"A century of Minos Matsas and Son" through Maki Matsas

Makis Matsas browsing the album of his life and tells well -known and unknown stories from great names in Greek music

Makis Matsas flies the album of his life on Prime Time’s camera and tells Mars Portosalte stories “Behind the Marquis”.

Catches the thread from the beginning of everything – the involvement of his visionary father, Minoswith the unrighteous Greek discography of the mid -1920s. It looks at the conversion of a bankrupt company into a Greek pentagram colossus, reveals how the innate charisma in finding talent and business demon led to the threshold of Minos great artists and tells known and unknown stories from big names Greek music: Markos Vamvakaris, Vassilis Tsitsanis, Manos Hadjidakis, Mikis Theodorakis, Thanos Mikroutsikos, Stratos Dionysiou, Stelios Kazantzidis, Dimitris Mitropanos, Tolis Voskos

Minos Matsas and Son started in 1926 by Minos Matsas. ”My father, finishing his studies, wrote lyrics. He was then hired at the first record label that was founded in Greece by Odeon Parlophone. At first he was an accounting director, but then his genius talent to smell the artists, led him to find Vamvakaris and then Tsitsanis, Papaioannou, Kardaras and everyone else. And so he created the rebetiko folk song ” Makis Matsas tells.

His narrative continues with Vamvakaris and how while he had recorded four songs in Columbia, these songs were not released because they were afraid of the reaction of the world. The bouzouki was still unknown. All the successes of Vamvakaris, as well as Tsitsani’s first successes, are the successes of Maki Matsa’s father. Indeed, Minos Matsas refused to satisfy the request of Nikos Hadjiapostolou, the great musician of the time, who asked for the exit of Vamvakaris.

“Maybe, I don’t know. If there could be the folk rebetiko song without my father” says Makis Matsas.

The years of occupation

The years of the Occupation are difficult. The family, who were Jews, is escorted and resorted to the Evritania, the family of George Vlachos. At some point, the information is that the Germans will go up to Restroy. And the family leaves, goes to the mountains and reaches walking to Karpenissi. And from there, while wandering, it became the liberation that finds the family destroyed, unhappy, hungry. Minos Secretary Matsas, Pepitsa Papaikonomou, took them to her home where she hosted them. The discography had been closed, the Columbia plant had become a German Tanks repair factory. The father -in -law of Minos (who was a large fabric before occupation) helps him and opens a fabric on Ermou Street.

The beginning of Maki Matsas in the discography

In 1955, Minos Matsas had a sharp heart attack, which holds him in bed for 6-7 months. Then the collapse of the company began, while Makis Matsas was studying at that time. As soon as he finished his studies, he asked his father to deal with the music company. “What do you say my little kid, this foul company with so much debt” He listens to his father say. Makis Matsas manages to convince his father, who gives him 200 pounds with the promise, but that if he loses and fails he will retire. Not only did Makis Matsas miss them, but kept 100 of the 200 pounds which, as he says, wants to give his children a gift to remember their grandfather.

The change of a verse and the Varthakouris that became Parios

Makis Matsas changed a phrase in a song that is still sung today. The well -known “if I didn’t and did” at first was “if I didn’t have my mother” which, however, did not like Maki Matsas. “It was another role of mother” He says. And so, the verse changed to “if I didn’t have it and they did”. But not only the verse has changed. Maki Matsas did not like the adjective of the lad who came from Paros, who had an amazing voice. Thus, Yiannis Varthakouris became Yiannis Parios.

“When my name Makis Matsas comes to my mind is like talking about my family. As a man, like an artist, like my father I lost. I love you very much Maki” says John Parios.

Maki Matsa’s narrative continues with Haroula Alexiou. “I remember when Alexiou came. She was a gorgeous girl, but so timid and so shy that I was saying how this kid would get out on the track to sing. Slowly she got it all, admire her and enjoy Alexiou.”

“Makis Matsas is a mythical person for Greek discography. … He is a person we honor, and I think that the discography in the sense of production and the people who took it very personally and moved on, has stopped somewhere there, that is, to Maki” says Harris Alexiou.

How Makis Matsas discovered George Dalaras

“The first thing to say about Mr. Matsas is that I owe him an eternal gratitude. Because while I made a lot of efforts to get to work with the anxiety of survival, he was the only one who distinguished me what other people at work did not do before.”

The song goes through the worst period

“At the moment we are going through the worst period of the song. I do not hear success. I do not hear remarkable songs. And I am waiting to see when a new Hatzidakis will appear that will give the revolution. Because at the time of Hatzidakis the song had fallen into a quagmire” We hear Maki Matsa say.

The hectic relationship with Stelios Kazantzidis

For Stelios Kazantzidis, he says he was the greatest singer in Greece. But he was difficult to convince him to work together, and the cooperation between them was quite difficult.

“‘I exist’ is the greatest record I did, the best album for me, because from there I also recognized as a great creator” says Makis Matsas and continues: “But Kazantzidis was peculiar. It was not bad, but it was peculiar. It is no coincidence that he was married to Marinella and in two years they broke up. ” For Marinella he says: “Marinella, I got it little. Then she left because she didn’t want to live with Kazantzidis. She went to Phillips and then came again.”

“Lord” Tolis Voskopoulos

Makis Matsas also refers to Tolis Voskopoulos. “This man had a nobility. He was a son -in -law, but he had a nobility inside him. But unfortunately he wasted himself with his first wife. He fell there, in drunkenness, drugs, and rescued Gerekou.”

Getting to know Lakis Papadopoulos

For Mitropanos, he notes that he lived his great career, his second and biggest career near him. Referring to Lefteris Papadopoulos, he says how he knew him, but also how inseparable friends are since then.