Fishbowl | Akateeminen Kirjakauppa

The journey of Dimitris Mystakidis in rembetiko music has been long and fruitful, since it resulted in six masterful albums of old songs that gained a new breath with his bold arrangements and his skilful rembetiko guitar (laikí kithara) playing.

In his new album titled “Morso”, the first full-length release with his own songs, Dimitris Mystakidis infuses the heritage of rembetiko and Greek traditional music to eleven brand new songs, reimagining an entire tradition. The folk backbone of the album is melding with the industrial percussions, dreamy psychedelic sonic textures and electric instruments, creating a kaleidoscopic but seamless mashup that travels from smoky tavernas to the sound of bustling city streets.

The folk instruments from the Mediterranean basin, like bouzouki, laikí kithara (rembetiko guitar), bagpipe, clarinet, ney and cura are soulfully interacting with the electric guitars, bass and drums in order to highlight the dark emotions in most of the songs.

Dimitris’s lyrics, like a musical protest are narrating tales of the social wildness, of injustice, of gender-based violence, of xenophobia and exclusion. In the first ten songs of Morso, Dimitris is sharing his anger, despair and sorrow, while in the last swing-ish track, he playfully derides the apathy of the system during these challenging times.