Mike's Oud Forums

Interview Translation

ArmoOudist - 7-17-2021 at 05:43 AM

Does anyone here speak Greek? There is an interview here of two sisters. One is a singer, the other is an oudist. I like their music, and I was wondering if anyone could give me the gist of what they're talking about here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSYpew-YNUs
Thanks!

hund - 10-23-2022 at 02:09 AM

The moderator introduces the sisters as students and amateur musicians who do have smaller gigs from time to time. They got a lot of views and attention from their YouTube video shown in the beginning.

When they start the conversation, the moderator says that they enjoyed the song and way with which it was played. Then she accidently calls the oud "lauto" (a traditional greek lute). What follows is a little bit of small talk about the scenery, the concert of birds in the background and a correction on what type of instrument this actually is.

The sisters are asked on the creation of the video and especially if it was some kind of project that started in the COVID quarantine time. The sisters answer that it was created before, somewhere in 2019.

Other talking points:
- how the singer is studying law, working as a hair dresser and doing music at the same time,
- the preparation of a new song called "fila me kai gela" (kiss me and smile), a traditional Tsiftetelli,
- the creation of a song called "Hlie mou" (my sun), which can be found on their channel
- the oud player is 20 years old and also studying

The moderator observes that it is getting more common that young people do traditional music and play traditional instruments. The singer replies that traditional music has a kind of simplicity that wins over the hearts of people. They proceed that as they are greek, traditional music is a vital part of them, it is their roots, which is the reason that traditional music resonates with them. They oud player adds that greek schools try to bring greek tradition closer to the young people and that she got introduced to the world of greek traditional music in this environment.

The moderator suggest to end the conversation with their new song "fila me kai gela" but they prefer to play something that they prepared. The song is an older one called ""xthes to bradu chariklaki".

ArmoOudist - 10-23-2022 at 03:55 AM

Thanks very much. I had forgotten I even posted this. :)
These two sisters are very talented. I'm wondering how popular the oud is in modern Greece. I tend to see Bouzoukis used more often nowadays. The Greek-American community uses the oud a lot more I think, but this is probably due to a large group of them going back to Asia minor, as well as their close association with Arab and Armenian-Americans. The fact that the interviewer mistook the instrument for a lauto gives me the impression that modern Greeks don't use the oud much anymore. Can anyone speak to this?

maraoud108 - 10-23-2022 at 05:46 PM

If you're interested in the history of the oud in Greece, this book is fascinating, albeit a bit pricey:

https://www.routledge.com/Paradosiaka-Music-Meaning-and-Identity-in-...

It gets into how musicians in the 70s and 80s were looking into Anatolian music practices and re-introduced the oud to Greeks, as the instrument was relatively unknown at the time. Over time more and more people were playing it, and it was even involved in music education in high schools. Super fascinating book and while academic, also accessible.

hund - 12-11-2022 at 11:23 PM

I have the same impression that while oud is part of traditional musical practice in Greece, it is somewhat unknown and rare. I cannot say for sure but I assume that greek people who are actively interested in older traditional music tend to know the oud, while others tend not to. The Bouzouki, in contrast, is the central instrument of the previous generations of popular music (laiko) and therefore known by everyone.

Tulis - 12-12-2022 at 06:56 AM

Quote: Originally posted by hund  
I have the same impression that while oud is part of traditional musical practice in Greece, it is somewhat unknown and rare. I cannot say for sure but I assume that greek people who are actively interested in older traditional music tend to know the oud, while others tend not to. The Bouzouki, in contrast, is the central instrument of the previous generations of popular music (laiko) and therefore known by everyone.


Exactly, you are right. Unfortunately only the people that play traditional music know and play oud. In Greece these days, the oud is a little forgotten.
Absent from our present life.

ArmoOudist - 12-12-2022 at 02:32 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Tulis  
Quote: Originally posted by hund  
I have the same impression that while oud is part of traditional musical practice in Greece, it is somewhat unknown and rare. I cannot say for sure but I assume that greek people who are actively interested in older traditional music tend to know the oud, while others tend not to. The Bouzouki, in contrast, is the central instrument of the previous generations of popular music (laiko) and therefore known by everyone.


Exactly, you are right. Unfortunately only the people that play traditional music know and play oud. In Greece these days, the oud is a little forgotten.
Absent from our present life.


It's unfortunately very similar with Armenian music. The Duduk is considered the iconic Armenian folk instrument. The oud fell out of favor in the past forty years or so. This is partly due to the fact that it was never popular in Eastern Armenia (or current day Armenia), and partly due to this erroneous idea that the oud isn't a "pure" Armenian instrument.
It obviously isn't...but that's not how folk music works...