In the late 90s, Stefan Hantel a.k.a. Shantel was an acclaimed electronic music producer/artist that emerged from the Austro-German world of downtempo, much like Kruder & Dorfmeister, Sofa Surfers and Waldeck. That is, until he paid a visit to a long forgotten region along the borders of Ukraine and Romania to trace his family roots. Bucovina, the name of the region, was once an epicenter for many things creative and cultural. Inspired by the regional folklore, Shantel returned to Frankfurt to start a club night called Club Bucovina in 2003, giving the rural an urban makeover, musically as well as stylistically. The repercussions today can be seen in sub-genres like gypsy punk or Balkan beats and the continued success of his Club Bucovina compilation series. Shantel did not merely add beats to existing brass music, he completely re-invented it for the dance floor. And on his new album, Disko Partizani, he proves why he is the ruling king of what he lovingly calls “tsiganizatsia.”

First off, this is a dance album, but the brass influence is evident all over. On album opener “Disko Partizani,” Shantel marries his well known reggae-ish dancebeats with a killer brass section and a hands-in-the-air saxophone solo, much like the formula that made the track “Bucovina” a hit at clubs around the world (The video for the song was shot in the older parts of Istanbul, depicting Shantel dancing with belly dancers in a dark room lit with funky light bulbs). While the beats are contemporary and the tracks are well produced, the beauty of the album is really in its melodic sweetness. And you don’t have to be European or from the Balkans to appreciate it. In addition to the title track, songs like “Disco Boy” and “The Veil” are pop-perfect songs, even if in Eastern European style, can easily win the hearts of US fans. Language? Never mind the fact that songs are sung in English, Serbian, Romanian, Turkish, Greek and gypsy (Rom). How many of Manu Chao’s songs does one actually understand?

What better song than “Andante Levante” to perfectly illustrate how much ground this album covers? The first part of the song is driven by the clarinet, the instrument of choice for gypsies in Turkey, Greece and parts of Bulgaria, whereas the second part of the song is built on the hyper-fast rhythms of brass band music of the Balkans and Eastern Europe.

The album does fall short at times, perhaps relying too much on the pop formula making it too contrived. Despite the flying clarinets in “Dubstar Bugarskji,” the song feels like an Abba track recorded in the wrong language. Still, it’s remarkable that the overall production is this tight with so many influences. Now Shantel needs to bring his Club Bucovina to these shores. It’s long overdue.