Alice Russell (singer)
Encyclopedia
Alice Russell is a British soul
singer. She was born in 1975, the daughter of an organist, and grew up in Framlingham
in Suffolk
. At the age of nine, following in her father and sisters' musical footsteps, Alice began taking lessons on Cello, and sang in choirs, before studying art and music in Brighton from 1994.
As well as the classical influences of her father, and formal music lessons, Alice reveals listening to Gospel music
and Soul artists such as Stevie Wonder
and Aretha Franklin
from an early age played a big part in the shaping of her style.
Other artists such as Minnie Ripperton, Eva Cassidy
, Chaka Khan
and Jill Scott
are listed by Alice Russell as influences.
Her work with Bah Samba (who released on Estereo Recordings) sees Alice fusing Latin sounds with tinges of house, uplifting jazz
and funk
, whereas her material with the band Kushti reveals a more laidback, hip hop
and soul inspired sound.
Her debut album, Under The Munka Moon was released on the Tru Thoughts
label in 2004, which was an amalgamation of various singles, remixes and collaborations.
Then came My Favourite Letters (Tru Thoughts) in 2005, her debut studio album created by Alice with co-writer, producer, guitarist and musical soul mate Alex Cowan (a.k.a. TM Juke). The album received prestigious press accolades.
Her third release, Under the Munka Moon II (Tru Thoughts) in 2006 compiled her most recent collaborations, remixes, and cover versions including her popular interpretation of The White Stripes
' Seven Nation Army
. The ‘Alice Russell – Live in Paris’ DVD also came out in 2006, and was the first DVD the Tru Thought’s label had ever released.
Alice and TM Juke have been touring together since 2006 with their hand-picked band of musicians, performing to audiences in the U.K, Europe, Australia, the U.S. and in other countries. In summer 2006, Grant Daddy G Marshal of Massive Attack
requested Alice Russell play the main stage at The Big Chill (music festival)
. Alice has also supported Lonnie Liston Smith
, Femi Kuti
, De La Soul
and appeared on the bill with Amy Winehouse
for the British showcase at the Midem
Music Conference in Cannes 2007.
Label in the U.S and Alice’s own label Little Poppet in the U.K.
Alice also collaborated with Ninja Tune
's Mr Scruff on Music Takes Me Up, a single from the latter's 2008 album, Ninja Tuna
.
Once again, Alice took to the road at the end of 2008 into 2009, performing shows in Australia, Europe, Canada and America, stopping off at the South By South West Music and Media Conference in Austin, Texas in March 2009, where she performed four shows.
distribution in 2008, Pot Of Gold was re-released in October 2009 on the Little Poppet label, accompanied by the release of the 22-track, double CD Pot Of Gold Remixes album, featuring mixes by Mr Scruff, DJ Vadim
, Emika and The Heavy
, amongst others. The releases were supported by more European and U.K. tour dates.
, which is the latest album from David Byrne
and Fatboy Slim
, containing the track Men Will Do Anything with Alice on vocals.
Alice is touring Europe throughout 2010, and in February 2010 announced a stripped back show at London’s Union Chapel on May 21, 2010.
British soul
British soul, Brit soul or the British soul invasion is soul music performed by British artists. Soul has been a major influence on British popular music since the 1960s, and American soul was extremely popular among some youth subcultures, such as mods, skinheads and the northern soul movement...
singer. She was born in 1975, the daughter of an organist, and grew up in Framlingham
Framlingham
Framlingham is a market town and civil parish in the Suffolk Coastal District of Suffolk, England. Commonly referred to as "Fram" by the locals, it is of Anglo-Saxon origin and is mentioned in the Domesday Book. It has a population of 3,114 at the 2001 census...
in Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
. At the age of nine, following in her father and sisters' musical footsteps, Alice began taking lessons on Cello, and sang in choirs, before studying art and music in Brighton from 1994.
As well as the classical influences of her father, and formal music lessons, Alice reveals listening to Gospel music
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
and Soul artists such as Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
and Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
from an early age played a big part in the shaping of her style.
Other artists such as Minnie Ripperton, Eva Cassidy
Eva Cassidy
Eva Marie Cassidy was an American vocalist known for her interpretations of jazz, blues, folk, gospel, country and pop classics. In 1992 she released her first album, The Other Side, a set of duets with go-go musician Chuck Brown, followed by a live solo album, Live at Blues Alley in 1996...
, Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career...
and Jill Scott
Jill Scott
Jill Scott is an American soul and R&B singer-songwriter, poet, and actress. In 2007, Scott made her cinematic debut in the films Hounddog and in Tyler Perry's feature film, Why Did I Get Married? That year, her third studio album, The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol. 3, was released on...
are listed by Alice Russell as influences.
Early career
Alice began making a name for herself in the early 2000s, contributing to recordings by Bah Samba, Quantic, TM Juke, Kushti and Nostalgia 77.Her work with Bah Samba (who released on Estereo Recordings) sees Alice fusing Latin sounds with tinges of house, uplifting jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
, whereas her material with the band Kushti reveals a more laidback, hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
and soul inspired sound.
Her debut album, Under The Munka Moon was released on the Tru Thoughts
Tru Thoughts
Tru Thoughts is an independent record label. It was formed in Brighton, UK in 1999 by Robert Luis of Deeds Plus Thoughts and Paul Jonas.It became, in one decade, one of the most famous and well respected labels in independent music world.- History :...
label in 2004, which was an amalgamation of various singles, remixes and collaborations.
Then came My Favourite Letters (Tru Thoughts) in 2005, her debut studio album created by Alice with co-writer, producer, guitarist and musical soul mate Alex Cowan (a.k.a. TM Juke). The album received prestigious press accolades.
