzos.

Other

Nikos Xydakis, one of Savvopoulos' pupils, was among the people who revolutionized laïkó by using orientalized instrumentation. His most successful album was 1987's ''Kondá sti Dóxa miá Stigmí'', recorded with

Eleftheria Arvanitaki Eleftheria Arvanitaki (Greek: Ελευθερία Αρβανιτάκη) (born 17 October 1957 in Piraeus) is a Greek folk singer. She originates from the island of Icaria. Arvanitaki has worked with musicians such as Cesária Évora, Arto Tunç ...

. Thanasis Polykandriotis, laïkó composer and classically trained

player, became renowned for his mixture of rebetiko and orchestral music (as in his 1996 composition "Concert for Bouzouki and Orchestra No. 1"). A popular trend since the late 1980s has been the fusion of éntekhno (urban folk ballads with artistic lyrics) with pop /

soft rock Soft rock (also known as light rock or mellow rock) is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in the United States and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, mel ...

music (έντεχνο ποπ-ροκ). Moreover, certain composers, such as Dimitris Papadimitriou have been inspired by elements of the classic éntekhno tradition and written songs cycles for singers of contemporary éntekhno music, such as Fotini Darra. The most renowned contemporary éntekhno (σύγχρονο έντεχνο) lyricist is

Lina Nikolakopoulou Evangelia (Lina) Nikolakopoulou (Λίνα Νικολακοπούλου) is widely recognised as one of the foremost lyricists in Greece. She was born in Methana on 30 June 1957 and studied social and political sciences at the Panteion University ...

There are however other composers of

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

and

incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as th ...

(including filmscores and music for the stage), whose work cannot be easily classified, such as Stamatis Spanoudakis,

, Giorgos Hatzinasios, Giorgos Tsangaris, Nikos Kypourgos, Nikos Mamangakis,

Eleni Karaindrou Eleni Karaindrou (; born 25 November 1941) is a Greek composer. She is best known for scoring the films of the Greek director Theo Angelopoulos. Biography Karaindrou moved with her family to Athens when she was eight years old, and she studied ...

, and Evanthia Remboutsika.

Vangelis Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou (, ; 29 March 1943 – 17 May 2022), known professionally as Vangelis ( ; , ), was a Greek musician, composer, and producer of electronic, progressive, ambient, and classical orchestral music. He composed ...

and

Yanni Yiannis Chryssomallis (; born November 14, 1954), known professionally as Yanni ( ), is a Greek composer, keyboardist, pianist, and music producer. Yanni continues to use the musical shorthand that he developed as a child, blending jazz, clas ...

were also Greek instrumental composers who became internationally renowned. Even though it has always had a considerable number of listeners supporting it throughout the history of the post 1960s Greek music, it is only very recently (late 2000s) that pop-oriented music has reached the popularity of laïkó/laïká, and there is a tendency among many urban folk artists to turn to more pop-oriented sounds.

Artists

''The following classification is conventional and categories may occasionally overlap with each other. Each artist is entried under the genre designation that the Greek musical press usually classifies him or her.''

= Laïkó/ skiladiko

= ''1970s–2010s'' ''(songs from this period of Greek laïkó were mainly influenced by the music skydaliko, including branch of laiko music and some of the current nightclubs in Greece in which this music is performed, the

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

movement and style folk-pop)'' * Chryspa * Lefteris Pantazis *

Giorgos Mazonakis Giorgos Mazonakis (, born 4 March 1972) is a Greek modern folk-pop and pop singer. Biography Giorgos Mazonakis was born and raised in the neighbourhood of Nikaia, Piraeus. He grew up listening to the traditional laiko songs of Stratos Dionysio ...

* Giorgos Xanthiotis * Katerina Stanisi * Nancy Alexiadi * Nikos Makropoulos * Panagiotis Psaltis * Eleana Papaioannou * Sofia Petrou * Nikos Vertis * Haris Kostopoulos *

Peggy Zina Panagiota-Calliope Zina (; born 8 March 1975), known professionally as Peggy Zina (), is a Greece, Greek singer. She made her recording debut in 1995 with her Peggy Zina (album), self-titled album. She has since released twelve studio albums and ...

