WNYU, Ta Rempetika,Greek Laiko and Folk

In 2022, I hosted a radio show on WNYU called Ta Rebetika, during which I played rebetiko recordings at a steady, unhurried pace. The program’s structure was Greek and dramatic at times: I put on the tracks, stated their titles, and offered some dramatic historical framing as well as received calls from New York and Greece. The result was a full hour in which the music did most of the work, and the narration confirmed their zeal and dramatic nature.

The show focuses on rempetiko, a traditional Greek genre shaped by a particular attitude and a consistent interest in life on the margins, including an occasional disregard for legal expectations. Its metallic, forceful sound forms what is often described as the “Greek urban blues,” a term that captures the music’s atmosphere without insisting on any specific emotional response. The program simply presents this material as it is, leaving the genre’s mythology to handle itself.