ELECTRIC GYPSYLAND
 Gypsy violins, cymbaloms and accordions on one stage with a DJ? Two
years ago, the Hungarian band Besh o'droM tested this wild mixture
at world music festivals. Electric Gypsyland goes even further, linking
the top virtuosi from Taraf de Haidouks with the German-Moldovian DJ
Shantel.
Born as Stefan Hantel in Frankfurt, he was introduced to dance beats
while studying graphic design in Paris. Back in his hometown he opened
the Lissania club, one of the few bastions of earthy grooves in a country
obsessed with techno. The club's prosperity led to Shantel's first
album, Club Guerilla, which was given a 1997 American reissue by Shadow
Records. His second full LP, Higher than the Funk, earned high praise
around the world, even hitting Spin magazine's end-of-the-year charts.
Great Delay was recorded in Tel Aviv, a mixture of acoustics strings,
guitars and brass with minimalists patterns and loops. Soon after that
Shantel rediscovered his roots - his ancestors came to Germany from
Moldova. In Frankfurt he started regular dance parties Bucovina
Club.
In 2002, he got his lifetime opportunity to participate on Electric
Gypsy Land, featuring two unrivalled Gypsy bands from the Eastern Europe:
Romania's Taraf de Haidouks and Macedonia's Kočani Orchestar, remixed
by top class DJs. The album starts with Shantel's Bucovina Club treatment
of Taraf de Haidouks. Evening Standard comments: Several of the producers
haven't just done remixes, but have pulled in live musicians. These
plugged-in gypsies are a blast.: Shantel's remix of Carolina with a
taste of ragga even raised a debate if this wild dance number did came
to Romania via the often recorded Jamaican classic Oh Carolina.
This year, Shantel's Bucovina Club takes off for the first festival
tour. At Respect open air stage, you can expect a wild party with gypsy
DJ competing with elite lautari players from Taraf de Haidouks.
Discography:
Shantel
Higher Than the Funk (Studio K7 1998)
Great Delay (Studio K7 2001)
Bucovina Club/Shantel (Essay Recordings 2003)
Electric Gypsyland (Crammed 2003)
Web:
www.crammed.be
allmusic.com
www.bbc.co.uk/music
Music:
mp3
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