* Dionysis Makris * Yannis Ploutarchos * Kelly Kelekidou * Maro Litra * Lillian Madianou * Sotis Volanis * Nikos Kourkoulis * Vasilis Karras * Panos Kiamos * Ioanna Koutalidou * Konstantinos Thalassohoris * Christina Koletsa * Pericles Stergianoudes * Artemis Alexandratou * Loukas Alexandrou * Paola Foka * Antzy Samiou * Anneta Marmarinou * Antonis Kardamillis * Zafeiris Melas * Stamatis Gonidis * Hristina Anagnostopoulou * Christos Kyriazis * Angela Dimitriou * Antypas (singer) *

Themis Adamantidis Themis Adamantidis (; born 28 September 1957) is a Greek singer and songwriter. He released around two dozen full-length studio albums, on Columbia Records, Minos Records/EMI and WEA The Wea were a Miami–Illinois-speaking Native Americ ...

* Christos Menidiatis * Roula Stavrou

=
Pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...
and contemporary laïkó

= ''1980–2010s'' *

(Cypriot singer) (laïká, pop) * Alexia (Alexia Vassiliou) (Cypriot singer) * Bessy Argyraki (pop ballads) * Kostas Bigalis (

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

, contemporary laïkó) *

(pop, contemporary laïkó) * Marianna Efstratiou * Kostas Doxas * Elpida *

Evridiki Evridiki Theokleous (, ; born 25 February 1968), known mononymously as Evridiki, is a Greek Cypriot singer. She is best known in Europe for representing her home country, Cyprus, in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1992, 1994 and 2007 with the s ...

(Cypriot singer) (pop, contemporary laïkó) *

Thanos Kalliris Bang was a Greek male vocal duo, consisting of Paul Stevens (vocals, guitar) (according to ''Billboard'' "Top Pop Singles" and several other unofficial sources, his real name is Thanos Kalliris) and Billy Adams (Vassilis Dertilis) (keyboards). Th ...

(occasionally pop, ballads, contemporary laïkó) *

(contemporary laïkó and pop composer) *

Elli Kokkinou Elli Kokkinou (, ; born 24 July 1970) is a Greek singer. Sony BMG Greece. Retrieved on February 20, 2008 She is among the most popular singers in Greece today and has performed together with many notable Greek names of the music industry such a ...

(laïkó and pop) *

Irini Merkouri Chrysovalanto Chalilopoulou (; born 26 May 1981), known professionally as Irini Merkouri (, ), is a Greek pop and laïko singer. Career Early life Merkouri was born and raised in Ilion, Greece, Ilion, Athens to Hellenization, Hellenized-Romani pe ...

(laïkó and pop) * Stephanos Korkolis (pop, and laïkó composer (late 1980s–'10s); piano-oriented pop singer (early 1990s) * Mando (pop ballads, laïká) * Natalia *

Natasa Theodoridou Natasa Theodoridou (; born 24 October 1970, in Thessaloniki) is a Greek singer. She is the only female Greek artist to have her first three albums achieve platinum status. She has been certified for a total of at least 432 thousand albums and 20 ...

Kostas Tournas Kostas Tournas (; born 23 September 1949) is one of the pioneers of modern Greek rock. He is a singer and composer of many hits in the '70s including ''Ti Na Mas Kanei I Nychta'' (''What Can The Night Do For Us''). He shaped Greek rock music in ...

* Giorgos Lempesis * Stelios Maximos * Nino (Greek singer) * Thodoris Ferris (Greek singer) *

Elena Paparizou Helena Paparizou (; ; born 31 January 1982) is a Swedish-Greek singer, and television personality. Born and raised in Sweden to Greek parents, she launched her singing career in Sweden in 1999 as a member of the laïko (Greek folk music) and Eur ...

(a.k.a. Helena Paparizou), winner of the

Eurovision Song Contest 2005 The Eurovision Song Contest 2005 was the 50th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Kyiv, Ukraine, following the country's victory at the with the song "Wild Dances" by Ruslana. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union ( ...

representing

* Marianta Pieridi (Cypriot singer) *

Thanos Petrelis Athanasios (Thanos) Petrelis (Greek: Θάνος Πετρέλης, born September 27, 1975) is a Greek singer. He has released four albums and several singles. Career ''Fame Story'' Petrelis was born in Athens, Greece. He finished third in the ...

* Polina (disco, contemporary laïkó) *

Antonis Remos Antonis Remos (, ; born Antonios Paschalidis, ; 19 June 1970) is a Greek singer. Biography Early life He was born in Düsseldorf, West Germany. Later his family moved back to their native Thessaloniki, Greece, where he finished school. During h ...

