At the beginning of the 20th century, Europe was living in peace and prosperity. The "Belle Époque" was an outgrowth of previous important historical events and developments. The networks that were created and which evolved funneled both people and their products, tangible and intangible. It was within this multi-layered world that sound recording and sound reproduction was invented. Cosmopolitanism in large urban centers favored polystylisms and polymorphisms. Colonialism, revolutions, conflicts, refugee flows; the theater, cinema, radio, photography, orchestras’ tours, but also releases in all kinds of commercial channels in a world that evolved dynamically and anisotropically formed a complex network of "centers" and "peripheries" in alternating roles setting musical idioms in motion, both literally and figuratively. The networks in which the Greek-speaking musics participate, constantly conversing with their co-tenants, are magnificent. Discography had already provided important tools in understanding the relationships that developed between "national" repertoires. Within these networks, already existing tendencies and aesthetic currents are often created or integrated, especially during the period when the phenomenon of sound recording and reproduction takes on commercial, mass and universal dimensions. A typical example is exoticism, as manifested in its various representations.

It has been found in the European vocabulary since the end of the 16th century, although its widespread prevalence as a trend was associated with the colonial imperialism of the 19th century (Netto, 2015: 13). Since then, the term has incorporated various levels of reading and interpretating anything “Other”. Its meaning concerns, on the one hand, the characteristics of that which is outside the sphere of identity and, on the other hand, the attraction exerted by that which has such characteristics. The widespread acceptance of the phenomenon of exoticism is obvious: the multidimensional linguistic, musical and visual wealth accumulated around and within exoticism created a common stock of knowledge that perpetually feeds the collective and individual imaginary.

Focusing on the modern Greek communities, we find very early established traces of exoticism in poetry and literature, which are quickly transferred to the theater, enriched in terms of their visual and dramatic texture. The explosion of popular forms of spectacle and mass entertainment in the 20th century will radiate their reach. In Greece, among all artistic fields, the most persistent and most obvious presence of exoticism is found in singing. In the era of discography, the advance of exoticism is irresistible and leaves a very strong imprint. However much it seems to be defined by the principle of "locality", exoticism is a global aesthetic constant, a "common" language of the new age strongly marked by modernism and inscribed in a complex and lengthy process of osmosis among "national" musicians, which produces repertoires with "ecumenical" or global characteristics.

The locations represented in exoticism, that is, the East, Latin America, Spain, Hawaii, are par excellence imaginary, disconnected from the real world. They are revealed like a theatrical stage, with alternating scenes, where fantasies are dramatized, overwhelm the senses and release intense emotions, offering the "visitor" an ideal experience, outside the limitations of the conventional world: an eternal feast, pleasures, adventure.

At the center of the Eastern stage (which is always represented as Islamic) stands the palace, synonymous with pleasures and opulence, within which every imaginable intemperance is put into practice. Violent and despotic pashas, maharajas and sheikhs enjoy lavishness while indulging in proverbial laziness. The figure that dominates the ethnoscape of the East is certainly the female, an object of desire. Through a series of roles, almost exclusively leading ones, women embody the mysticism, eroticism and sensuality of the imaginary East. The ultimate symbol of lust, a trademark of the East, is none other than the harem (Lewis, 2004: 12-52). The slavery of the female body contributes decisively to the ethnoscape of the East, bringing the narrator face to face with transcendental acts of heroism. In the East, calendar time is polarized, with the atmosphere almost always described as nocturnal. Darkness is a powerful symbol of escalating emotional tension, as it is synonymous with a metaphysical fog.

The song "I Bata" is a special example of the dialectic between the various manifestations of exoticism. The Hawaiian (lap steel) guitars form the sound context within which a scene of the exotic Barbary Coast (this was the name given to the coastal regions of North Africa) is described; the sound evokes Hawaii and the lyrics the East. This seemingly apparent contradiction is a common condition in discography: different music-making tendencies and practices often intersect and overlap, producing constantly contrasting results.

The representations of the East are the spearhead of this syncretism, as apart from the οriental, various musical-dance formations are utilized, such as the Hawaiian orchestras, the tango, the fox, the zeibekiko and the chasapiko, proving the stylistic openness of popular musics. This is also made clear on the label of the record in which the terms "Hawaiian orchestra", "Arabic" and "fox" coexist.

In addition to the present recording, three other recordings of the song have been released:
– "Bata", with singer Konstantinos Kontopoulos (Odeon GO2114 – GA1783), recorded in 1934, Athens
– "Bata", with singer Spyros Saligkaros (Odeon GO2158 – GA1787), recorded in 1934, Athens
– "Bata", with singers Zozefina Genovezou and Giorgos Karanikolas (His Master’s Voice OGA1646 – AO2947), recorded on July 25, 1950, Athens

The commercial musical score of the song was also published (see here).

Research and text: George Evangelou and Nikos Ordoulidis