Istanbul

Given that Frankfurt DJ and producer Shantel had already gone to his ancestral home in the old borderlands of the Ottoman Empire and brought the Balkan beat to his famous Bucovina club night, it's no surprise he continues his journey further towards the ultimate fusion city, Istanbul. He was already a mover and shaker on the Istanbul club scene when he released Disko Partizani to huge success in Turkey back in 2007. Now he has teamed up with the band Cümbüş Cemaat – stalwarts of the Istanbul rock scene – for a classic retro cut of 70s Anatolian rock and electric saz. This is an unabashed celebration, with a deep groove and a blissed-out vibe. Shantel takes a battle-hardened bar band with over 500 songs in their repertoire into the studio and gives them the tender treatment on an old analogue mixing console. The sound has everything from psychedelic to neo-Anatolian folk and Arabesk to disco and dub. Shantel wants to take you as deep into a raki-fuelled Istanbul night as he can. This isn't crazy Balkan brass, but more languid, bluesy Anatolian rock for the soul.