Nikos Vrachnas
Encyclopedia
Nikos Vrachnas was a rembetiko
bouzouki
player who in his playing evoked the Piraeus
rembetiko style of the 1930s.
) Piraeus
. There is some uncertainty about his year of birth, which has been given variously as circa 1936, or 1941. He died in Piraeus in 2004. As a young man he worked in foundries
, while later on he was better known as a second hand dealer and scrap metal
collector. Never seeking publicity
, he did not achieve popularity on a larger scale, though his musicianship was known and much appreciated within a small group of rebetes
and fans during his lifetime.
, Yiorgos Batis
, Stelios Keromitis, Nikos Tsokaropoulos and many others who played in the area. His style is a synthesis of the early styles of Markos Vamvakaris and Stelios Keromitis (with whom he learned) and the Piraeus school of the 30's; traces of older styles also characterize his simple melodic taximia (improvisation
s) and powerfully played zeibekika
, always executed with the use of open strings and his rough and passionate baritone
voice.
However, the rembetiko producer Charles Howard recorded sessions with Vrachnas in about 1980, and in 2000, of which three songs have been issued on CD
:
Vrachnas' own composition Κάτω απ’ τη Σκάλα του Παπά (Eng. Down by the Priest's Jetty) (2000),
Ηθέλα να' μουν Ηρακλής (Eng. I wanted to be Hercules
) by Markos Vamvakaris, and
Ραντεβόυ σαν περιμένω (Eng. Waiting for you on our date) by Ioannis Papaioannou. The rest of these recordings remain unissued.
A number of privately recorded video
s also survive.
Rebetiko
Rebetiko, plural rebetika, , occasionally transliterated as Rembetiko, is a term used today to designate originally disparate kinds of urban Greek folk music which have come to be grouped together since the so-called rebetika revival, which started in the 1960s and developed further from the early...
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...
player who in his playing evoked the Piraeus
Piraeus
Piraeus is a city in the region of Attica, Greece. Piraeus is located within the Athens Urban Area, 12 km southwest from its city center , and lies along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf....
rembetiko style of the 1930s.
Biography
Nikos Vrachnas was born into a poor family in Nikaia (KokkiniaKokkinia
Kokkinia or Kokinia , older form: -s may refer to several places in Greece:*Kokkinia a settlement in the Euboea prefecture*Kokkinia a village in the Drama Prefecture...
) Piraeus
Piraeus
Piraeus is a city in the region of Attica, Greece. Piraeus is located within the Athens Urban Area, 12 km southwest from its city center , and lies along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf....
. There is some uncertainty about his year of birth, which has been given variously as circa 1936, or 1941. He died in Piraeus in 2004. As a young man he worked in foundries
Foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...
, while later on he was better known as a second hand dealer and scrap metal
Scrap Metal
Scrap Metal were a band from Broome, Western Australia who played rock music with elements of country and reggae. The members had Aboriginal, Irish, Filipino, French, Chinese, Scottish, Indonesian and Japanese heritage. The band toured nationally as part of the Bran Nue Dae musical and with...
collector. Never seeking publicity
Publicity
Publicity is the deliberate attempt to manage the public's perception of a subject. The subjects of publicity include people , goods and services, organizations of all kinds, and works of art or entertainment.From a marketing perspective, publicity is one component of promotion which is one...
, he did not achieve popularity on a larger scale, though his musicianship was known and much appreciated within a small group of rebetes
Rebetes
A rebetis is a musician involved in the scene of the Greek musical genre of rebetiko, which flourished between 1920 and 1955.Prominent rebetes include:*Rita Abatzi*Babis Tsertos*Yiorgos Batis*Sotiria Bellou...
and fans during his lifetime.
Musical background and style
Vrachnas began playing as a chld in 1952. He became familiar as a youth with many of the legendary figures of rembetiko who at that time had been forgotten, such as Markos VamvakarisMarkos Vamvakaris
Markos Vamvakaris , was a rebetiko musician. He is universally referred to by rebetiko writers and fans simply by his first name, Markos...
, Yiorgos Batis
Yiorgos Batis
Yiorgos Batis was one of the first rebetes influential to rebetiko music. His real name was Yiorgos Tsoros although he was known as Yiorgos Ampatis...
, Stelios Keromitis, Nikos Tsokaropoulos and many others who played in the area. His style is a synthesis of the early styles of Markos Vamvakaris and Stelios Keromitis (with whom he learned) and the Piraeus school of the 30's; traces of older styles also characterize his simple melodic taximia (improvisation
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
s) and powerfully played zeibekika
Zeibekiko
Zeibekiko is a Greek folk dance with a rhythmic pattern of 9/4 or else 9/8 . The name of the dance derives from the Zeibek warriors of Anatolia. It is danced by one person only and is of free choreographic structure, which is often refers to ancient Greek tragedy...
, always executed with the use of open strings and his rough and passionate baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
voice.
Recordings
Few live recordings of his playing survive to capture his original style, which survived basically unchanged until the 21st century.However, the rembetiko producer Charles Howard recorded sessions with Vrachnas in about 1980, and in 2000, of which three songs have been issued on CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
:
Vrachnas' own composition Κάτω απ’ τη Σκάλα του Παπά (Eng. Down by the Priest's Jetty) (2000),
Ηθέλα να' μουν Ηρακλής (Eng. I wanted to be Hercules
Hercules
Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...
) by Markos Vamvakaris, and
Ραντεβόυ σαν περιμένω (Eng. Waiting for you on our date) by Ioannis Papaioannou. The rest of these recordings remain unissued.
A number of privately recorded video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
s also survive.