Alice Russell Shares Club-Ready Remix of 'Gravity'

Much-loved British soulstress Alice Russell shares a club-ready remix of ‘Gravity’ by London-based studio production outfit Payfone. 

‘Gravity (Payfone Remix)’ is a slow-house gem that combines Payfone’s signature Balearic flair with Alice’s pitched-down vocals. Alice Russell also announces a seven-date French tour with the full band, including a standout performance at Jazz a la Villette festival alongside Mahalia. The release also features an instrumental version of the remix as a DJ tool, and the original ‘Gravity’ taken from Alice Russell’s revelatory new album ‘I Am’, which has been praised by the likes of Clash, Gilles Peterson, Jamie Cullum and across Jazz FM, as Album of the Week. 

‘Gravity’ is an orchestral love song about regaining truth and deciding that love is worth fighting for. Written and produced by long-time collaborator TM Juke, ‘Gravity’ is the latest single taken from Alice Russell’s long-awaited record, ‘I Am’, the most personal album of Alice’s career. Vulnerable and bold, ‘I Am’ addresses how we must all work on ourselves to heal so that we can love and connect with those and the world around us more honestly and deeply. 

Payfone is the project of Phil Passera & Jimmy Day. Fresh from remixing Roisin Murphy, the London-based studio production outfit (formed in 2013) have to date released over sixteen individual 12” records including titles Day & Night, Paradise, Sofian and Phonica Record's number one choice of 2023 – ‘I Feel You’. Payfone have delivered a blend of downtempo, and electro-boogie via releases on New York-based Gold Channel and London-based labels Leng, Defected and OTIS Records. DJ appearances include shows in New York, London, Paris, Sao Paulo, Rio, Barcelona, Madrid & Berlin. 

Alice Russell is universally acclaimed as one of the best modern soul voices of our time, while her raw talent and charisma commands attention and affection. 'I Am' is the first offering of new music from the iconic singer in over a decade and marks a new era in the remarkable career of the down-to-earth vocal powerhouse. Since Alice Russell’s return, she has performed a spellbinding headline show at Village Underground, graced the legendary Maida Vale studios in session for Jamie Cullum, and been a core part of the Cheltenham Jazz Festival in collaboration with BBC Radio 2. This summer Alice is performing at Love Supreme and is returning to We Out Here for a unique DJ set, marking her return to the stage, where she belongs.

Expertly combining the benefits of a comprehensive musical education with his reactionary love of laptop-based music, TM Juke (aka Alex Cowan) has established himself as a prodigious songwriter and arranger, a broadminded and captivating DJ and an exceptionally talented producer. ‘Gravity’ is

Characterized by its stripped-back nature, allowing the bare bones of the emotive subject to be brought to the forefront. TM Juke's creative production technique of recording vocals and strings at higher pitches and dropping them down in key gives the track a weighted feeling like gravity pulling the song down to earth. 

Whether performing on a huge stage with a 16-piece band, charming four thousand revellers into staying out dancing in the rain (as at the Montreal Jazz Festival) or rocking an intimate club, Alice’s raw talent and charisma command attention and affection. Unfazed by taking the spotlight after Amy Winehouse, singing with The Roots in Philly, or joining Roy Ayers for “Everybody Loves The Sunshine'', it is no wonder she has attracted worldwide media support, and fans as diverse as Gilles Peterson, Jamie Cullum, Dennis Coffey, Massive Attack’s Daddy G and Groove Armada. Other career highlights include performing on Jimmy Kimmel Live, NPR’s Tiny Desk Session, SXSW, BBC 6Music Live at Maida Vale and being synced on the trailer for the huge final series of Mad Men. 

Highly in demand as an eminent vocalist, Alice has previously guested alongside Fatboy Slim on Talking Heads frontman David Byrne’s solo LP, as well as collaborations with the likes of Mr Scruff, Quantic, DJ Yoda and Nostalgia 77. However, it is her solo records with longtime musical partner TM Juke that she is best known for, and they have borne some of the most arresting blues and soul since the glory days of Aretha. “We’ve both got a very open approach to writing songs,” Alice explains of the prolific relationship, “Our influences run from Sarah Vaughan to Bach, Kate Bush to Arvo Part, and J Dilla to Alice Coltrane. We love everything from dirty, squelchy dubstep to old-school soul. We nudge each other in the right direction.” 

Photo Credit: Nelson Autefault

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