GreedyforBestMusic-JewishMonkeys-Fever-Shantel-Remix

Feverish

11/12/2017Shantel Reworks The Jewish Monkeys' "Fever"
 

Shantel and Jewish Monkeys' frontman Josef Reich go way back. It may or may not come as a surprise then, that Shantel took matters into his own to hands to deliver a feverish remix of the band's single "Fever" off their latest album "High Words", just days before the Jewish Monkeys return the love and open for Shantel at four shows in Austria and Germany, starting this week. Check below for all four dates.

In any case, and because we want to share a bit of the story behind, Shantel and Jossi's friendship dates back to the mid-80s, which the two spent growing up in Frankfurt and visiting some of the most popular hedonist hotspots of the time, be it Batschkapp or Eckstein or somewhere else. In 1987, Shantel founded the legendary underground club Lissania Essay, while Jossi and his entourage were among the regulars; an urban legend in the making.

Fast forward to Tel Aviv in 1997, Shantel's home away from home and the place where their paths crossed again. Tel Aviv's melting pot of sounds became Shantel's testing grounds and Jossi? Well, Jossi most definitely shared Shantel's passion for trans-European pop culture, traditional influences and electronic experiments to be found in the city's vibrant scene. Eventually, Shantel signed Jossi and his Jewish Monkeys to his Essay Recordings label, along with Quentin Tarantino's beloved Boom Pam and Balkan Beat Box.

"We go way back," says Jossi. "We first met in Frankfurt, then reunited in Tel Aviv. Shantel's love for Balkan and Klezmer music is really where we connect artistically. I was deeply impressed by his profound knowledge of Yiddish songs and their heritage. We probably wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him. His songs and mixes always lead to ecstasy and crazy dancing. A good concert to us is one that ends like his do," Jossi adds.

Now, 12 years later, Shantel and Jossi reunite for a 'third' time with the prior's official remix of the Jewish Monkeys' "Fever". "The idea to do the Fever remix was driven by my desire to lend the Jewish Monkeys an electronic outfit. The beat is quite minimalistic and feeds off of various genres: It's like Romanian dancehall meets hypnotic brass licks and vocal acrobatics. I even added some Romani lyrics of my own as we conjure cosmopolitan hedonism and breathe new life into Central European party culture," Shantel explains.

As for his interest in Yiddish sounds: "The West often mistakes Jewish music for nostalgic, whiney Klezmer music. But we forget that pop musically relevant styles such as punk rock, new wave or indie had their beginnings in the Jewish emigrant circles of New York, London or Paris. This is also the tradition the Jewish Monkeys and their frivolously cynical brand of humor pay tribute to, a tip of the hat to their punk great-grandfathers from the early 20th century cabarets and speakeasies. Had the Marx Brothers ever taken to punk rock, it would sound like the Jewish Monkeys," Shantel concludes.

Listen to the Shantel remix of "Fever" via the SoundCloud player above or watch the Leo Liberman-directed companion music video below, the first-ever professional Snapchat clip shot solely on cell phone.

Upcoming Jewish Monkeys Tour Support for Shantel:
December 14th A-Vienna @ WUK
December 15th A-Innsbruck @ Treibhaus
December 16th D-Munich @ Muffathalle
December 17th D-Frankfurt @ Batschkapp

AUTHOR: Lev Nordstrom