(laïkó, pop) * Grigoris Petrakos *

Michalis Rakintzis Mihalis Rakintzis (Greek: Μιχάλης Ρακιντζής; born on 3 April 1957) is a Greek singer. He was born in Athens and studied Mechanical Engineering in the United Kingdom.Sakis Rouvas Anastasios "Sakis" Rouvas (, ; born 5 January 1972), also known :wikt:mononym, mononymously as Sakis, is a Greeks, Greek singer, actor, businessman and former pole vaulter. Born in Corfu, Rouvas won medals with Greece's U18 and U20 national sp ...

(pop ballad,

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

) *

Despina Vandi Despina Malea (; born 22 July 1969), known as Despina Vandi (), is a Greek singer. Born in Tübingen near Stuttgart, Germany, Vandi's family returned to Kavala, Greece when she was six years old. After moving to Athens in the early 1990s, Vandi ...

(laïká, pop) * Sophia Vossou (pop ballad, contemporary laïkó)

=
Europop Europop (also spelled Euro pop) is a style of pop music that originated in Europe during the mid-to-late 1960s and developed to today's form throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with revivals and ...

= ''1990s–2010s'' * Artemis Gounaki (record producer, musical arranger) * Hi-5 (

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring two or more women in music, female singers who generally vocal harmony, harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female p ...

) * Kalomira * Sarbel *

Alcazar (group) Alcazar is a Swedish nu-disco group formed in Stockholm. The group is one of Sweden's most successful music acts, both nationally and internationally, achieving a series of hits since their debut single in 1999. Globally, Alcazar sold over 12 ...

* Despina Olympiou (Cypriot singer) * Aspa Tsina *

Pandora (singer) Anneli Magnusson, known by her stage names Pandora and United DJs vs. Pandora, is a Swedish Eurodance singer. Musical career Magnusson grew up with her family outside of Västerås. She learned to play the guitar at an early age. In her tee ...

Roxette Roxette is a Swedish pop rock duo originally consisting of Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle, both of whom were already established musicians in Sweden prior to the band's formation. Fredriksson had released a number of successful solo albums, ...

(Swedish Pop band) *

A*Teens A-Teens (stylized as A*Teens) is a Swedish pop music group from Stockholm. The group was formed by Niklas Berg in 1998 as an ABBA tribute group called ABBA-Teens, which was later renamed A-Teens. The band members are Marie Serneholt, Amit Paul ...

(Swedish Pop band) *

Antique (band) Antique is a Swedish-Greek musical duo consisting of Helena Paparizou (; born 1982) and Nikos Panagiotidis (; born 1978), originating from Sweden and combining Greek popular music and lyrics with a Nordic dance-pop beat. Both Paparizou and Pana ...

* Velvet (singer) * 4 Play (Greek Pop band) * Cue (band) *

Da Buzz Da Buzz is a Swedish Eurodance/pop music group. Members of the group are writers/producers Per Lidén and Pier Schmid and lead-singer Annika Thörnquist. All three are from Karlstad. The band has had a successful career in their native country ...

(Swedish Pop band) * Bosson (Swedish Pop singer) *

Ace of Base Ace of Base is a Swedish pop group formed in 1987, originally consisting of siblings Jonas, Linn, and Jenny Berggren, with Ulf Ekberg. They achieved worldwide success following the release of their debut album, '' Happy Nation'', in 1992. L ...

(Swedish Pop band) *

Måns Zelmerlöw Måns Petter Albert Sahlén Zelmerlöw (; born 13 June 1986) is a Swedish singer and television presenter. He took part in ''Idol 2005'', eventually finishing fifth, won the Let's Dance 2006, first season of ''Let's Dance (Swedish TV series), Le ...

* Mystique (Greek Pop band) * Friends (Swedish band) * Haris Varthakouris *

Michalis Hatzigiannis Michalis Hatzigiannis (; born 5 November 1978) is a Greek Cypriot singer. He served as the Deputy Minister of Culture for Cyprus under President Christodoulides, from March 1, 2023 until July 11, 2023. From 2000 to 2010 he received over 30 s ...

(Cypriot singer) *

One 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

(Cypriot boy band) * Giannis Vardis * Fame (duo) *

Tamta Tamta Goduadze ( ka, თამთა გოდუაძე; ; ; born 10 January 1981), known mononymously as Tamta, is a Georgian-born Greek singer. She first achieved popularity in Greece in 2004 for her participation in '' Super Idol Greece' ...

