By Christina Savopoulos
Melbourne’s Greek music space has seen a resurgence of the rebetiko music genre. A style that emerged in the early 20th century and speaks to the love and pain of marginalised communities and the working class, rebetiko’s timeless lyrics and melodies make it easy to see why so many bands enjoy the genre.
With almost an event happening weekly from Melbourne-based rebetika bands, you’ll be able to step into the rebetiko culture and hear the next generation of talented musicians.
I sat down with young Greek Australian musicians Maria Dalamagas, 30, and Alex Petropoulos, 24, to hear about their experiences with and love for the genre.
Maria has been playing music from a young age. In the “pre-Spotify days” she was exploring different genres at CD stores and libraries, but it was through the Oakleigh Greek Orthodox College music band that she first played rebetika.
“The Greek dancing teacher wanted to start a Greek band at the school. He wanted someone to play around with the accordion. We did a rebetiko concert at school, this is 2011. And that’s when I started playing Greek music more,” she told The Greek Herald.
While Maria kept playing different genres, it was during the “recent resurgence [of rebetika] with people younger than me that I got the confidence to go jam with them.” Playing in different rebetika jams allowed Maria to establish herself as a talented female rebetiko player in a predominantly male occupied space.
Maria now plays in two Melbourne-based bands, Anatreptix and Estudiantina of Melbourne. She said the “last two years have been me coming back into rebetiko and playing it semi-professionally, probably have a gig every week now across different bands, so it’s become like a second job.”
Maria was ultimately drawn to the rebetiko style because it was a “part of Greek culture that was hidden for a while… the tracks are very playful and cheeky [and] it’s a different style of music. I’m used to very western music and rebetiko music has eastern influence.”
While Maria’s 13 years of experience with rebetika has made her an established player in Melbourne’s rebetika bands, Alex Petropoulos’ journey is fairly recent.
Alex’s life has always centered around music as his father is a professional musician and his passion for different genres has grown over the years. Having little to no exposure to Greek music until his 21st birthday when an uncle took over the music and played a zeibekiko tune, Alex shared how he was curious to learn about a music style which until that point was foreign to him.
In the 2021 Melbourne COVID-19 lockdown, Alex decided to go “down a Greek rebetika rabbit hole.” He “got into the music quickly because of the cultural connection” and his family’s love for the music. It didn’t take Alex long to find Melbourne’s rebetika community and join the weekly rebetika jam sessions at Triakosia in Fitzroy North.
Alex shared that what first drew him to the genre was how the “music was significant culturally, it sounds cool… and the people are friendly. It was more of a social outing. Go there, see your mates, and then play music.”
Regarding the future of Australia’s rebetiko music scene, Alex spoke passionately about “bands with young people” who are talented and interested in rebetika, which has the “potential to be relevant for a longer time.”
While acknowledging the tradition of the genre, Alex also noted that “people need to be creating new music [and] writing rebetika” to put a fresh spin on performances and hopefully engage new listeners.
Alex’s current music career is flourishing. Having performed in multiple bands, his passion for the rebetiko style and culture has grown with each interaction he’s had in the music scene. Alex currently plays with Estudiantina of Melbourne and encourages young people in Melbourne to “support live music… [and] see what [rebetika] is all about, culturally.”
Maria and Alex represent countless young Greek Australian musicians who have a deep love and passion for the rebetiko music scene and connecting with Greek culture. Maria has high hopes for the future: “It’s a cool genre, it’s music that’s a bit edgy and speaks a bit about darker themes, I think that’ll always be cool to people. I see it growing over the next 10 years.”
Keep an eye out for rebetika events happening in your area!
