New album is charming

By Melissa Piche Times Contributor

The husband-and-wife musical duo of Denis Dufresne and Megan Konschuh, known as The Charms, released their first album on April 18 called You Are My Flower, Acoustics Vol. 1.

“The whole thing with that, it was all an accident,” said Dufresne. “We never really had any intention of recording an album or a single or anything like that. During the pandemic we started singing.” 

The pair have a recording studio in their home, which allows them to record from the comfort of their own house and made it feel effortless to begin writing and recording music. 

 “It’s so easy to put music online these days,” he said. So, they thought, ‘why not?’

The name of the album, Volume 1, indicates listeners can expect more from the duo

“(Volume 1) which translates to more to come,” said Dufresne. “The process for this was so easy; we just said it makes no sense to just leave this on our computer and just share with friends and family.” 

Dufresne and Konschuh are excited to be able to share their music with so many people. The pair is already looking forward to a busy spring and summer.

“In the fall we are planning to record an official album with Murry Paul in Winnipeg,” said Dufresne. “Definitely more music coming.” 

Konschuh grew up in and around Strathmore; she began playing the violin at the age of four. Her parents would drive her to Mount Royal College (present Mount Royal University) for her lessons where she was able to hone her skills. 

Dufresne calls Medicine Hat his hometown. He got into music to combat his shyness at the age of four when he began playing the violin and also took voice and speech lessons. 

“I kept doing that until it became a career,” he said. 

The pair met through their love of music. Konschuh was looking for someone to play wedding gigs with since her aunt, whom she would perform with at the time, wanted to retire from the music scene. 

“I reached out on Facebook and asked if you (Denis) would ever be willing to play things like that (weddings). And the rest is history.” Konschuh said. 

The inspiration for the album and the hit song You Are My Flower came from their life experiences during the pandemic, 

Dufresne said they started doing more cover tunes, more popular Canadian music. 

“We started getting asked for a lot of work and we thought maybe we should do something with this rootsy Canadiania kinda sound,” said Dufresne. 

Konschuh’s mother, Sheila, was an inspiration for the song You Are My Flower.

“She (Sheila) loves blue grass and technically we are blue grass. And we just built on that,” Konschuh said. “We love the violin and mandolin together. It was the perfect song to go with the garden (and flower business Blue Eggs and Blooms).”

The music video for You Are My Flower was shot on location in the Blue Eggs and Blooms garden near Cluny. 

“The sunsets out there are just so beautiful,” said Konschuh. “The lighting around that time is just perfect. Very orange and pink.”

Dufresne is the current CCMA Fiddle Player of the Year.  

“With music you have to be a jack of all trades,” Dufresne said of his musical journey. “I’ll do anything from vocal solo guitar things in bars and restaurants to playing music for Gord Bamford and recording with high profile artists.”

If people want to watch the music video for You are My Flower you can find them on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/charmsyyc or their website (www.charmsmusic.com).