Quantic Live feat. Alice Russell, Fort Knox 5, Thunderball, All Good Funk Alliance...

British DJ/producer Quantic played guitar in various rock bands as a teenager, but it was his subsequent switch to house and broken beat that helped launch his musical career, especially after the 7" recording "We Got Soul" arrived in 2000. (Born Will Holland, Quantic is also part of Quantic Soul Orchestra, as well as the soul-folk-dance duo the Limp Twins.) In 2001, Quantic's full-length debut, The 5th Exotic, was released by the Tru Thoughts label, followed one year later by Apricot Morning. After briefly pausing in 2003 to record QSO's Stampede (for which he played organ, bass, guitar, and saxophone, among other instruments) and the Limp Twins' Tales from Beyond the Groove, Holland returned to his solo efforts with 2004's Mishaps Happening. Quantic Soul Orchestra's Pushin On was issued one year later, and 2006 proved to be particularly busy for the prolific DJ, as he released a compilation (One Off's, Remixes and B Sides), a reissue of The 5th Exotic, and another new Quantic album, An Announcement to Answer. In 2008 he could be heard tinkering with a blend of dub and '70s Latin on Death of the Revolution, which also marked his first release under the Flowering Inferno moniker.

One listen to Alice Russell’s voice will send shivers down your spine and leave goose bumps on your neck. Alice’s lavishly soulful voice is both timeless and up to the minute modern. Live or on record, she always performs with her trademark self assurance and sass. Listening to Alice, you’d naturally think she grew up on the streets of Detroit, just around the corner from Motown’s legendary recording studios. “No, although I wish I had,” admits the blue-eyed, blonde-haired lass from Brighton, U.K. Her singing career actually began as a young girl singing in her church choir. “Our singing was more of the traditional SATB [soprano, alto, tenor, bass] parts you hear in the great classical halls and cathedrals.

Although her style is predominantly bluesy and soul lament it also encompasses everything from funk to gospel to jazz and beyond. “Growing up, I was surrounded by different types of music and you know, you just get taken by something, don’t you? It hits you in the right place and you think, ‘Yeah, Baby, I like that!’ That gospel stuff is wicked, isn’t it? And artists like Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin … I was really small, playing with my Lego, taping this stuff off of the radio. I just fell in love with soul music, quite honestly. Just hearing that music hit the spot.” She comes from a musical family, her father was a classical music teacher, and her sisters were classically trained. It wasn’t until Alice was around nine that she began formal music lessons on the cello for a few years. But the only training she ever had with her voice was “with my ears” and just “by picking things up.”

Today Alice has developed a burgeoning career as one of the hottest UK soul singers with growing audiences around the world. While comparisons have been made to other popular British vocalists like Joss Stone, Amy Winehouse, Duffyand Adele, one listen and look at Alice and you can immediately tell she's in a class all by herself. She has performed alongside well respected company that includes Roy Ayres, The Roots, Lonnie Liston Smith, De La Soul, Quantic, and The Quantic Soul Orchestra to name a few.

Alice has built quite an impressive discography since bursting onto the scene. Alice’s first album, Under the Munka Moon was an amalgamation of various projects (singles, remixes, collaborations) and a great introduction to new listeners. Then came My Favourite Letters, 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 and proved she was an unstoppable voice to be reckoned with. Her third release, Under the Munka Moon IIcompiled her most recent collaborations, remixes, and cover versions including her popular interpretation of White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army,” for another satisfying listen.
The dynamic duo of Alice and TM Juke have been touring together for the past two years with their hand-picked band, wowing audiences in the U.K., Europe, Australia, the U.S. and in other countries. Last year, when not busy turning heads with their dynamic stage performances, Alice and “her boys”—as she affectionately refers to her group—were busy in the studio, recording her brand new album, Pot of Gold.

“Ah, my dear friend Alex. I just love working with him,” Alice says of her co-writer and producer for Pot of Gold. Both had lived in Suffolk when they were growing up and would occasionally see each other at parties, but since Alice is “the granny, just a little bit older” they didn’t work professionally together until both were in Brighton, where the Tru Thoughts record label is located. Alice sang on several tracks for TM Juke’s first album. “So that was the beginning of our lil’ friendship and creative birth,” she smiles. “Our working relationship is always evolving and ever-changing as things that are alive should always be moving and growing. It’s like; we’ll push each other into different places. And for writing music, that can sometimes be very good.”

Fort Knox Recordings is the renegade funk n’ soul label from Washington DC. The label was founded in 2003 by Sid Barcelona, Jon Horvath, Rob Myers and Steve Raskin.

Fort Knox breaks down all the artificial barriers established by the ‘System’ that keeps all ‘Good’ music down. Forget about tempos and genres – we want to take you back to the roots and reunite all music from our funk, dub and soul brothers – you dig? So stop being so serious, this is music, it’s supposed to be fun.

The "Ambassadors of Style" return with their fourth full-length recording, 12 Mile High, on Thievery Corporation's ESL Music. Rob Myers, Steve Raskin and Sid Barcelona are the masterminds behind Thunderball. This Washington, DC-based trio are globally renowned purveyors of sophisticated, stereophonic-thrillers, and cinematic dub. Since 1997 their productions have shifted effortlessly between the genres of drum'n'bass, dub and downtempo, building a strong following for their signature sound. 12 Mile High marks the return of the Thunderball trio from their duties with the venerable breakbeat production group Fort Knox Five.

On 12 Mile High Thunderball deliver 13 tracks of globe-spanning, mind-altering, cinematic music designed to bring you straight to the edge of the stratosphere. The adventure begins in a sitar-drenched den and quickly jets to the gritty streets of Philadelphia where the plot gets thickened with an herbal dub. When the clouds clear you find yourself on a bossa tinged beach with only a reggae soul 7" in your briefcase and ticket to the penthouse suite. 12 Mile High is packed with live-instrumentation, jazzed-out guitars, deep orchestrations and floor-stomping beats. Laced with vocal performances by long-time collaborators Mustafa Akbar, Miss Johnna M and Rootz & Zeebo (of See-I), this soundtrack is destined to pull you into the fantastical world of Thunderball.

As one of ESL Music's original artists, Thunderball rapidly defined their sound with their 1999 debut which received critical acclaim from Rolling Stone magazine. Ambassadors of Style earned the group respect for its rich, cinematic soundscapes that are reminiscent of old blaxploitation and spy films. This was followed by 2001's seminal release, Scorpio Rising, instantly hailed as a downtempo classic. Scorpio Rising's integration of live instrumentation helped establish the organic vibe that is the cornerstone of the Thunderball sound. On their third release Cinescope (2006), Thunderball upped the ante with fresh elements including collaborations with the godfather of hip hop, Afrika Bambaataa. 12 Mile High is the culmination of over a decade of sonic exploration in the Thunderball realm.

Thunderball will be performing select shows as DJs and as a trio with live instrumentation and visual projections to support the new album. Currently in production are high profile remixes from some of today's leading edge producers. Visit http://www.eslmusic.com/ and http://www.thunderballdc.com/ for updates and tour dates.