Born in Istanbul in 1921, Giorgos Mitsakis started his career as a bouzouki player in 1937. Mitsakis career, both as a songwriter and a composer, took off after the Second World War. For Mitsakis song writing was telling a story and he was known not only for his beautiful and catchy melodies but for writing his own lyrics for his songs and other composers’ too, such as Zabetas. He was a composer who had one foot in the old music of Rebetiko and one always looking forward with more influences from jazz, latin and any other styles that great musician absorbed. Tonight we will be presenting some of his classics but also lesser known songs that deserve to have an equal status as some of the most beautiful songs ever written, not just by Mitsakis, but in this whole genre. You are guaranteed to leave singing down the streets of London!
“Plastikes Karekles represent a culture of reinvention as defiant and hopeful as the music itself.” Songlines magazine
Plastikes Karekles are one of the foremost bands in the performance and cultivation of Greek music in the UK and abroad. Internationally they have performed at festivals in Greece, France, Italy, Scotland, Wales and Qatar. In the UK they have performed at Purcell Room, Royal Festival Hall, Royal Albert Hall, St Davids Hall as part of the Proms, as well as more intimate venues such as the Green Note, Vortex and the Forge, London. Most recently they took part in the Equator: Women of the World festival at Kings Place, London.The musicians of Plastikes Karekles are also the founding members of the Rebetiko Carnival, a charity and festival with Rebetiko music at its heart and dedicated to performance, outreach and education. They take music to schools, hospitals, prisons and care homes throughout the UK.
