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Biography
Born into a musical family and the daughter of an organist, Russell’s love for music was nurtured from an early age as she began learning the cello age nine and sung in choirs. In 1994 Russell went to university in Brighton, England to study art and music.
In the early noughties, Russell started making a name for herself as she featured on recordings for the likes of Mr Scruff, Nostalgia 77 and Quantic which really showed the versatility of her voice as she meandered through Latin, funk, jazz and soul. In 2004 she released her debut album “Under the Munka Moon” through the label Tru Thoughts which featured a collection of singles, collaborations and remixes. Her follow up album “My Favourite Letters” (2005) received favourable reviews from critics as Russell steadily made a name for herself with her powerfully textured soulful vocals.
In 2008 she released her fourth album “Pot of Gold” through Six Degrees Records in the US and on her own label Little Poppet in the UK. Russell has supported the likes of Femi Kuti, De La Soul, played alongside Amy Winehouse and performed at Big Chill, SXSW and Montreal Jazz Festival.
The joy in Russell’s music is witnessing it live as she jumps leaps and bounds. Whether it’s an intimate performance with a single spotlight on or accompanied by a 16 piece band performing in front of 4000 people, the unique experience Russell provides time after time leaves audiences walking away with goosebumps as her silky smooth bluesy vocals captivates the entire room. An incredible British talent, Russell has an abundance of passion and with each release delves into the depths of her soul.
Live reviews
To be a soul singer you need to have amazing vocals, you can't get away with auto tune or having stage props, flashing lights and dancers to distract from you. Alice Russell doesn't need any extras, her voice is big and beautiful, and it must run in the family as she followed in her fathers and sisters musical footsteps. She decided to study art and music in Brighton in 1994 which shaped her choices to go into the music industry. Alice said that many artists were a big inspiration for her, which made her go into soul music, one of which was Eva Cassidy. Russell’s first debut album called 'Under The Munka Moon' was released in 2004 when she started to become more noticed during her career. In 2005 her debut studio album was released which got a lot of positive feed back and helped her progress further in the industry. I believe it is quite hard to become well known for soul music as it is pretty small in comparison to the likes of the pop industry for example, but I think Alice Russell has done well at breaking into the music scene. She toured in 2008 and 2009 around Australia and America, but I wouldn't really be interested in paying to see her live if she was in England. She is someone who might be forgotten by some, but when she performs live you can tell she's passionate about it and her voice is mesmerising. But soul music in my opinion is quite easy to forget about unless you're a one of a kind performer, but her shows don't get the audience involved enough for her to stick in my mind. A beautiful singer who deserves more credit but may disappear as the music industry grows.