Why is it that the world's stonkingly huge appetite for the wild and heady music of Eastern Europe was largely sharpened by one man from Germany? His name is Shantel and - through his remixes of the likes of Taraf De Haidouks and his stewardship of the much-loved Bucovina club nights - he almost singlehandedly tore the music of the Balkans from the hands of the ethnomusicologist and into the ears of Europe's clubbing massive. Shantel simply recognised just what a euphoric and universal sound these wild gypsies were making and a little electronic manipulation could enhance it further. Having put together two Bucovina Club compilations and contributed to the house-shaking Electric Gypsyland remix series, he then stepped out from behind the decks to front his eight-piece Bucovina Club Orkestar. The new studio album Viva Diaspora is strongly inspired by the creative anarchy of crisis-ridden Athens. Viva Diaspora has no intention of jumping onto the current crossover / remix bandwagon. Viva Diaspora is bold, risky and self-assured: this is how acoustic, traditional and Mediterranean songs sound today and this is how they can come into their own in a contemporary party context. Viva Diaspora is an album that sounds like a road movie - cinema for the ears! A 24-hour trip stopping off at Athens - Frankfurt - Paris - (Kingston) - Brooklyn - Istanbul.

Kosmopolita z Frankfurtu, Stefan Hantel, znany od wielu lat na scenie muzycznej jako Shantel powraca z nową płytą, łączącą nie tylko bałkańskie brzmienia ze współczesną elektroniką (jak to robił min. na słynnym albumie "Disko Partizani") ale tekże z folkiem, reggae, dubem, hip-hopem i muzyką arabską. Stworzył muzyczny most między Atenami (gdzie od niedawna mieszka), Frankfurtem, Paryżem, Kingstone, Brooklynem i Stambułem, bo w tych miastach i najróżniejszych studiach powstawała ta płyta.
O Shantel i jego muzyce tak mówi sam Tony Allen, współtwórca afrobeatu:
"Shantel enchants clubs and concert halls, burns the palaces in the very best sense. His intuition is legend. He knows how to read the dancefloor: a maximum of 3 songs – and the dancefloor is on fire."