Refugees from Asia Minor made up a large proportion of non-native workers. When they came to Greece, together with their scarce belongings, they brought their customs and songs that were based on the ancient Greek scales. At night, at the clearing, the refugees working on the construction of the dam were sitting under the carob tree and almost chanted their long slow songs accompanied by traditional instruments. That should have been a really enjoyable experience for the "western staff". About the same period, in 1930, the ‘rebetiko’ music was born in Greece.