Various Artists
Shantel presents Bucovina Club
Cat. Nr.: AY CD 01

Shantel from Frankfurt/Main is well known with his albums "Higher Than The Funk" (!K7) or "The Great Delay" as an all-round electronica producer. With his compilation "Shantel: Bucovina Club" Shantel is presenting the brass bands of Macedonia and gypsy swing of the Walachia. Yes, for "Bucovina Club", Shantel has turned his musical view toward Eastern Europe.

These sounds are familiar to him since his childhood. His grandparents came from Czernovitz, that was once the centre of the Bucovina. Out of curiosity, in summer 2001, he headed to Czernowiz, which is now part of the Ukraine and from there further on to Rumania, to the land of his forefathers. On markets and the natural streets of this region he met again the sound of the Balkan that remained there until today catching him at once.

During this visit, he came up with the idea to bring this sound together with the indigenous atmosphere to Frankfurt. By chance, the schauspielfrankfurt was looking for a new series of events that would exceed the simple concept of a party. And so the Bucovina club started, and changed the foyer of the venerable theatre into a madhouse more than once. A madhouse with scenes of drunkeness and fraternization, of anarchy and good vibrations that sometimes resemble the films of Emir Kusturica.

The present album contains some of the highlights that are already well approved on the dancefloor of Bucovina Club. The main focus here is on originals in a traditional style, which blend seamlessly into the remix works and the compositions by Shantel. The tracklist features bands and artists like: Goran Bregovic, Taraf de Haidouks, Fanfare Ciocarlia, Kocani Orkestar oder Boban Markovic Orkestar, big names in Eastern Europe and the Balkans. Some of them have appeared on stage at Bucovina Club. The selection however, shows the compilation producer's certain purism. And it shows the strength of the Eastern Europe sound, with its raw and pure power that carries away even the odd occidental scepticism.

TRACKLIST

1. Banda Ionica "Intro Espinita" 2. Bandia Ionica "Espinita" Banda Ionica from Sicily is the brass band of Manu Chao trumpeter Roy Paci that has engaged El Mono Loco, lead singer of Macaco, one of Catalan's most amazing bands, for this tune.

3. Taraf de Haidouks "Pelin pau, pelin manine" Taraf de Haidouks stem from Clejani, a small town south of Bucharest. The world's most popular Roma orchestra demonstrates here highest instrumental virtuosity and geniality in the presentation of ballads.

4. Shantel "Dimineata" This track is an instrumental version of a hip hop ballad by Frankfurt rapper Chima, which Shantel gave a Rumanian twist.

5. The Rootsman "La Travudia" The Rootsman from Bradford, UK, is one of the most influential reggae producers outside of Jamaica. In "La Travudia" he crosses a tarantella by the Bari based, South Italian band Rosapaeda with an elegant, heavy reggae bass.

6. Fanfare Ciocarlia "Tu Romnie" Brass bands are originally an invention by the Turks, who occupied Rumania for many years. Fanfare Ciocarlia is the fastest of them all.

7. Goran Bregovic "Wedding Cocek" Bis 1985 ließ Goran Bregovic in Sarajevo mit seiner legendären Band Bijelo Dugme (Die weißen Knöpfe) noch die Gitarre röhren, dann widmete er sich dem Schreiben von Filmmusik. Hier hören wir ihn mit einem wilden Hochzeitstanz aus dem Film von Emir Kusturica "Underground".

8. Gogol Bordello "Baro Foro" Gogol Bordello from New York is punk rock cabaret with Russian soul, its musical roots lying in gypsy music.

9. Kocani Orkestar "Siki, siki baba" This brass band is from Kocani, a town in Macedonia. This popular dance tune is the Cocek, a belly dance that is danced in circles by men and women - contrary to the individualist, Egyptian original.

10. Shantel "Bucovina" Shantel spontaneously located this well know Caribbean melody onto a market place of the Bucovina, where couples turn circles in this Trinidad-Rumanian Calypso-Waltz.

11. Taraf de Haidouks "Carolina" Four generations of the so called "lautari", traditional musicians, coexist in this group. Like their ancestors, old and only orally handed on legacies are kept in this music, sensitively updated.

12. Fanfare Ciocarlia "Iag Bari" (Shantel Remix) Again, the heroes from Zece Prajeni with rattling noisiness, which accompanies a swinging rhythm-remixed by Shantel.

13. Saban Bajramovic and Goran Bregovic "Sex" Seine Stimme kennt jeder auf dem Balkan: Saban Bajramovic ist der bekannteste Roma-Sänger Jugoslawiens und die Muse Goran Bregovics, der sich für seine Soundtracks bei ihm inspirieren ließ.

14. Shantel feat. Boban Markovic Orkestar "Disko" This is THE Serbian brass band. In Guca, where the biggest brass band festival of the world is annually taking place, Boban received the golden trumpet various times. It's the most highly regarded price for a Balkan bandleader.

15. Shantel "Bucovina" (OMFO Dub) A dubby reprise of Shantels Calypso-Walz, remixed by German Popov from Ukraine. His project "Our Man from Odessa" (OMFO) laid hands on the original tune and shaped it into an atmospheric Reggae track.

ABOUT SHANTEL

Former Frankfurt downtempo pioneer, today celebrated impressario of the famous Bucovina Club and considered Europe's chief selector DJ for ecstatic Balkan grooves. With his release "Bucovina Club", he showed that a boundary-free spirit of Balkan and South Eastern Europe music tunes was what a world, bored of luke warm electronica and a retromanic dancefloor culture, was waiting for: Big emotions, vodka excesses, passion and plenty of slack lyrics, all blend together into a splendid 65 min mix compilation. Bucovina Club is probably the most promising party and music concept since the advent of acid house. Believe it! Shantel is currently working on tracks for a new 12" plus more material, all to be released on "Bucovina Club 2", out in 2005

Former Frankfurt downtempo pioneer, today celebrated impressario of the famous Bucovina Club and considered Europe's chief selector DJ for ecstatic Balkan grooves. With his release "Bucovina Club", he showed that a boundary-free spirit of Balkan and South Eastern Europe music tunes was what a world, bored of luke warm electronica and a retromanic dancefloor culture, was waiting for: Big emotions, vodka excesses, passion and plenty of slack lyrics, all blend together into a splendid 65 min mix compilation. Bucovina Club is probably the most promising party and music concept since the advent of acid house. Believe it! Shantel is currently working on tracks for a new 12" plus more material, all to be released on "Bucovina Club 2", out in 2005

Former Frankfurt downtempo pioneer, today celebrated impressario of the famous Bucovina Club and considered Europe's chief selector DJ for ecstatic Balkan grooves. With his release "Bucovina Club", he showed that a boundary-free spirit of Balkan and South Eastern Europe music tunes was what a world, bored of luke warm electronica and a retromanic dancefloor culture, was waiting for: Big emotions, vodka excesses, passion and plenty of slack lyrics, all blend together into a splendid 65 min mix compilation. Bucovina Club is probably the most promising party and music concept since the advent of acid house. Believe it! Shantel is currently working on tracks for a new 12" plus more material, all to be released on "Bucovina Club 2", out in 2005