Stefan Hantel, better known by his stage name Shantel (born 2 March 1968), is a German DJ and producer based in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

. He is known for his work with Romani brass orchestras, DJing and remixing traditional

Balkan music Balkan music is a type of music found in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe. The music is characterised by complex rhythm. Famous bands in Balkan music include Taraf de Haïdouks, Fanfare Ciocărlia, and No Smoking Orchestra. Historical ...

with electronic beats.

Background and early life

Shantel is of

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

descent on his paternal side. His maternal grandparents were

Ukrainian Jews The history of the Jews in Ukraine dates back over a thousand years; Jewish communities have existed in the territory of Ukraine from the time of the Kievan Rus' (late 9th to mid-13th century). Some of the most important Jewish religious and ...

from Chernivtsi.

Career

Shantel began his DJ career in Frankfurt, Germany, and was inspired by the audience reaction to Romani brass bands such as

Fanfare Ciocărlia Fanfare Ciocărlia is a twelve-piece Romani Balkan brass band from the northeastern Romanian village of Zece Prăjini. They are known for their fast, high-energy music with complex rhythms and high-speed staccato clarinet, saxophone, and tr ...

and trumpeter Boban Marković to infuse electronically tweaked Balkan Romani music into his DJ set. Shantel released two compilations of his popular DJ night, Bucovina Club, on his own Essay label, which won the Club Global award in the 2006 BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music. He was one of several DJs to remix recordings of

Taraf de Haïdouks Taraful Haiducilor ("Taraf of Haiduks") are a Romanian-Romani '' taraf'' (a troupe of '' lăutari'', traditional musicians) from Clejani, Romania, and one of the most prominent such groups in post-Communist era Romania. In the Western world they ...

and

Kočani Orkestar Kočani orkestar (in Macedonian: ''Кочани оркестар'') also credited under the names: ''Kocani orkestar'', ''Kocani Orchestra'', ''Kochani orkestar'' and ''Kochani Orchestra'' is a Macedonian Romani brass band from Kočani, North Ma ...

on the ''Electric Gypsyland'' compilations from

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Crammed Discs Crammed Discs is an independent record label whose output blends world music, rock, pop, and electronica. Based in Brussels, Belgium, Crammed was founded in 1980 by Marc Hollander of Aksak Maboul and has since released around 375 albums and 275 ...

label, and released his next album on that label. He gained popularity in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

after recording the clip of 'Disko Partizani' in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

.Cartwright, Garth
Awards for World Music 2006 - DJ Shantel
BBC Radio 3. Shantel's 2007 album ''Disko Partizani'' departed somewhat from the

techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...

sound of Bucovina Club, concentrating more on the music's Balkan roots. The album was awarded Platinum award in Turkey by Mü-Yap in 2008 and 2009. In 2011 he released an album with

Oz Almog Oz Almog is an Israeli and Austrian artist, born on 15 April 1956, in Kfar Saba, Israel. Biography Oz Almog was born to a family of Russian/Ukrainian pioneers (Avrutzki) and Romanian/Russian immigrants (Abramovich). After studying classical paint ...

named ''Kosher Nostra Jewish Gangsters Greatest Hits''. This album is a wild mix of Swing,

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

Twist Twist may refer to: In arts and entertainment Film, television, and stage * ''Twist'' (2003 film), a 2003 independent film loosely based on Charles Dickens's novel ''Oliver Twist'' * ''Twist'' (2021 film), a 2021 modern rendition of ''Olive ...

, Charleston and Yiddish songs and Ballads.

Discography

* ''Super Mandarine'' (1994) * ''Club Guerilla'' (1995) * ''Auto Jumps & Remixes'' (1997) * ''EP'' (1997) * ''No. 2'' (1997) * ''"II" EP'' (1998) * ''Higher than the Funk'' (1998) * ''Oh So Lovely EP'' (1998) * ''Oh So Lovely Remixes'' (1998) * ''Backwood'' (2001) * ''Great Delay'' (2001) * ''Inside'' (2001) * ''Bucovina'' (2003) * ''Disko'' (2003) * ''Bucovina Club Vol. 2'' (2005) * ''Gypsy Beats and Balkan Bangers'' (2006) * ''Disko Partizani'' (2007) * ''Disko Partizani Remixes'' (2008) * ''Planet Paprika'' (2009) * ''Kosher Nostra Jewish Gangsters Greatest Hits '' (2011) * ''Anarchy + Romance '' (2013) * ''Viva Diaspora '' (11th of Sept. 2015)

References

External links

*
Shantel on MSN Music

Shantel page
on the

website {{Authority control 1968 births Living people German DJs Folk-pop singers German people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent German people of Greek descent Musicians from Frankfurt Electronic dance music DJs