=
Rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
/
soft rock Soft rock (also known as light rock or mellow rock) is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in the United States and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, mel ...

= ''1970s–1980s'' *

Poll Poll, polled, or polling may refer to: Forms of voting and counting * Poll, a formal election ** Election verification exit poll, a survey taken to verify election counts ** Polling, voting to make decisions or determine opinions ** Polling pla ...

* Nostradamos * Socrates Drank the Conium * Spyridoula * Adiexodo (Greek Alternative/Punk band) * Genia Tou Chaous *

Deus ex Machina ''Deus ex machina'' ( ; ; plural: ''dei ex machina''; 'God from the machine') is a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story is suddenly or abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence. Its function is general ...

* Panx Romana (Greek Rock band) ''1990s–2010s'' * Ble (Greek Rock band) * C:Real (Greek Pop Rock band) * Trypes * Xylina Spathia *

TNT (Norwegian band) TNT is a Norwegian hard rock band from Trondheim, formed in 1982. The band has released fourteen studio albums, three EPs and four live albums while going through numerous lineup changes since its formation. Guitarist Ronni Le Tekrø is the only ...

* Giorgos Dimitriadis *

The Hellacopters The Hellacopters are a Swedish garage rock band that was formed in 1994 by Nicke Andersson (vocals and guitar), Andreas Tyrone "Dregen" Svensson (guitar), Kenny Håkansson (bass) and Robert Eriksson (drums). Andersson (sometimes known as Nic ...

(Swedish Rock band) *

Kent (band) Kent was a Swedish alternative rock band formed in Eskilstuna in 1990. With members Joakim Berg, Martin Sköld, Sami Sirviö and Markus Mustonen, the band had numerous radio hits throughout Sweden and Scandinavia and consecutive number-one studi ...

Backyard Babies Backyard Babies is a Swedish Rock music, rock band originally from Nässjö and currently based in Stockholm. The band was formed in 1987 and have released eight studio albums, in addition to winning two Grammis, Swedish Grammy Awards. They ...

* Diafana Krina * Mavri Magioneza * Morá Sti Fotiá * Domenica * Kore. Ydro. (

Indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band) * Locomondo (

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

and

ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...

band) ''2000s–2010s'' * Bitch Alert (Finnish Rock band) * Crucifield Barbara (Finnish Rock band) *

Infidelity Infidelity (synonyms include non-consensual non-monogamy, cheating, straying, adultery, being unfaithful, two-timing, or having an affair) is a violation of a couple's emotional or sexual exclusivity that commonly results in feelings of anger, se ...

(

band) *

Monika Christodoulou Monika Christodoulou (Greek: Μόνικα Χριστοδούλου, born May 26, 1985, in Athens, Greece) also known by her stage name Monika, is a Greek singer-songwriter. Her debut album ''Avatar'' was released in 2008 and her second album ''Ex ...

* Emigre (Greek Alternative band) *

The Hives The Hives are a Swedish garage rock band formed in Fagersta in 1993. After gaining success in Sweden throughout the 1990s, they rose to worldwide prominence in the early 2000s during the garage rock revival. The band's line-upconsisting of H ...

(Swedish Rock band) *

HIM (Finnish Band) HIM (sometimes stylized as H.I.M.) was a Finnish gothic rock band from Helsinki. First formed in 1991 by vocalist Ville Valo and bassist Mige (musician), Mikko "Mige" Paananen under the name His Infernal Majesty, the band broke up after only a ...

* DumDum Boys (Norwegian Rock band) * Kitrina Podilata * Gymna Kalodia (Greek Rock band) * Motivo 4 (Greek Rock band) * Endelekheia ( Alternative Band) * Lambretta (band) *

Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...

(

Post-Punk revival Post-punk revival (also known as indie rock revival) is a Music genre, subgenre or movement of indie rock that emerged in the early 2000s as a stripped-down and back-to-basics version of Guitar-rock, guitar rock inspired by the original sounds a ...

) *

Nikos Mihas Nikos Mihas (; born 20 November 1979, in Athens, Greece) is a Greek singer-songwriter of the new age of Greek rock stars. Early life From an early age he showed an interest in music. He started by playing the piano at the age of 10 and a few y ...

(

Pop punk Pop-punk (also punk-pop, alternatively spelled without the hyphen) is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop music, pop. It is defined by its fast-paced, energetic tempos, and emphasis on classic pop s ...

