Greek Chifteteli

[deelybopper]

Reviving this thread!

Well, I thought I'd revive this thread, as I have a question about tsifteteli that I hope Chryssanthi or Maria can help me with. I'm looking for Greek tsifteteli music, traditional and modern, but don't know where to start looking for it - I would really appreciate some recommendations for CDs or artists...

Also...as I've been trawling the internet looking for music, I've found several mentions of 'skiladiko' music, which seems connected to tsifteteli in some way, but some people seem to really vehemently dislike...could you explain this for me?

Thanks in advance!
D

 

[chryssanthi sahar]

Hi Bellybopper.

One option for finding Tsifteteli music in internet is to look for sites about "Rembetiko" and then search for Tsifteteli songs on those sites (Tsifteteli is a part of the Rembetiko, as I mentioned in another posting here). The most famous Rembetiko singer of the first generation (this means 20ies, 30ies etc.) was Rosa Eskenazi. She sung also some great Tsifteteli songs (for example "Chorepse mou Tsifteteli", dance Tsifteteli for me). Those songs are very old though and the Tsifteteli style has changed quite a lot during the past century.
I you want instrumental Tsifteteli songs, look in Internet for Leonidas Bournelis. He has composed some good ones, which became classics somehow. For modern Tsiftetelis look for Despoina Vandi, Elli Kokkinou, Sarbel, well actually all of the actual Greek singers sing quite some Tsifteteli songs. There are samplers with all famous Tsifteteli songs (old samplers and new samblers), but I'm afraid you get them only in Greece. For classic Tsifteteli songs (I call "classic" the time from the 60ies to the 80ies) look for Giorgos Dalaras ("Me teleioses", great song), Charis Alexiou and especially Eleftheris Arvanitaki ("Tha spaso koupes" , the Tsifteteli I perform on my youtube video).
As about "skyladika": we call skyladika the bad quality Tsifteteli and Zeimbekiko songs. The songs that are usually performed in the low class bouzoukia-clubs, where also criminals amuse themselves (the Greek Mafia so to say) with second class singers and musicians. But, not every "skyladiko" song is bad. Some time there are some very nice "skyladika" songs, which only get abused by the main stream Greeks, because they are sung by certain singers, who are supposed to be low class. But also Rembetiko was abused by main stream society at its beginnings.

 

[Maria_Aya]

Agreeing with Chryssanthi, but have to add that i'm an official fan of skyladika songs lol
Skyladika is lousy translated Doggy songs lol, today is mostly about everything Chryssanthi said (voice, low class etc) but hey 80 years ago???
The history of Skyladika songs appear first time at Paragka (night club) place at Thessaloniki somewhere at 1930.
At that era we had the city police and the agricular police, so the greek mafia was having some small clubs at the exact boarders of the 2 police where it was kind of who have the power (so usual no-one).
About the word there are 2 options, some historicans say that at that places were many dogs free and some says that its an old code word for the owners of the dirty clubs because they were kind of biting the customers that was doing trouble.
When we say club at that era, dont think something fancy.
Just a room with boards from the road a seiling and a cutren that was seperating the bed of the girls !!! from the clients (i guess now you got the whole idea lol)
Now days at Athens there is a road that is still out of city and just before agricular area, the Ethnikh (national road) out of the 3rd bridge, where most places are skyladika.
I have to admit that from my 20 to 30 years I was almost everyweek to skyladika, where i just love the atmosfair, authentic people, that go there to show of, to have fun, to celebrate their life. The fights that was happening at 4 am was OMG !! i just love them.
I miss skyladikaaaaaaaaaaa I just miss this trashy way of living, I've become sooooo serious lol
Keep in mind that many songs that at their era were considered skyladika are today classic !!! and poets and composers of that era that were inside out prison are now gods of greek music.
Awwwwww i wanna go to a skyladikoooooooooo

Maria Aya

 

[deelybopper]

Chryssanthi & Maria - THANK YOU for the extra information. I will use it to track down tsifetetli music. Thanks also for the information about skiladiko!
D

 

[chryssanthi sahar]

Hey Maria, also thanks from me about the information about "skyladiko" . I didn't know that the term came to life this way:lol: O.k. as we say in Greek "girasko aei didaskomenos" (for the non-Greeks: "I keep on learning while getting older").

 

[Tigris72]

Thank you Maria and Chryssanthi for sharing your expertise. I just love greek music. I use to live five years in Athens and around Greece and I was working as bartender in clubs where greekmusic was played in late hours after "ta ksena" What a life and a country, I really do miss those days..

 

[chryssanthi sahar]

Hello Tigris 72, welcome to the forum

I'm glad you like Greek music and dances and also Greece itself Maybe there will be some day a possibility for you to go back to Greece for a while I wish you good luck for that:dance:

 

[Tigris72]

Thanks Chryssanthi, yes, I would like that too, but those "wild" days are over now, in my bellydance lessons I can go back to this feeling again And in two weeks I go holidays in Greece with my husband and son....Elladara...Erxomai

 

[chryssanthi sahar]

Great Where are you going for holiday?

 

[Tigris72]

Tolo, we will hire a car and go around Peloponnesos, visit friends etc..can´t wait..