"Magical Liturgy": A History of Sound at the Kyttaro Music Club, 1970–1974

Abstract

Kyttaro was an alternative club in the center of Athens during the Colonels' dictatorship. This article demonstrates how the affective economy and political energy of the live musical performances that took place there turned it into a vehicle of cultural and political contestation for the progressive youth of the time. It also challenges dominant periodizations in relation to the dictatorship, highlighting the continuities of cultural practices, group behavior, and youth protest. Lastly, drawing upon a range of sources, including oral testimonies with key figures in the music scene of the time, the article highlights the importance of sensorial and " from below" insights for the study of cultural phenomena.

From folklore to patriotic and protest songs: Music, youth, and Basque identity during the 1960s

“…The historian Kostis Kornetis (2013) has carried out interesting research on the role of Greek youth counter cultural movements and music in their protests. See also Eleni Kallimopoulou and Kornetis (2017). 10 Fox and Miller-Idriss (2008) have pointed out the value of a bottom-up approach, focusing on the way people experience nationalism in their everyday lives.…”

The Songs of Fire (1975): Sonic Narratives of Resistance and Collective Memory

“…34 Eleni Kallimopoulou and Kostis Kornetis have additionally argued that Koch's performances of folk songs at small clubs and boîtes not only challenged the genre's appropriation by the regime, but also created openings for progressive listeners. 35 In her performance of 'Armenaki' in The Songs of Fire, Koch substituted the word 'island' for 'Cyprus' ('Take me to Cyprus's port'), a clear reference to the events unfolding in Cyprus. 36 This small textual substitution, along with the electric folk sound and the already charged political environment of the concert, turned the song into a political commentary about the catastrophic coup in Cyprus, the Turkish invasion, and its consequences.…”

The Rebellious 1960s via the Prosperous 1990s: Youth, Modernity and Consumption in Antonis Kokkinos’Τέλος εποχής(End of an Era) (1994)

“…While, for example, foreign music groups stopped performing in Athens after the establishment of the dictatorship (the last one to do so were the Rolling Stones, on 17 April 1967), youngsters continued to frequent rock clubs to see local groups play. 67 Such efforts by youngsters to maintain cultural contacts with the West play a crucial role in End of an Era and would have been positively received by viewers in the pro-Europeanization climate of the 1990s.…”