) * ONAR *

Onirama Onirama is a Greek pop rock band that has had a number of hits in Greece. They are known for their wide range of music, and party-like concerts. ''Onirama.gr''. Retrieved on July 10, 2008 Career 2000-2005: Beginnings & First successes Onirama was ...

Sahara Hotnights Sahara Hotnights are a Swedish rock band from Robertsfors. Since its inception, the band has been composed of lead singer Maria Andersson, drummer Josephine Forsman and sisters Jennie (lead guitar) and Johanna (bass) Asplund. Their style inco ...

(Swedish Rock band) * Stalingrad Cowgirls (Finnish Rock band) * Joanna Drigo *

The Rasmus The Rasmus is a Finnish Pop music, rock band that formed in 1994 in Helsinki while the band members were in upper comprehensive school.Main source of the band's history: The original band members were Lauri Ylönen (founder, frontman, lead sing ...

(Finnish Rock band) * Raining Pleasure (

anglophone The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the largest language ...

Indie rock band) * Minor Project * Rosebleed (Alternative band) * Simon Bloom * Sunrise Avenue (Finnish Rock band) * The Skelters (

rock band) *

Theodosia Tsatsou Theodosia Tsatsou (Greek: Θεοδοσία Τσάτσου) is a Greek singer, known for her songs with the band Ble (band), Ble, and also for her solo career. Biography Theodosia Tsatsou was born and raised in Melbourne. Having studied musi ...

(

Alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (Kamen Rider), Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * Alternative comics, or independent comics are an altern ...

) *

Ypogeia Revmata Ypogeia Revmata (, "Underground Currents") is a Greek rock band. History The history of Ypogeia Revmata starts in 1992, when a company of musicians and classmates at the same time from Kallithea, Athens, Greece started playing their own songs. A ...

(rock band)

= Indie/
alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (Kamen Rider), Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * Alternative comics, or independent comics are an altern ...

= ''1980s–1990s'' *

The Last Drive The Last Drive is a Greek punk garage rock group. They formed in 1983, broke up in 1995, and reunited in January 2007. History 1983-1987: The beginnings The Last Drive began performing as "Last Drive" in late 1983, with their debut show at Rode ...

* Popsicle (band) * The Earthbound * Broder Daniel (Swedish Alternative band) * Poor Rich Ones (Norwegian Indie band) *

The Cardigans The Cardigans are a Swedish rock band formed in Jönköping, Sweden in 1992. The main lineup of the band consisted of guitarist Peter Svensson, bassist Magnus Sveningsson, drummer Bengt Lagerberg, keyboardist Lars-Olof Johansson and lead sing ...

(Swedish Alternative band) * Psyched Up Janis (Danish Indie band) *

Madrugada (band) Madrugada is a Norwegian alternative rock band formed in Stokmarknes in 1993, with a core lineup of Sivert Høyem (vocals), Robert Burås (guitar), and Frode Jacobsen (bass). Following Burås' death on 12 July 2007, Høyem and Jacobsen deci ...

Mew (band) Mew is a Danish alternative rock band from Copenhagen, formed in 1995. The band is made up of Jonas Bjerre (lead vocals), Johan Wohlert (bass) and Silas Utke Graae Jørgensen (drums). From 1995 to 2015, the band also featured guitarist Bo Madsen, ...

* Ephemera (band) * Antonis Livieratos * Speaker Bite Me (Danish Indie band) * Stereo Nova *

Midnight Choir Midnight Choir was a Norway, Norwegian alternative rock/alt-country band active from 1992 to 2004. Biography The members of Midnight Choir were Al DeLoner (Atle Bystrøm 'Olsen'), Paal Flaata, and Ron 'Bystrøm' Olsen. (Atle and Ron are brother ...

(Norwegian Alternative band) ''2000s–2010s'' * Kings of Convenience (Norwegian Indie band) *

Club 8 Club 8 is a Swedish musical duo consisting of Karolina Komstedt (from the band Poprace) and Johan Angergård (Acid House Kings, Poprace). History Formed in 1995, Club 8 were signed to the Spanish record label Siesta. They released a single cal ...

(Swedish Indie band) *

The Sounds The Sounds are a Swedish indie rock band. Formed in Helsingborg in 1998, the group's musical style has been compared to new wave acts such as Blondie, The Cars, the Epoxies and Missing Persons. Their debut album, '' Living in America'', was ...

(Swedish Indie band) *

Menta Menta may refer to: People * Dean Menta (born 1966), American music editor and composer * Fabio Menta, Italian volleyball coach * François Menta (1903–1981), French cyclist * Narciso Ibáñez Menta (1912–2004), Spanish actor * Richard Menta, ...

