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A new and unique journey of rembetiko with Café Aman İstanbul

A group of master musicians, Café Aman İstanbul creates a blend of different schools of rembetiko.

Formed in 2009 after a long period of preparation, the group’s goal is to revive the old Café Aman tradition. Taking their audience on a virtual journey back to the 19th century and inspired by the Ottoman fasıl tradition, Café Aman İstanbul breathes new life into rembetiko music with their first album, Fasl-ı Rembetiko.

Singing in both Greek and Turkish, Café Aman İstanbul performs rembetiko as well as Ottoman fasıl musıc, Turkish semi-classical music and Byzantine music, both religious and secular.

The group’s repertoire is based on anonymous songs that have passed from the Byzantine to Ottoman times and from the Ottoman period to the present day; as well as music played in the 19^th century “Café Amans” of Istanbul and Izmir. Concentrating mostly on the latter tradition, the group works with a “musical workshop” approach, and collects its material from private archives, old 78s and written sources.