Laïko

Laïko tragoudi (Greek: λαϊκό τραγούδι, popular/folk song) is a style of Greek urban folk music, especially the Greek music popular after the end of the 1950s, when a new generation of musicians developed from the rebetiko folk music of the time a characteristic new style, the modern laïkó tragoudi.

Although laïko tragoudi evolved from rebetiko, it adopted innovations including the use of amplifiers on the instruments, the use of drums and the four-chord bouzouki and, later on, electronic keyboards. Poverty remained a strong theme, although love and relationships also figured prominently.

As laïko became ubiquitous in 1960s Greece, a number of different schools emerged. One branch was indoprepi (Greek: ινδοπρεπή, of Indian origin or influence) heavily influenced by Middle Eastern music with performers such as Manolis Angelopoulos covering Indian filmi songs.

At the same time the skyladika emerged — nightclubs with a bad reputation, most of them not quite legal, typically on the outskirts of town. The style of music played there was called skiladiko too. In the '80s laïko began to interact with Western pop music.

Modern Laiko

"Modern Laiko" is traditional Greek Laiko mixed in with modern Western music, from such international mainstream genres as pop and dance. One of the first artists in Greece to pioneer this was Anna Vissi. She introduced rock elements in the early 1990s and dance pop elements in the early 2000s.

Skyladiko

Skiladiko (or Skyladiko; Greek: Σκυλάδικο, "doghouse") is either a derogatory term to describe laiko or a so-called "decadent" (Greek: παρακμιακό) form of laiko, a category of popular songs with a heavy Middle Eastern influence.

The term is also used to describe the places in which this type of music is performed. The term derives from "skylos" (σκύλος), dog and "Skyladiko" means a doghouse or a kennel, a term that referred to cheap or often unlicensed night clubs with a bad reputation on the borders of the city or town.

The term gradually became popular and is frequently used by Greek non-listeners of forms of modern bouzouki-dominated music that dismiss these types of music as oriental, under-class, and of non-existent artistic value.

Active artists

Video Example

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UI_S8UymFz0

See also

• Rebetiko
• Skiladiko
• Kanto (music)
• Turbo-folk
• Chalga
• Arabesque-pop music
• Pop-folk