Around the world today, a vibrant scene of musicians and researchers perform and study early Rebetika, the reflection of a clash between the western tradition of polyphony with the eastern tradition of modes, microtones and drones. Early Rebetika is the predecessor of bouzouki-based Rebetika.

During the great population movement in the southern Balkans in the early 20th century, outstanding artists from Constantinople, Smyrna and the coasts of Asia Minor settled on the Greek islands and ports. Among them, great music masters such as Ogdontakis and Semsis came to Greece and became leading figures in the local music scene. Their breathtaking performances and recordings made them legendary figures in the history of world music.

---

The main instruments in Early Rebetika are violin, santur, guitar, kanun, oud and tampoura. Santurovioli is a minimal combination of violin, santur and guitar. These three form an impressively functional musical system where the microtonal use of the violin shines brightly in the rich harmonincs of the santur over a solid bass-guitar rhythmical background. Today, there are only a few grand masters in the genre and Kyriakos Gouventas is considered the leading-figure worldwide.

In his extraordinary career Kyriakos Gouventas records hundreds of performances from China to America, Africa and Australia, as well as collaborations with world famous artists from all over the world. Kyriakos, the  "Genius of the violin" has been teaching modes and maqams to international top-class musicians creating a musical scene of his own and a great following worldwide.