(Greek Alternative band) * Xaxakes (Greek Indie band) * Monsieur Minimal (Greek Indie band) * Giannis Aggelakas * José González (Swedish singer) * Closer (Greek Alternative band) * Dadafon (Norwegian Indie band) *

Mando Diao Mando Diao is an alternative rock band from Borlänge, Sweden. The band got their breakthrough with the release of the album '' Hurricane Bar''. Their main fan base is in Sweden, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Japan. Band members are Björn ...

(Swedish Indie band) * Laleh (singer) * Oneiropagida (Greek Indie band) * GAD. (Greek Alternative band) *

Film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

(Greek Alternative band) *

The Raveonettes The Raveonettes are a Danish indie rock duo, consisting of Sune Rose Wagner on guitar, instruments and vocals, and Sharin Foo on bass, guitar and vocals. Their music is characterized by close two-part vocal harmonies inspired by The Everly B ...

(Danish Indie band) * The Fashion (Danish Alternative band) *

Röyksopp Röyksopp () a Norwegian electronic music duo from Tromsø formed in 1998. The duo consists of childhood friends Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland who formed Röyksopp during the Bergen Wave. After experimenting with different Electronic Mu ...

(Norwegian Indie band) *

Acid House Kings Acid House Kings are a Swedish indie pop band. They were founded in 1991 by Joakim Ödlund (also in the bands Poprace, Double Dan, and Starlet) and brothers Niklas (Red Sleeping Beauty) and Johan Angergård (Club 8, The Legends, Poprace). Hist ...

(Swedish Indie band) *

Figurines (band) Figurines is an indie rock band from Denmark, formed in the mid-1990s. The band released their first EP, ''The Detour'', in 2001 and their first full-length album, ''Shake a Mountain'', in 2004. The band began to receive national attention in De ...

Superfamily (band) Superfamily was a Norwegian pop rock band from Moss, Norway. The band is composed of Steven Ray Wilson (lead vocals), Kim Granholt (keytar, synthesizer), Martin Steffensen (guitar), and Richard Lorentz (drums). Anders Nielsen, Terje Krumins and H� ...

* Abbie Gale (Greek Indie band) *

The Ark (Swedish band) The Ark are a Swedish glam rock band formed in 1991 and disbanded in 2011. They released five studio albums and became one of the most successful groups in Scandinavia. They made their breakthrough in 2000 with the song " It Takes a Fool to Re ...

* Konstantinos Vita * Kemopetrol (Finnish Indie band) * Michalis Delta * Mikro

= Mainstream hip hop / R&B

= ''1990s–2010s crews'' * Imiskoúmbria * Stereo Mike (solo artist) * ZN * Active Member * Sadahzinia * Stavento *

Timbuktu (musician) Jason Michael Bosak Diakité

* Midenistis (Greek Hip-Hop singer) * Stixoima * Madcon (Norwegian Hip-Hop band) * Ominus (Greek Hip-Hop singer) * Goin' Through (Greek Hip-Hop band) * Nevma (Greek Hip-Hop band) * Lazee (Swedish Hip-Hop band) * Looptroop Rockers (Swedish Hip-Hop band) * Professional Sinnerz (Greek Hip-Hop band) * Warlocks (band) * Rodes (Greek Hip-Hop band) * Feven (Swedish Hip-Hop singer) * Sifu VERSUS * Kafe Piperies *

Taki Tsan Panagiotis Stravalexis (, born September 28, 1979), also known by his stage names ''Waze-Taki-Tsan'' (short for ''Westley'') ''Timvorihos'', ''Pedi Thavma (, ),'' and ''Taki Tsan;'' is a Greek music producer, tattoo artist and rapper. He is a f ...

* Terror X Crew * TUS (Greek Hip-Hop singer) * FF.C

Independent music scenes

Since the late 1970s various independent scenes of "marginal" musical genres have appeared in Greece (mainly in

, and

). Most of them were short-lived and never gained mainstream popularity but the most prominent artists/bands of these scenes are critically acclaimed today and are considered among the pioneers of independent Greek music (each one in their own genre).

Genres

* Greek jazz ('70s: Sphinx (band), Sakis Papadimitriou, Floros Floridis, Manolis Mikelis) * Greek blues ('80s–'10s): Blues Wire * Blues-rock /

prog rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed "progressive pop", the ...

art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an ar ...

