FRIENDS, WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO‎ | KATSAROS. THE COSMOPOLITAN REBETIS

Friends, what are we gonna do 
Giorgos Theologitis Katsaros (1888-1997). The Cosmopolitan Rebetis

An artist who became a symbol.
A universally accepted personality.

The century-old singer, guitarist and composer Giorgos Katsaros, by common admission, gave the impression when playing the guitar that two people were playing at the same time. In his simplicity, his self-taught freedom and his Amorgian spirit that he never lost no matter how many years he lived far away, he developed a completely personal style that made him sought after all over the world.

He was one. We are two. Maybe even three.

He performed his own songs, traditional ones as well as those of other well-known composers of the time. Rebetiko and light songs with a sound influenced by Amorgos, Asia Minor, the Athenian Palace, the Piraeus taverns, immigrants and the blues of America.

A century of music with so many changes. What a world!

From Amorgos to Athens and Piraeus, then America and then trips around the world.
2 world wars and the technological explosion.
The rebetiko scholar Panagiotis Kounadis gave us the gift of discovering him, meeting him, interviewing him and revealing his legend to us.

How are this century and the spirit of Katsaros expressed in today’s hyperreality?

A musical performance with natural and electric sound.
A narrative with distortions.
Song, cello, clarinet, guitar, fx and sound design.

From the donkey to steamships, cars and space.
From the oil lamp to electricity and the digital world.
The sea that connects the continents, a connecting link and a constant reminder of his origin.

We thank the Kounadis Archive for permission to use interview excerpts.