Shantel & Bucovina Club
** Shantel & Bucovina Club ** a new lineup, new collaborations, a tighter sound, more electro, more massive—Shantel’s next tour is going to shake the walls!
A new on-stage format, more compact where the "beat” is a true "sound system" show. An evolution from the Bucovina Orkestra to Partizani Super Sonic; here it is more concentrated on stage, accompanied by musicians blending different instruments (Guitars, Synths, Brass, Bouzouki, Drums…) mixed with a denser, more electronic sound.
Cosmopolitan, a globe-trotter, paprika bambaataa, constantly searching for new sounds: Shantel is in top form when it comes to shaking up cultural pop clichés and conventional genre definitions.
On stage, the energy of club culture resonates where analog meets digital. The East meets the West. A melting pot of styles, a vibrant show where the instruments played are remixed live on stage. A show celebrating the freedom of performances from Balkan Pop, Global Bass, Diaspora Beats & Turkish Electro Psychedelica.
Shantel has shown how his music intertwines the folklore of Eastern Europe and the Balkans with a western dance beat close to disco, giving it a universal reach. He is currently working on an upcoming album set at the borders of Greece and Eastern European countries, straddling the dance floor and folklore.
Considered one of the first—if not the very first—to marry German pop with Balkan music, Shantel, born Stephan Hantel in Mannheim, is of Bucovina German descent—now part of Ukraine and Romania. This obviously explains his music: Shantel incorporates samples into his compositions, pulling them from their context and placing them elsewhere—drawing on music from Southeast Europe and the Mediterranean. Very active in the German independent scene, in Frankfurt and Berlin, he regularly collaborates with orchestras and brass bands, setting the tone for music that is experienced and danced to on stage or in the streets. He released his first album in 1995, *Club Guerilla* (it’s all in the title). Seven more albums followed. Shantel has also collaborated with MC Solaar, Kruder & Dorfmeister, Gilles Peterson, Massive Attack, Björk, and Howie B.
Shantel is currently recording his 9th album in Athens, set to release in summer 2023. Why Athens? Shantel has fallen in love with modern Greece, particularly Athens, a city in full swing, often coinciding with the complicated economic situation it faces. As the country experiences a resurgence of interest and media attention with the victory of Syriza, one of Shantel's tracks seems much more sincere and legitimate. It shines a natural light on the true face of Greece, simply and accurately, featuring one of the biggest local voices.
Originally a respected electronic music producer, Shantel became interested in Eastern European music when he undertook a journey to the Bucovina region—now split between Ukraine and Moldova—in search of his family roots, leading to the creation of the Bucovina Club parties and albums. What he had previously heard on record as an exotic sound from a distant place suddenly became physically tangible: wild brass ensembles, soulful singers, melancholic bluesy ballads, and instrumental melodies, with the frenzied dances of Kolo, Hora, and Cocek (a Balkan variation of belly dance).
Shantel's *Bucovina Club* albums have won him several awards (including a BBC World Music Award). They featured tracks from major Balkan bands, as well as exclusive remixes and original pieces by Shantel. He has produced albums for several other artists, including Mahala Rai Banda and Boom Pam. His remix of "Mahalageasca" by Mahala Rai Banda was prominently featured in the soundtrack of the film *Borat*. Shantel composed the original music for *The Edge Of Heaven*, the film by Fatih Akin that won an award at the Cannes Film Festival. He has performed at the biggest festivals and clubs across Europe and has residencies at the Bucovina Club in Istanbul, Rome, Vienna, and Zurich.
----Tournée "Partizani Super Sonic Live Tour 2025"
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