Fleur: Biography

• Overview
• Discography
• Biography
• Related Artists

• Pelageya
• Kolibri
• Melnitsa
• Aquarium
• Air

• Enya
• Enigma

Formed:

Feb 1, 2000 in Odessa, Ukraine

Genres:

Rock Music, Adult Alternative

Decades Active:

2000's

Fl_ur means flower in French. Balancing between rock, new age and neoclassical music this Odessabased Russiansinging group sounds like a delicate flower itself. Rich female voices combined with classical strings and flutes as well as computers and hard rock guitars provide both tenderness and tension, present and eternal. Though the most closed to Fl_ur's style is Enya, Ukrainian band has its own distinguished sound with some gothic sence influenced also by Soviet movies soundtracks, Russian and Ukrainian folklore, and ethnic fusion (particularly Enigma).

Essentially Fl_ur is Olga Pulatova (piano, lead vocals) and Elena Voinarovskaya (guitar, lead vocals), who began their first joint rehearsals in February 2000. Little by little two poets, composers and musiciants became surrounded by fleutist Yulia Zemlyanaya, cellist Ekaterina Serbina and drummer Alexei Tkachevskii. After their first public appearances in Odessa Fl_ur received baking from local musical journalist Dmitrii Vekov who became producer of the group. Early 2001 saw Fl_ur giving its first concert outside Odessa in Kyev, obtaining Vitalii Didyk (contrabass) and Alexei Dovgalyov (sequencer), and working on its first album at Fortuna Studio (Odessa). In December 2001 French label Prikosnovenie made an offer to publish it in France for worldwide distribution except Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. In September 2002 album with the same title Prikosnovenie (Touch) was issued in France and only two months later in Ukraine. It's just strange and somewhat enigmatic how French label knew about Fl_ur unlike Russian and Ukrainian ones.

As early as February 2002 Fl_ur began working on its second album Volshebstvo (Magic) at Stolitsa Studio (Kyev), investigating what comes after touch as the group members used to say. Sound of this unit was different due to new musicians that joined the band: Anastasia Kuzmina (violin) and Alexandra Didik (cello). Furthermore Alexey Dovgalyov on synthesizer was replaced by Ekaterina Kotelnikova. Album was issued in November 2003 in Ukraine along with the new edition of Prikosnovenie and in April 2004 in France. Month earlier Vladimir Filippov's Arts Fund became the patron of the group to solve all Fl_ur's material problems for benefit of creative work.

While Volshebstvo needed 13 months to work at, third album Siyanie (Radiance) was recorded in a single month (December 2003) and issued in August 2004 in Ukraine and in June 2005 in France. In May 2004 Alla Luzhetskaya occupied a place of fleutist. Siyanie was the first Fl_ur's album that was noticed by vast masses of critics and listeners both in Ukraine and Russia. While heretofore concerts have been sporadic, since summer 2004 Fl_ur is in great demand. In November 2004 band management went to Master U.O.R.T. Production Producer Center attached to Vladimir Filippov's Arts Fund. Fl_ur started aggressive concert activity. In June 2005 first performances in Moscow and SaintPetersburg took place.

In April 2006 Vsyo Vishlo IzPod Kontrolya (Everything is Out of Control) and in 2007 Fleurography were released.

- Dmitriy Tselikov, All Music Guide