('70s–'80s: Socrates Drank the Conium,

Aphrodite's Child Aphrodite's Child was a Greek rock and pop band formed in 1967, by Evangelos Papathanassiou, later known professionally as Vangelis (keyboards, flutes), Demis Roussos (bass, acoustic and electric guitar, vocals), Loukas Sideras (drums and v ...

, Pavlos Sidiropoulos, Spyridoula (band), Nikolas Asimos, Vasilis Papakonstantinou,

Dimitris Poulikakos Dimitris Poulikakos (; born 21 January 1943) is a Greek actor and rock singer. He is the leader of the rock band Exadaktylos and a member of the band MGC. Filmography Dimitris Poulikakos participated in more than 60 movies *1972: Fonissa, I ...

) * New wave /

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s ...

gothic rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie an ...

('80s bands: Metro Decay, Film Noir, Villa 21, Anti Troppau Council; 2000s: Marsheaux) * Greek punk ('80s–'10s bands: Adiexodo, Genia Tou Chaous,

, Panx Romana) * Greek rock ('80s–'10s bands: Trypes, Diafana Krina, Endelekheia, Xýlina Spathiá, Morá Sti Fotiá, Dytikes Synoikies) *

(Anglophone 1990s and 2010s bands:

, The Earthbound, I Knew Them, Film, Closer, Abbie Gale,

, Waterpipes, Monika Christodoulou) * Low Bap ( Active Member, Sadahzinia, Babylona - Βαβυλώνα) / Greek hip hop ( FF.C, Terror X Crew, DJ ALX, Sifu VERSUS, Eisvoleas - Εισβολέας, ZN MCs - Ζήτα Νι MCs, Vita Peis - Βήτα Πεις, Razastarr, Voreia Asteria - Βόρεια Αστέρια, Alytoi Grifoi - Άλυτοι Γρίφοι, Rodes - Ρόδες) *

Uplifting trance Uplifting trance (often synonymous with epic trance, energetic trance, anthem trance, emotional trance, or euphoric trance) is a broad subgenre of trance music. The name, which emerged in the wake of progressive trance in 1996, is derived from ...

('90s: Cyan, Cherouvim, Darma, Star Children) *

Acid house Acid house (also simply known as just " acid") is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synt ...

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...

('90s–'10s: Stereo Nova, Mikro) * Heavy metal (

Firewind Firewind is a Greek power metal band formed in Thessaloniki in 1998. The group is currently signed to AFM records and was originally a small project created by guitarist Gus G. to showcase his demo, '' Nocturnal Symphony'', in 1998. Firewind ...

, Nightfall) /

death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...

(Inactive Messiah,

On Thorns I Lay On Thorns I Lay is a Greek death-doom and gothic metal band founded in Athens in 1992. The group has gone through different stylistic facets throughout its career, starting with death metal in their early days, then transitioning to a blackened ...

, Inveracity) /

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with tr ...

(sometimes called Hellenic metal;

Rotting Christ Rotting Christ is a Greek black metal band formed in 1987. They are noted for being one of the first black metal bands within this region, as well as a premier act within the European underground metal scene. They are also responsible for creat ...

Septic Flesh Septicflesh (formerly known as Septic Flesh) are a Greek death metal band from Athens, founded in 1990. History Septicflesh were formed in Athens in March 1990 by Sotiris Vayenas (guitar), Spiros Antoniou (bass and vocals), and Christos Anto ...

, Ravencult,

Astarte Astarte (; , ) is the Greek language, Hellenized form of the Religions of the ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern goddess ʿAṯtart. ʿAṯtart was the Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic equivalent of the East Semitic language ...

, Zemial, Naer Mataron, Varathron, Necromantia, Mortuus Caelum, Thou Art Lord) /

folk black metal Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw (lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an emphas ...

(Kawir, Fiendish Nymphe — sister project of the renowned Ancient Greek music revival band Daemonia Nymphe) *

Parody music Parody music, or musical parody, involves changing or copying existing (usually well known) musical ideas, and/or lyrics, or copying the particular style of a composer or performer, or even a general style of music. In music, parody has been us ...

comedy rock Comedy rock is a genre of rock music that is Comedy music, comedic in nature. It is often mixed with satirical music, satire or irony.V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All music guide to rock: the definitive guide to rock, pop, and ...

