"I'm not good at premeditating or planning. I'm too scatty for that. I just take things as they come."

Alice Russell is upbeat and down-toearth. A chat with her is like talking to a girly pal. But, when she takes the stage, the only appropriate title to give her is that of diva.

Her voice is so powerful it could have come straight from the Aretha Franklin school of soul (where Chaka Khan is deputy and Mary J. Blige head of year).

But it's also sweet and funky and can lend itself to all manner of styles. Alice could have you shaking your ass wildly on the dancefloor or tapping your foot gracefully at a jazz club.

Her versatility is summed up in her new album, My Favourite Letters (out Monday), which drips with gospel, hiphop, jazz, northern soul, broken beat, electronica and funk - a kaleidoscope of soul music but all unmistakably Alice's sound.

"I just like to express my little self and do the style I do - whatever comes naturally," she says.

"There's lots of different styles and different variations on the album, but I think each song finds its own sound," says Alice, who lives in Brighton.

The album was co-written and produced by Tru Thoughts labelmate TM Juke, who "came along and did his funky thing with the beats".

The record should further increase Alice's reputation in today's soul circles. Her jaw-dropping performances with the Quantic Soul Orchestra are well documented but she's also performed with Roy Ayres, has supported Lonnie Liston Smith and De La Soul, and is a festival favourite.

The Telegraph cited her as "one of the great soul voices of today", and Massive Attack's Daddy G and Groove Armada's Tom Findlay have both declared their admiration.

But Alice is modest. "I'm just doing my little thing in whatever way I can - sometimes that means doing funny voices with my friends."

Growing up in Suffolk, Alice was exposed to music at an early age - her father was an organist. However, she admits even her parents don't know where her voice came from.

Nevertheless it couldn't fail to get her noticed. When she moved to Brighton as a student, a partnership with Tru Thoughts soon followed.

It is clear Alice has the talent to be up there with the likes of Joss Stone and Alicia Keys but, she says, mainstream success isn't part of the plan.

"I don't really think about things like that. You do what you do and if it makes it, then it does.

"My aim to keep being able to write and sing. I'm still skint as a bint."

After this gig, Alice will be touring the UK and Europe, before heading to Japan and Australia to spread the soul.

"It's all about good feeling, good music and good dancing," she says.

Starts 9.30pm, tickets cost £8/9. Call 01273 673311.