We begin our Global Hit today with a brief look back at the fall of 2004. The Orange Revolution was underway in Ukraine. Thousands of opposition protesters hit the streets, waving orange flags. They were demanding respect for democracy.

That was the scene in the Ukranian capital -- Kiev -- but also in other parts of the country. In the midst of all this, German-born DJ and music producer Shantel put on a concert. It was in Czernovitz -- his grandmother's hometown. Shantel had been invited to perform there by the city's mayor.

Shantel: "It was great to see so many people were on the square. And I felt the energy and the dynamic and I was just trying to support the situation."

Shantel hadn't planned to be a part of the Orange Revolution. It just happened. The demonstrators liked Shantel's blend of Western pop with Eastern European sounds. Now, fast forward to the present day. Shantel has a new album out.

It's called "Disko Partizani." And once again -- its West meets East. Shantel was raised in Germany. But he says his family's Eastern European background helped shape his sound.

Shantel: "I still have a huge collection of old records from my grandparents. Music from Hungarian gypsies, klezmer music from the Jewish culture, and of course all those elements from Ottoman empire you know those melodies. All those things were quite exotic to me as a child and I didn't know how to connect it and I didn't know where it was all coming from in a way."

It came from Bucovina. That's the region his grandparents came from. These days, the region is partly in Ukraine, and partly in Romania.

Shantel: (sings melody) "It's a Jewish melody. In every song and every tradition you will find immediately different influences from different cultures."

Shantel says the music of Eastern Europe -- once relegated behind the Iron Curtain -- is now part of an exciting new vibe in the West.

Shantel: "In cities like Berlin, Zurich, Vienna, or even Paris you have a strong population from all over south Eastern Europe and that's a great mix. This exchange keeps the music alive and it created a kind-of new genre we can say."

Shantel's album is called "Disko Partizani."