"Right at the beginning of rebetika, the Smyrna style was favoured by Asia Minor refugees around the start of the 20th century. By the 1940s Smyrna style had all but disappeared, giving way to a bouzouki-dominated virtuoso music which increasingly moved away from the old Ottoman modes and urban folk music and more towards ostentatious display. The instrumentation of Simoglou's band show the diversity of sounds before bouzouki was king and include lyra, saz, spoons, kanonaki (dulcimer) and a variety of flutes and instruments of the violin family. The sound they create is authentic ... Female singers flourished in the Smyrna environment ... Maria Simoglou does an excellent job of carrying the torch ... An excellent CD, a good exploration of the roots of rebetika and a wonderful recreation of a musical beginning, taking you back to a Teke or café Aman".
