Shantel & Bucovina Club Orkestar Photo: Supplied
Shantel & the Bucovina Club Orkestar is a live band curated by German born Shantel (Stefan Hantel). They've specialised in re-interpreting Eastern European Gypsy music and in the process built a global audience.
Titles: 'Disco Partizani', 'Disko Boy', 'Bucovina original', 'Andante Levante', T'he Kiez is Alright', 'Planet Paprika', 'Mahala', 'Ya Ha Rai', 'Sandaca'
Shantel started to attract attention in the 1990s as a DJ, singer, musician and producer by breaking down musical and cultural barriers and taking traditional music out of of its typical context. He enjoys re-interpreting it for a new audience. "Europe has always been a melting pot of musical form that crosses borders and barriers", he says.
Shantel live on stage Photo: Supplied
Shantel's research for this musical form began when he visited his German-Jewish-Romanian parents’ home in the Bucovina region of Romania, where he was inspired by the local multi-ethnic sound.
By the later part of the 90s, his Bucovina Club nights in Frankfurt were legendary and he was spinning gypsy remixes for ecstatic crowds.
Since then, a Shantel compilation album won the BBC Award for World Music (2006) and he also remixed songs for the Borat film. Sacha Baron Cohen visited Shantel's Bucovina Club parties in Tel Aviv and licensed a couple of tracks for the movie.
Shantel then formed his own “Orkestar”, with which he has produced albums released on his label Essay Recordings.
They struck club gold with the hit 'Disco Partizani' - which was his opening song at this WOMAD NZ performance.
By creating this brand of noisy folklore, injecting gypsy brass and Balkan music with modern electronica, along with dub, reggae, Turkish melodies and even Viennese waltzes, he has found a sound that is inventive and charismatic, totally designed for good vibes and dancing.
Shantel & the Bucovina Club Orkestar were the closing act at WOMAD 2019 on Sunday 17th March.
Shantel & Bucovina Club Orkestar Photo: Supplied
Shantel & the Bucovina Club Orkestar performing on the TSB Bowl stage, New Plymouth was recorded live and produced by Graham Kennedy for RNZ Music.
