Michell, Pfeiffer & Kulesh
Flowers
Self-Released
 

FLOWERS is a debut album from an all-female folk trio Odette Michell, Karen Pfeiffer and Daria Kulesh.

Odette Mitchell is an established British folk singer-songwriter. Karen Pfeiffer comes from Germany and has wooed British audiences as part of the Anglo-German duo Paul Walker and Karen Pfeiffer.

Daria Kulesh comes from Russia but has been based in Britain for the last 15 years performing songs which mix her eastern roots with western folk influences.

With this diverse cultural background, the trio have put together interpretations of songs telling stories of female empowerment and a desire for peace some with verses sung in different languages.

Starting with the traditional My Love is in Germany, there is later a stirring version of the song composed by prisoners in the Nazi concentration camps, Peat Bog Soldiers. 

Traditional English style folk ballads about love, death and deception are represented in the title track, Lady Margaret and May Colven but we also have The Cossack’s Bride, based on a Russian murder ballad Stenka Razin, with a tune made famous as the 1960s Seekers hit The Carnival is Over. Started by Kulesh in Russian, the song ends with the familiar English refrain. 

But political themes are also present with a version of the Italian anti-fascist anthem Bella Ciao, sung in English, German and Russian followed by one of the most famous anti-war songs, Pete Seeger’s Where Have All the Flowers Gone.

As well as producing beautiful harmonies, the trio are also multi-instrumentalists, including bouzouki, guitar and accordion with some backing from guest musicians.

The final track is another folk song of Russian origin made famous in English by Mary Hopkin. Those Were the Days is again sung in all three languages and brings a celebratory touch at the end but ultimately one is left with a feeling that while the songs may not be new, the messages contained are as relevant as ever in our current times.