Along with the authorized version of the King James bible, and the collective works of Shakespeare, the Book of Common prayer is one of three major influences in modern English literature. It seems appropriate then that singer Alice Russell – easily one of the three main influences in modern English soul music of the last decade (superstars Adele and Amy Winehouse being the others) – pinched the title of her latest album “To Dust” from writings for a funeral service in that tome of universal reverence. “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,” as the saying goes, and with “To Dust” Russell is chucking more than historical reference into the proverbial dustbin; she’s invoked a whole new Miss Russell.
“I’ve let myself become a lot more lyrically involved, allowed more emotion,” says Russell, reached over the phone at a Minneapolis hotel. “I think this album is lot more raw [than my previous work], and I’m a lot more in touch with my anger now.” A brewing discomfort is obvious in the lyrical content of “To Dust,” not least in those laid-over the opening notes of the bass-heavy title track. “I make no money/ I tell you nothing about that, so strange/ I stand here with my tears rolling down/ I turn my last note into change” she growls, not for the last time on the long player.
But money isn’t the main grievance for Russell. Evident in the triptych “Heartbreaker,” the tragic nostalgia of “I Loved You,” strident percussion of “Hard And Strong” or the headcracking pace of “Twin Peaks,” are smouldering personal resentments, unrequited love stories – bonds of trust bent back and fractured. It’s tempting to read a professional frustration into Russell’s work as well, not least as it has taken nearly ten years since her debut to make any kind of splash on this side of the ocean, but Russell says that this time it’s all personal.
“There is a bit of that frustration at some point, but this album is really more in-depth about what someone did behind my back,” reveals Russell. “I’m just about getting to the end of it, but it has been two or three years of dealing with a number of issues stemming from someone who walked away and left me with a real mess to clean up. In the grand scheme of things though – and it took me some time to learn this – it’s not life or death, and that hour and a half or two hours I have on stage each night is heaven for me, it’s like meditation. I’m really present at that time.”
Stage presence is something Russell has in spades. A youth steeped in classical training led to a fascination with gospel and soul music, and the gradual understanding that Russell possessed a level of power and vocal control that could just about keep up with the sonic range of her idols. By the early-2000s, Russell’s ability had led to bookings alongside some of those early influences – singing duets with Roy Ayers, opening for the likes of Lonnie Liston Smith, Femi Kuti, De La Soul. Five critically acclaimed solo albums (and countless collaborations, remixes and versions) followed, and in Britain, where soul music has maintained a place in contemporary pop to a degree that North America hasn’t witnessed in decades, Russell has by now solidified a reputation as a soul singer of immense quality. But just as the Northern Soul movement in England during the 60s and 70s put its own spin on Motown classics, contemporary U.K. artists like Russell apply a unique touch to their work.
“There is of course this natural ping pong effect between the U.K. and North American soul scenes, with different performers at different times shuttling across the ocean like a little ball, but of course we have a very different history with the music as well,” she says.
“We’re more closed off in the U.K., and I think our version of soul is dirtier, in a different way, than the States. We grime things up a bit, we’re just a bit sarcastic – it’s in our nature – and so our soul music has got that ethos running right through the fabric.”
Alice Russell plays Ritual Saturday, October 19th. Souljazz Orchestra and Zattar open. Tickets are $21.
.gif)
