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

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

. 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. In its broadest sense, it encompasses a variety of music styles across the countries of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo ...

with electronic beats.

Background and early life

Shantel is of

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

descent on his paternal side. His maternal grandparents were

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

from

Chernivtsi Chernivtsi (, ; , ;, , see also #Names, other names) is a city in southwestern Ukraine on the upper course of the Prut River. Formerly the capital of the historic region of Bukovina, which is now divided between Romania and Ukraine, Chernivt ...

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 tru ...

and trumpeter

Boban Marković Boban Marković ( sr-cyr, Бобан Марковић) is a Serbian trumpet player and brass ensemble leader from Vladičin Han. Work He is of Romani background. The Boban Marković Orkestar is a Balkan brass band from Vladičin Han, Southe ...

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 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

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 language, Macedonian: ''Кочани оркестар'', also credited under the names: ''Kocani orkestar'', ''Kocani Orchestra'', ''Kochani orkestar'' and ''Kochani Orchestra'') is a Romani people in North Macedon ...

on the ''Electric Gypsyland'' compilations from

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

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 400 albums and 300 ...

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

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

after recording the clip of 'Disko Partizani' in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

.Cartwright, Garth
Awards for World Music 2006 - DJ Shantel

. Shantel's 2007 album ''Disko Partizani'' departed somewhat from the

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

sound of Bucovina Club, concentrating more on the music's

Balkan The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

roots. The album was awarded Platinum award in Turkey by

Mü-Yap Mü-Yap, (officially Bağlantılı Hak Sahibi Fonogram Yapımcıları Meslek Birliği, Turkish: ''Turkish Phonographic Industry Society'') is the major organization representing the recording industry of Turkey. Mü-Yap is also an IFPI The Inte ...

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 pa ...

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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

, Twist, Charleston and Yiddish songs and Ballads.

Discography

Albums

* ''Club Guerilla'' (1995) * ''Auto Jumps & Remixes'' (1997) * ''Higher than the Funk'' (1998) * ''Great Delay'' (2001) * ''Bucovina Club Vol. 2'' (2005) * ''Bucovina Club'' (2006) * ''Disko Partizani'' (2007) * ''Planet Paprika'' (2009) * ''Anarchy + Romance '' (2013) * ''The Mojo Club Session'' (2014) * ''Viva Diaspora '' (11th of Sept. 2015) * Mētrópolis (2023)

EPs and participations

* ''Super Mandarine'' (1994) * ''EP'' (1997) * ''No. 2'' (1997) * ''"II" EP'' (1998) * ''Oh So Lovely EP'' (1998) * ''Oh So Lovely Remixes'' (1998) * ''Backwood'' (2001) * ''Inside'' (2001) * ''Bucovina'' (2003) * ''Disko'' (2003) * ''

Gypsy Beats and Balkan Bangers ''Gypsy Beats and Balkan Bangers'' and its follow up ''Gypsy Beats and Balkan Bangers Too'' are two compilations of Eastern European-inspired music tracks, compiled by DJs Russ Jones and Felix Buxton (of Basement Jaxx). The album was released on Ba ...

'' (2006) * ''Disko Partizani Remixes'' (2008) * ''Kosher Nostra Jewish Gangsters Greatest Hits '' (2011)

References

External links

*
Shantel on MSN Music

Shantel page
on the

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