Fleur consists of six women and two men from the Black Sea port city of Odessa. The band has won a following in Europe thanks in part to the trio of records it released on French alternative label Prikosnovenie. It was formed in 2000 by vocalists Olga Pulatova and Yelena Voinarovskaya, who play piano and guitar, respectively. By 2001, Fleur had gained flute, cello, upright bass, keyboard and percussion players.
The group released its first record, "Soft Touch," in 2002. Its latest effort, released last year, is titled "Everything Has Gone Out of Control." One of the signature features of Fleur's records is Pulatova and Voinarovskaya taking turns with the songwriting and singing: On the first three albums, Pulatova wrote and performed the even-numbered songs, while Voinarovskaya took the odd-numbered ones. On the newest record, the even-odd roles are reversed.
Fleur's music is not very Slavic-sounding and seems to owe something to Western folk, with arrangements that some have called "neoclassical." The band describes its music as "cardiowave," in other words, a heartfelt genre all its own. "Everything Has Gone Out of Control" sees them branch out into a slightly more guitar-inflected, expansive sound reminiscent of Cocteau Twins.
In an interview posted on the band's web site, Voinarovskaya commented: "I don't quite understand what neoclassical means. We don't aspire to any concrete style. We just try to express our feelings as well as possible and use things that are the most kindred in spirit, including classical instruments."
Fleur plays Fri. at 9:30 p.m. at Tochka, located at 6 Leninsky Prospekt. Metro Oktyabrskaya. Tel. 737-7666.
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