ABSTRACT

When in the 1980s group Dynámeis tou Aigaíou (see Chapter 5) gave performances with the oúti, the sázi and the kanonáki, they often included a presentation of the instruments, as these were completely unknown to their audiences.1 It is indicative that the back cover of their second LP (Íhos B’, 1987) provides pictures of the instruments with their names (Illustration 3.1). Dionýsis Savvópoulos (see Chapter 1), who produced their first album (1985), was quick to realize the potential lying in the novelty of these instruments. ‘We have discovered new notes!’ is what he would say enthusiastically, listening to the non-tempered intervals. When he agreed to produce the group, he specifically insisted that the fifth member of the group, the violinist, not participate in the recordings. Like the clarinet, the violin, a basic instrument in popular Greek music, might water down the effect of novelty that the other instruments would bring.