Musical Game Changers: Shantel

What role can music play in bringing different cultures together, and how do you create a shared diverse European sound and identity?

We will explore these questions with the artist, DJ and producer Shantel: a 21st-century phenomenon and truly European artist. With his worldwide hit Disko Partizani! and his Bucovina Club orchestra he sparked worldwide enthusiasm for Balkan Beats. His music gives a sound to migration mixing music from South-Eastern Europa, the Middle East and the Mediterranean into a unique blend of contemporary European pop music.

Shantel will take the audience on a musical journey through Europe. We will travel back to his family roots in Bucovina, a region situated between Romania and Ukraine. It’s here that Shantel found a great part of his musical inspiration. The rich cosmopolitan culture of old Bucovina is a melting pot of all the cultures that formed the country – from Turkish melodies to Viennese waltzes-  which were destroyed during the dark years of Nazi occupation and communist dictatorship. How can we use the power of this cosmopolitan mix of musical styles to strengthen our contemporary European society where nationalism and polarisation currently dominate?

Shantel has electrified audiences across Europe with his great energy and will surely get you dancing  at the end of the programme.

Moderation: Bahram Sadeghi, Jasper Wezenberg

Program editors: Mirthe Frese, Jasper Wezenberg

This program is part of the musical series Toonzetters created by De Balie. Each episode of Toonzetters [musical game changers)] focuses on a musical artist and his or her vision on music and art, combining discussion with live performance.

This programme is supported by Fonds Podiumkunsten.