Her third release, Under the Munka Moon II (Tru Thoughts) in 2006 compiled her most recent collaborations, remixes, and cover versions including her popular interpretation of The White Stripes
The White Stripes
The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...
' Seven Nation Army
Seven Nation Army
"Seven Nation Army" is the first track on the album Elephant by American alternative rock band The White Stripes. It was released as a single in 2003. "Seven Nation Army" reached #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks for three weeks and won 2004's Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. The song is known for its...
. The ‘Alice Russell – Live in Paris’ DVD also came out in 2006, and was the first DVD the Tru Thought’s label had ever released.
Alice and TM Juke have been touring together since 2006 with their hand-picked band of musicians, performing to audiences in the U.K, Europe, Australia, the U.S. and in other countries. In summer 2006, Grant Daddy G Marshal of Massive Attack
Massive Attack
Massive Attack are an English DJ and trip hop duo from Bristol, England consisting of Robert "3D" Del Naja and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. Working with co-producers, as well as various session musicians and guest vocalists, they make records and tour live. The duo are considered to be of the trip...
requested Alice Russell play the main stage at The Big Chill (music festival)
The Big Chill (music festival)
The Big Chill is an annual festival of alternative, dance and chill-out music and comedy, held in the grounds of Eastnor Castle during early August...
. Alice has also supported Lonnie Liston Smith
Lonnie Liston Smith
Lonnie Liston Smith, Jr. is an American jazz, soul, and funk musician who played with important free jazz artists such as Pharoah Sanders and Miles Davis before forming Lonnie Liston Smith And The Cosmic Echoes, recording a number of albums widely regarded as classics in the fusion / Quiet Storm /...
, Femi Kuti
Femi Kuti
Olufela Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti popularly known as Femi Kuti, is a Nigerian musician and the eldest son of afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti....
, De La Soul
De La Soul
De La Soul is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987 on Long Island, New York. The band is best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres...
and appeared on the bill with Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse
Amy Jade Winehouse was an English singer-songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize...
for the British showcase at the Midem
Midem
-MIDEM:Short for Marché International du Disque et de l'Edition Musicale, MIDEM is the world's largest music industry trade fair, which has been held annually at and around the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France, since 1967...
Music Conference in Cannes 2007.
Pot of Gold
In 2008, Alice and 'her boys', as she affectionately refers to her group, found time to go into the studio to record the critically acclaimed album, Pot Of Gold, which was released in November that same year on the Six Degrees RecordsSix Degrees Records
Six Degrees Records is an independent record label noted for its catalog of recordings from international musicians and vocalists. It has been described by the journalist and producer Derek Beres as "one of the most groundbreaking labels of the past decade."...
Label in the U.S and Alice’s own label Little Poppet in the U.K.
Alice also collaborated with Ninja Tune
Ninja Tune
Ninja Tune is a London-based independent record label started by DJs Matt Black and Jonathan More, better known as Coldcut and managed by Peter Quicke. The label has a strong leaning towards mostly Electronic Music...
's Mr Scruff on Music Takes Me Up, a single from the latter's 2008 album, Ninja Tuna
Ninja Tuna
Ninja Tuna is an album by Mr. Scruff. It was released on a newly created record label, also titled Ninja Tuna, a collaboration between Scruff and the record label Ninja Tune.-Track listing:# "Test the Sound"...
.
Once again, Alice took to the road at the end of 2008 into 2009, performing shows in Australia, Europe, Canada and America, stopping off at the South By South West Music and Media Conference in Austin, Texas in March 2009, where she performed four shows.
Pot of Gold re-release and Remixes album
Due to the collapse of PinnaclePinnacle
A pinnacle is an architectural ornament originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire...
distribution in 2008, Pot Of Gold was re-released in October 2009 on the Little Poppet label, accompanied by the release of the 22-track, double CD Pot Of Gold Remixes album, featuring mixes by Mr Scruff, DJ Vadim
DJ Vadim
DJ Vadim is a prolific DJ and producer, born in Leningrad, USSR , raised in London and currently residing in both New York and Berlin, whose music combines hip hop, soul, reggae and electronica...
, Emika and The Heavy
The Heavy (band)
The Heavy are an indie rock band who claim to be from Noid, England, allegedly a small hamlet near Bath. However, no such place appears to exist.-History:...
, amongst others. The releases were supported by more European and U.K. tour dates.
Here Lies Love, David Byrne
April 2010 see’s the release of Alice’s most recent studio collaboration, Here Lies LoveHere Lies Love
Here Lies Love is a concept album and rock musical made in collaboration between David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, about the life of the former First Lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos along with the woman who raised her—Estrella Cumpas—and follows Marcos until she and her family were forced to leave...
, which is the latest album from David Byrne
David Byrne
David Byrne may refer to:*David Byrne , musician and former Talking Heads frontman**David Byrne , his eponymous album*David Byrne , Irish footballer*David Byrne , English footballer...
and Fatboy Slim
Fatboy Slim
Norman Quentin Cook better known by his former stage name Fatboy Slim, is a British DJ, electronic dance music musician, and record producer. He is a pioneer of the big beat genre that achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s...
, containing the track Men Will Do Anything with Alice on vocals.
Alice is touring Europe throughout 2010, and in February 2010 announced a stripped back show at London’s Union Chapel on May 21, 2010.
Albums
- Under The Munka Moon (2004, Tru Thoughts)
- My Favourite Letters (2005, Tru Thoughts)
- Under The Munka Moon II (2006, Tru Thoughts)
- Pot of Gold (2008, Little Poppet/Differ-ant/Six Degrees)
- Pot of Gold Remixes (2009, Little Poppet/Differ-ant/Six Degrees)