Grigoris Asikis
Encyclopedia
Grigoris Asikis (Istanbul
1890 Athens
7 October 1966) was a Greek
singer and songwriter of urban Greek music, Rembetiko. He wrote lyrics for most of the songs he recorded and played the outi (the Greek oud
).
and Marianthi from the Kontoskali section of Constantinople
. Ever since he was a child, he thought he had an exceptional voice and bought an outi
at the age of 15. He sang and played the outi
for family and friends but did not begin his professional music career until after the Asia Minor Disaster. In 1922, after the Asia Minor Disaster, Asikis and his wife, Eirene Sotiriadou, and two children, Thanasis and Victor, moved to Athens
, Greece
. They moved to the Byron section of Athens
and had four more children: Anastasia, Nikolaos, Basiles, and Manolis.
, Asikis tried to continue his professional career of fabricating bronze bed frames, but failed after six months. He would frequent a club called "The Asia Minor", the center of all laika at the time, where he was warmly accepted by contemporary musicians. In the late 1920s, he recorded music for Columbia
, Odeon
, and Parlophone as did other musicians at the time, like Kostas Skarvelis
.
In the 1930s his compositions were sung by many famous artists of the time including Kostas Nouros, Rosa Eskenazu, Stellakis Perpiniadis, Rita Abatzi
, Marika Politissa, Kostas Roukounas
, Kostas Tsanakos, Marika Kanaropoulou, and Georgia Mettake. In the later part of the decade he abandoned composing songs with Asia Minor instruments, i.e. outi
, lyre
, and the violin
, and wrote songs using the bouzouki
. Some of these songs were sung by famous artists and close friends of his Markos Vamvakaris
, Yiannis Papaioannou
, and Apostolos Chatzichristos.
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
1890 Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
7 October 1966) was a Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
singer and songwriter of urban Greek music, Rembetiko. He wrote lyrics for most of the songs he recorded and played the outi (the Greek oud
Oud
The oud is a pear-shaped stringed instrument commonly used in North African and Middle Eastern music. The modern oud and the European lute both descend from a common ancestor via diverging paths...
).
Personal life
Asikis was the third child of Victor Asikis of LesbosLesbos Island
Lesbos is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of with 320 kilometres of coastline, making it the third largest Greek island. It is separated from Turkey by the narrow Mytilini Strait....
and Marianthi from the Kontoskali section of Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
. Ever since he was a child, he thought he had an exceptional voice and bought an outi
Oud
The oud is a pear-shaped stringed instrument commonly used in North African and Middle Eastern music. The modern oud and the European lute both descend from a common ancestor via diverging paths...
at the age of 15. He sang and played the outi
Oud
The oud is a pear-shaped stringed instrument commonly used in North African and Middle Eastern music. The modern oud and the European lute both descend from a common ancestor via diverging paths...
for family and friends but did not begin his professional music career until after the Asia Minor Disaster. In 1922, after the Asia Minor Disaster, Asikis and his wife, Eirene Sotiriadou, and two children, Thanasis and Victor, moved to Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. They moved to the Byron section of Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
and had four more children: Anastasia, Nikolaos, Basiles, and Manolis.
Career
Having moved to AthensAthens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, Asikis tried to continue his professional career of fabricating bronze bed frames, but failed after six months. He would frequent a club called "The Asia Minor", the center of all laika at the time, where he was warmly accepted by contemporary musicians. In the late 1920s, he recorded music for Columbia
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
, Odeon
Odeon Records
Odeon Records was a record label founded in 1903 by Max Straus and Heinrich Zuntz of the International Talking Machine Company in Berlin, Germany. It was named after a famous theatre in Paris, whose classical dome appears on the Odeon record label....
, and Parlophone as did other musicians at the time, like Kostas Skarvelis
Kostas Skarvelis
Kostas Skarvelis was a Greek composer of popular music, οf the genre of rembetiko in particular. He also wrote the lyrics for his songs and was an excellent guitar player, having participated in many recordings.-Life:...
.
In the 1930s his compositions were sung by many famous artists of the time including Kostas Nouros, Rosa Eskenazu, Stellakis Perpiniadis, Rita Abatzi
Rita Abatzi
Rita Abatzi was a Greek rebetiko musician who began her career in the first part of the 1930s.She was born in Smyrna, Asia Minor, now İzmir, Turkey. A versatile singer of rebetiko, Smyrneika and other music, she was a popular performer on gramophone records in the 1930s...
, Marika Politissa, Kostas Roukounas
Kostas Roukounas
Konstantinos Roukounas was a Greek singer. His repertoire included both "traditional" and "popular" songs . Most notable is his contribution to the subgenre of rebetiko...
, Kostas Tsanakos, Marika Kanaropoulou, and Georgia Mettake. In the later part of the decade he abandoned composing songs with Asia Minor instruments, i.e. outi
Oud
The oud is a pear-shaped stringed instrument commonly used in North African and Middle Eastern music. The modern oud and the European lute both descend from a common ancestor via diverging paths...
, lyre
Lyre
The lyre is a stringed musical instrument known for its use in Greek classical antiquity and later. The word comes from the Greek "λύρα" and the earliest reference to the word is the Mycenaean Greek ru-ra-ta-e, meaning "lyrists", written in Linear B syllabic script...
, and the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, and wrote songs using the bouzouki
Bouzouki
The bouzouki , is a musical instrument with Greek origin in the lute family. A mainstay of modern Greek music, the front of the body is flat and is usually heavily inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The instrument is played with a plectrum and has a sharp metallic sound, reminiscent of a mandolin but...
. Some of these songs were sung by famous artists and close friends of his Markos Vamvakaris
Markos Vamvakaris
Markos Vamvakaris , was a rebetiko musician. He is universally referred to by rebetiko writers and fans simply by his first name, Markos...
, Yiannis Papaioannou
Yiannis Papaioannou
Yiannis Papaioannou was a Greek composer and teacher of the Modern Era. He studied piano with Marika Laspopoulou and composition with Alekos Kontis at the Hellenic Conservatory in Athens , as well as the piano and orchestration with Emilios Riadis in Thessaloniki...
, and Apostolos Chatzichristos.