Michell, Pfeiffer & Kulesh are a new all-female close harmony folk trio that brings together the exciting talents of Odette Michell, Karen Pfeiffer and Daria Kulesh.
Their debut single, The Cossack’s Bride (premiered below), aims to showcase the uniqueness of this cross-cultural, multilingual collaboration, turning familiar folk tunes into something fresh and powerful. It’s a striking twist on the well-known Russian murder ballad Stenka Razin – a song usually sung with a macho flair by operatic male voices, and also popular in its harmless guise as The Seekers’ sentimental rewrite (The Carnival Is Over). The original ballad recounts a shocking episode from the life of the rebel Cossack leader Stepan (Stenka) Razin, documented by the Dutch traveller Jan Struis – when taunted by his merry men about ‘going soft’ over a captive Persian princess, drunken Stenka responds by callously throwing her overboard into the Volga River in a display of his ‘masculinity’. Male interpretations of the song invariably glamourise its legendary antihero, making him either an almost tragic figure whose hand was forced by the duty to lead his men; or a reckless, wicked, but charismatic daredevil. The celebrated Polish singer Anna German was the first to challenge this, recording a version drenched in sadness and resentment on behalf of all women. Odette, Karen and Daria aim to carry on this legacy, finally giving Stenka’s nameless victim a voice. The haunting, moody arrangement of the song frames its stinging and relevant commentary on lad culture, toxic masculinity and violence against women.
Jason Emberton (production) and Phil Beer (recording; fiddle) also lend their talents to the single.
The single is accompanied by a haunting and atmospheric music video filmed by Matt Fleming at Minus Tone.
Michell, Pfeiffer & Kulesh is a folk music project that would have never transpired had it not been for the lockdowns, when three of the busiest female performers on the scene found themselves rather less occupied than before.
Here’s what transpired, in their own words:
Daria Kulesh: Not another trilingual feminist Russian murder ballad, I hear you say – actually, the song is a classic example of the ‘women treated badly’ folk trope. Cossack leader Stenka Razin is taunted by his merry men at his own wedding about ‘going soft’ over his bride – a captive Persian princess. He drunkenly responds by throwing her overboard into the Volga River in a display of his ‘masculinity’. Despite his shocking actions, the song still revolves around its charismatic antihero. In keeping with Polish singer Anna Germans’ take on the song, Odette, Karen & I have chosen to interpret it from the point of view of his victim, finally giving a voice to his otherwise nameless bride.
Karen Pfeiffer: Feeling that a Russian-German collaboration in England was just what the folk scene was missing, Daria and I started looking for German and Russian songs that also existed in one form or another in English. I was beyond excited when Daria suggested ‘Stenka Razin’ – it had the same rousing tune, albeit with completely unrelated comedy lyrics, that I loved singing as a child on long car journeys with my great-aunt back in Germany. Soon enough after, we enlisted Odette to be the missing third part of our new international trio…
Odette Michell: I was delighted to be asked by Daria to take part in what first appeared to be a slightly less orthodox folk song to my usual English/Irish ilk. Having only ever been aware of The Seekers upbeat remake, I loved the idea of representing the quiet unspoken underdog in this otherwise masochistic story. We filmed the music video on the Farm where I live on a late summers day, shot through with both sunlight and rain. They assured me it was because of my long tresses, but I was also ‘volunteered’ to do my best ‘Ophelia’ that day – which is an experience I’d be happy not to repeat – although I suppose no-one can say lying in a freezing river isn’t suffering for your art!
Their debut single is available now via Bandcamp: https://dariakulesh.bandcamp.com/album/the-cossacks-bride
https://www.odettemichell.com/
https://www.paulwalkermusic.co.uk/
http://www.daria-kulesh.co.uk/
Photo Credit: Matt Fleming