Laïko or laïkó (, ; "

ong Ong or ONG may refer to: Arts and media * Ong's Hat, a collaborative work of fiction * “Ong Ong”, a song by Blur from the album The Magic Whip Places * Ong, Nebraska, US, city * Ong's Hat, New Jersey, US, ghost town * Ong River, Odisha, ...

of the people", "popular

; ) is a

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 ...

folk-pop Folk-pop is a broad Music genre#Subtypes, musical fusion genre that includes contemporary folk songs with pop music, pop arrangements, and pop songs with intimate, acoustic music, acoustic-based folk music, folk arrangements. Folk-pop has been ...

music genre in accordance with the tradition of the

people. Also referred to as "folk song" or "urban folk music" () in its plural form, Laïkó changed forms over the decades after the

commercialization Commercialisation or commercialization is the process of introducing a new product or production method into commerce—making it available on the market. The term often connotes especially entry into the mass market (as opposed to entry into e ...

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 ...

music.

Rebetiko and elafró tragoudi

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

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 ...

() and the ''elafró tragoudi'' (, lit. "light eightsong"). The latter was represented by ensembles of singers/musicians or solo artists like Attik and

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 ...

. It was the Greek version of the international popular music of the era. In the 1930s the first

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 ...

recordings had a massive impact on Greek music. As

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 ...

stated, "we were the first to record ''laïká'' (popular) songs". In the years to follow this type of music, the first form of what is now called ''laïkó tragoúdi'', became the mainstream

Greek music The music of Greece is as diverse and celebrated as its History of Greece, history. Greek music separates into two parts: Greek folk music, Greek traditional music and Byzantine music. These compositions have existed for millennia: they originat ...

Classic laïkó

Classic laïkó, as it is known today, was the mainstream popular music of Greece during mainly the 1960s and 1970s. Laïkó evolved from the traditional Greek music of the

ancient Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient h ...

and the medieval Greek era and was established until the

present day The present is the period of time that is occurring now. The present is contrasted with the past, the period of time that has already occurred; and the future, the period of time that has yet to occur. It is sometimes represented as a hyperplane ...

. Laïkó was dominated by singers such as Nikos Xanthopoulos and composers such as

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 ...

. Among the most significant songwriters and lyricists of this period are George Zambetas and the big names of the

era that were still in business, 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 ...

and

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 ...

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

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 ...

and

. Legendary figures associated with Laiko (specifically Zeimpekiko) are

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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

Contemporary laïkó

Contemporary laïkó (, ), also called ''modern laïkó'' or sometimes ''laïko-pop'', can be called in Greece the mainstream music genre, with variations in plural form as ''contemporary laïká''. Along with moderna laïkó, it is currently Greece's mainstream music genre. The main cultural Greek dances and

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 ...

s of today's Greek music culture ''laïká'' are

Nisiotika Nisiotika (, meaning "insular (songs)") are the songs and dances of the Aegean islands with a variety of styles. Outside of Greece, it is played in the diaspora in countries such as Turkey, Australia, the United States and elsewhere. The lyre is ...

, Syrta, Antikristos, Rebetika,

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 ...

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 ...

Kalamatianos The Kalamatianós (Modern Greek Συρτός Καλαματιανός ''Syrtós Kalamatianós'', but usually only called Καλαματιανός ''Kalamatianós'') is one of the best-known dances of Greece. It is a popular Greek dances, Greek fol ...

, Kangeli and Syrtaki. The more cheerful version of laïkó, called ''elafró laïkó'', was often used in musicals during the Golden Age of Greek cinema. The Greek Peiraiotes superstar

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: ...

gave the after-modern version of

laïko () listenings. Many artists have combined the traditions of éntekhno and laïkó with considerable success, such as the composers

and

. Contemporary laïká emerged as a style in the early 1980s. An indispensable part of the contemporary laïká culture is the ''písta'' (, pl. ; "dance floor/venue"). Night clubs at which the DJs play only contemporary laïká where colloquially known on the 1990s and 2000s as ''ellinádika'' (). Modern laïkó is mainstream Greek laïkó music mixed in with modern Western influences, from such international mainstream genres as

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

and

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

. Renowned songwriters or lyricists of contemporary laïká after 1990 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, Spyros Giatras, Giorgos Theofanous.

Terminology

In effect, there is no single name for contemporary laïká in the Greek language, but it is often formally referred to as , a term which is however also used for denoting newly composed songs in the tradition of "proper" laïkó; when ambiguity arises, ("contemporary") or disparagingly (''laïko-pop'', "folk-pop", also in the sense of "westernized") is used for the former, while (''gnísio'', "proper, genuine, true") or even (''katharóaimo'', "pureblood") 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. Laïko interacted more westernized sounds in the late of 2000s. The term ''modern laïká'' comes from the phrase , "modern songs of the people".

Criticism

Despite its immense popularity, the genre of contemporary 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".

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laiko Music of Greece Folk music genres Pop music genres