Shantel

Born in Mannheim in 1968 and long active in Frankfurt, Shantel, the stage name of Stefan Hantel, has since the 1990s developed a path at the crossroads of DJing, production and composition. His early records, between downbeat, trip-hop and electronics, foreshadow an important turning point after a trip to Czernowitz at the beginning of the 2000s, a journey that more directly nourishes his work around music from Eastern and Southeastern Europe. With his label Essay Recordings and the Bucovina Club compilations in 2003 and 2005, Shantel assembles an aesthetic where electronic rhythms, Balkan brass, klezmer motifs, Rom traditions, Greek, Romanian, Turkish and Slavic influences circulate in a format designed for the dancefloor as much as for the concert. This orientation continues with the Bucovina Club Orkestar, the group that accompanies his live performances, and with albums such as Disko Partizani (2007), Planet Paprika (2009), Anarchy + Romance (2013), Viva Diaspora (2015), Istanbul with Cümbüş Cemaat (2020), then Mētrópolis (2023). Shantel also scored the music for Fatih Akin’s film On the Other Side (2007) and has continued work open to transnational scenes, between clubs, festivals and projects related to cultural diasporas.