Disciples,believers,sceptics and just don't knows you are all welcome to The Soul Guru's congregation....don't forget to take off your shoes please
Whilst walking by the sea yesterday with my i-pod on " Shuffle " ( I like not knowing what's coming next ) a wonderful female SOUL voice stopped me in my tracks....to my shame I couldn't immediately say who it was so eventually I sneaked a look.....of course,it was the incredible sound of Alice Russell's " Hard Times "from the classic " Under The Munka Moon " album...here it is :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJ3g7gk15Tk
I spent the rest of my walk listening to Alice and right now I'm listening to 2005's " My Favourite Letters " album....it's beautiful .
So following last week's post about Lewis Taylor I thought I should redress the balance and write about a great female British SOUL singer.....the one and only Alice Russell .
Alice was born and raised in rural Suffolk...not excatly a hot-bed of British SOUL music ....listening to Aretha,Stevie Wonder and other SOUL greats .
Alice first appeared as a vocalist in the early 2000's via collaborations with TM Juke,Bah Samba and her first album " Under The Munka Moon " was released in 2004 via Rob Louis's outstanding, innovative ( and Brighton-based ) Soul/Jazz label Tru Thoughts...one of my favourite UK Labels .
The album was a compilation of various singles,collaborations and remixes and though covering several styles - SOUL,Jazz,Hip-Hop is a great body of work.
Her debut solo album " My Favourite Letters " was released in 2005,once again on Tru Thoughts - and is a brilliant debut....Alice's SOUL vocals combined with great Production by by TM Juke signalled the arrival of a new British SOUL star .Here's " Humankind " from a truly exceptional album :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqncjHyVVMg
In 2006 " Under The Munka Moon II " was released by Tru Thoughts and was another collection of collaborations,covers and remixes including Alice and Nostalgia 77's excellent cover of " Seven Nation Army ". Here it is :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQ4D273C7Ac
The first time I saw Alice live was at 2006's " Big Chill " Festival -still the best Festival ever I think. Her live show was and remains a fantastic experience...a classic SOUL review in every sense of the word...I've seen her many times since and she's always fabulous,a great entertainer and that voice ! !
In 2008 Alice released " Pot Of Gold " on her own Little Poppet label and the US Six Degrees Records The album was re-released on Little Poppet and the " Pot Of Gold Remixes " following the collapse of Pinnacle Independent Distribution - an event that caused serious problems for many independent artists . Featuring remixes by ,amongst others, Mr Scruff and DJ Vadim this is a really good album in it's own right .
In 2010 Alice collaborated with David Byrne and Fatboy Slim on "Men Will Do Anything " from the
" Here Lies Love " album.
2013 saw Alice release possible her finest album to date....the simply brilliant " To Dust " via Differ-ant/Tru Thoughts . This is an ESSENTIAL listen for all lovers of SOUL music . More stripped-down in Production Alice sounds better than ever on this collection of great songs .
Here's link to the full album as my gift to you :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQ4D273C7Ac
and the video for " To Dust "
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKqmdyER5bU
Alice Russell...GREAT British SOUL star....enjoy her wonderful voice and great songs !
The Soul Guru loves YOU xx
Whilst walking by the sea yesterday with my i-pod on " Shuffle " ( I like not knowing what's coming next ) a wonderful female SOUL voice stopped me in my tracks....to my shame I couldn't immediately say who it was so eventually I sneaked a look.....of course,it was the incredible sound of Alice Russell's " Hard Times "from the classic " Under The Munka Moon " album...here it is :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJ3g7gk15Tk
I spent the rest of my walk listening to Alice and right now I'm listening to 2005's " My Favourite Letters " album....it's beautiful .
So following last week's post about Lewis Taylor I thought I should redress the balance and write about a great female British SOUL singer.....the one and only Alice Russell .
Alice was born and raised in rural Suffolk...not excatly a hot-bed of British SOUL music ....listening to Aretha,Stevie Wonder and other SOUL greats .
Alice first appeared as a vocalist in the early 2000's via collaborations with TM Juke,Bah Samba and her first album " Under The Munka Moon " was released in 2004 via Rob Louis's outstanding, innovative ( and Brighton-based ) Soul/Jazz label Tru Thoughts...one of my favourite UK Labels .
The album was a compilation of various singles,collaborations and remixes and though covering several styles - SOUL,Jazz,Hip-Hop is a great body of work.
Her debut solo album " My Favourite Letters " was released in 2005,once again on Tru Thoughts - and is a brilliant debut....Alice's SOUL vocals combined with great Production by by TM Juke signalled the arrival of a new British SOUL star .Here's " Humankind " from a truly exceptional album :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqncjHyVVMg
In 2006 " Under The Munka Moon II " was released by Tru Thoughts and was another collection of collaborations,covers and remixes including Alice and Nostalgia 77's excellent cover of " Seven Nation Army ". Here it is :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQ4D273C7Ac
The first time I saw Alice live was at 2006's " Big Chill " Festival -still the best Festival ever I think. Her live show was and remains a fantastic experience...a classic SOUL review in every sense of the word...I've seen her many times since and she's always fabulous,a great entertainer and that voice ! !
In 2008 Alice released " Pot Of Gold " on her own Little Poppet label and the US Six Degrees Records The album was re-released on Little Poppet and the " Pot Of Gold Remixes " following the collapse of Pinnacle Independent Distribution - an event that caused serious problems for many independent artists . Featuring remixes by ,amongst others, Mr Scruff and DJ Vadim this is a really good album in it's own right .
In 2010 Alice collaborated with David Byrne and Fatboy Slim on "Men Will Do Anything " from the
" Here Lies Love " album.
2013 saw Alice release possible her finest album to date....the simply brilliant " To Dust " via Differ-ant/Tru Thoughts . This is an ESSENTIAL listen for all lovers of SOUL music . More stripped-down in Production Alice sounds better than ever on this collection of great songs .
Here's link to the full album as my gift to you :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQ4D273C7Ac
and the video for " To Dust "
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKqmdyER5bU
Alice Russell...GREAT British SOUL star....enjoy her wonderful voice and great songs !
The Soul Guru loves YOU xx
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