大象传媒 - Awards for World Music 2006

WINNER 2006
DJ SHANTEL听(GERMANY)

As the dance music scene continues to contract many DJs are moving into the world music arena, looking for fresh sounds to take to the dancefloor. DJ Shantel - Germany's Stefan Hantel - is one such example. Shantel cut his DJing teeth in Germany's techno scene but, noting how Gypsy brass orchestras Fanfare Ciocarlia and Boban Markovic could turn an audience into a wild, heaving mass, he believed that with a little electronic tweaking he could blend Balkan Gypsy tunes into his DJ set. Calling his Frankfurt DJ nights Bucovina Club, he attracted an audience well up for raving to heaving tubas and scalding trumpets. Some of the tunes were so naturally funky Shantel didn't need to add anything. Others he remixed, adding electronic beats and layering the horns on top.

Word got around about his Bucovina Club nights and the remix album of the same name Shantel issued on his Essay label. Then Crammed Discs employed him (and several other DJs) to remix their Taraf De Haidouks and Kocani Orkestar recordings as Electric Gypsyland. The resulting album was intermittently successful but it helped promote Shantel's musical vision internationally. His 2005 Bucovina Club Volume 2 collection has proven a major European Where most techno and house was characterless and lacked any organic elements Shantel's managed to mix Gypsy magic with a hi-tech pulse.

Shantel called his night Bucovina because his maternal ancestors have roots in the region, once part of the mighty Habsburg Empire but now partly in Romania and partly Ukraine. Bucovina Club Volume 2 features Balkan heavyweights Goran Bregovic and Fanfare Ciocarlia alongside a Gypsy take on North African anthem Ya Rayah and other material.

Shantel bears obvious comparison with Bosnia's Goran Bregovic - both are non-Romas who have imaginatively plundered Balkan Gypsy music to create a sound with popular appeal. Whether Shantel will face the same criticisms as Bregovic or can carefully negotiate his way through this artistic minefield we will have to wait and see. For now, DJ Shantel is remixing and reinventing Balkan Gypsy music for a dance music audience.

Garth Cartwright听

大象传媒 Music review

YOUR COMMENTS
听
thais, lausanne, switzerland
Great remixes! Hopefully hear your music soon in Lausanne/Geneva area.

shantel england
wow you have a great talent my name is shantel tooo

Rafael, de Argentina
Wonderful music: direct to the hearth.

Maria, Rio de Janeiro
Outstanding live dj-set!!! I went to the brazilian edition of the Bucovina Club, and it was the best party I've ever been to! Can't wait to see him live again!!!

Gregg McKenzie
'Heard DJ Shantel doing his thing tonight a Berlin Glashaus... nice! The Balkan Gypsy thang really works with four on the floor and pokey synth bass! Not sure if he wrote and arranged all those blindingly fast horn lines - he seems to mainly be pfaffing with knobs! Full credit to the actual musicians as well as Shantel's re-mixes! The mass of people dancing and smiling prove that this vibe hits the spot better than most house and hip hop, though those bass lines sound suspiciously early 90's a la Pet Shop Boys!

Martin Frankfurt am Main
If you want a real good party, Bucovina club is the best for you. You need no drug no alcohol, only the Music!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kris Zug, Switzerland
Bucovina Club is always a Great Event in Zurich. Love it!!! Need it!!

zen, munich
marvelous music. Refreshing and original...

Steve - Preston
I loved the track. I've landed here after hearing the opening track on Huw Stevens (大象传媒 Radio1) Tuesday 11pm - 1am He opened with DJ Shantel Bucovina (track 1 from "Gypsy Beats & Balkan Bangers" I think) I've Google my way to Radio 3!! I may as well liste again to the latest Archers on R4 before bed :-)

ben, vienna
fantastic live dj-set. you just can't help dancing around madly.

Adrian - Sweden
Great remixes, but it's not like watching Fanfare Ciocarlia live. I think his remixes are a great complement to the authentic records. They present this kind of music to the big public in a dancefloor maner, so everyone can appreciate it. If you happen to like his remixes, be sure to keep an eye out for the real deal, Fanfare Ciocarlia, Taraf de Haidouks, Kocani Orkestar, and so on. You cannot imagine how mindblowing they can be.

Andi, Austria
Great music, great artist! Congratulations!!! La Multian

KID BANGKOK
Great music. I love it!