('80s–'10s: Tzimis Panousis, Harry Klynn, Aéra Patéra (band)) * Neo-classical ('90s–'10s: Chaostar) * Underground / cult /

outsider music Outsider music (from "outsider art") is music created by self-taught or naïve musicians. The term is usually applied to musicians who have little or no traditional musical experience, who exhibit childlike qualities in their music, or who have ...

('90s–'10s: Lost Bodies)

Notes

References

*. *Ulrich, Homer, and Paul Pisk (1963). ''A History of Music and Musical Style''. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanoich.

LCCN The Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN) is a serially based system of numbering cataloged records in the Library of Congress, in the United States. It is not related to the contents of any book, and should not be confused with Library of ...

63013512. *Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), ''World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East'', pp. 126–142. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. . *Notaras, Giorgos. ''Το ελληνικό τραγούδι των τελευταίων 30 χρόνων'', 1991. . *Kalogeropoulos, Takis. ''Λεξικό της Ελληνικής μουσικής'', editions Γιαλλελή, 2001. . *Dubin, Marc and Pissalides, George (

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

).
Songs of the Near East
', 2001. *Ordoulidis, Nikos
‘The Greek popular modes.’
British Postgraduate Musicology, 11 December 2011 *Xepapadakou, Avra (2013). ''Pavlos Carrer'', Athens: FagottoBooks *Xepapadakou, Avra (2013)
"Pavlos Carrer [Paolo Karrer]"
''Grove Music Dictionary''. New York: Oxford University Press.

External links

BBC Radio 3 Audio (60 minutes): Epirus - Polyphony and Petroloukas Chalkias.
Accessed November 25, 2010.
BBC Radio 3 Audio (60 minutes): Southern Greece and Crete.
Accessed November 25, 2010.
Audio clips: Traditional music of Greece

Musée d'ethnographie de Genève The ' ("Geneva Ethnography Museum") is one of the most important ethnographic museums in Switzerland. History The MEG, or Geneva Museum of Ethnography, was founded on 25 September 1901, on the initiative of Professor Eugène Pittard (1867-1962), ...

. Accessed November 25, 2010.
Greek Music Portal by IEMA
an introduction to Greek Music in English and Greek
Greek Music Encyclopedia

Short History of Greek Music
ANA.com
The Music of Greece
Kithara.to
A collection of some 11,000 Greek songs, with lyrics and chords (formerly kithara.vu)
Greek music database

Music Heaven: Greek music e-zine

Klika
A site about Greek Rebetiko, Laïkó, and traditional music
Tabsy.gr
Greek music tablatures database
Rembetiko Forum
A forum about Greek Rebetiko, Laïkó and Traditional music
Greek Songs and Greek Music
Articles about Greek Music and Greek songs with their story and lyrics translated to English
Greek Clarinet MusicFolk dances of the Greek regionsEnsemble Kérylos
a music group led by scholar

Annie Bélis Annie Bélis (born 1951) is a French archaeologist, philologist, papyrologist and musician. She is a research director at the French CNRS, specialized in music from classical antiquity, Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Career A former student ...

and dedicated to the recreation of ancient Greek and Roman music
Greek Music – Resources on Folk and Rebetiko
{{DEFAULTSORT:Music Of Greece Music of Europe by country

Greek musical history

Ancient Greece

Roman era

Byzantine era

Ottoman era

Folk music (dimotiká or demotic)

Nisiótika

=Ikariótikos

=Modern nisiótika

Cretan music

=Cretan music in media

Other folk traditions

Notable artists

Classical music

Ionian school

Greek national school

Popular music

Greek operetta and early popular songs

Notable artists

Rebetiko

Éntekhno

Notable artists

Laïkó

Notable artists

Modern laïká

Terminology

Criticism

Skyládiko

Other popular trends

New Wave (Néo Kýma)

Political song

Other

Artists

= Laïkó/ skiladiko

=Pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ... and contemporary laïkó

=Europop Europop (also spelled Euro pop) is a style of pop music that originated in Europe during the mid-to-late 1960s and developed to today's form throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with revivals and ...

= Indie/alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (Kamen Rider), Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * Alternative comics, or independent comics are an altern ...

= Mainstream hip hop / R&B

Independent music scenes

Genres

See also

Notes

References

External links

=
Pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...
and contemporary laïkó

=
Europop Europop (also spelled Euro pop) is a style of pop music that originated in Europe during the mid-to-late 1960s and developed to today's form throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with revivals and ...

= Indie/
alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (Kamen Rider), Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * Alternative comics, or independent comics are an altern ...