Alexis Ffrench

Alexis Ffrench: The Classical Soul Tour

Alexis Ffrench is an artist with a special ability to create music for the soul. A pioneering superstar of Classical Soul, Alexis’s sound refuses to be penned in by genre, time period, or by expectations of the kind of musician he should be. Rather than leaning into the narrow, traditional understandings of ‘classical’, Alexis instead leans outward, expansive in his perspective, drawing on a multifarious mosaic of influences that takes the listener by the hand and leads them on a journey through a world of possibility. His accolades speak for themselves, as he nears a staggering 1 billion streams across his catalogue, with his record Evolution’ surpassing 30,000 UK sales, and achieving Gold selling status in the USA for his single Bluebird. 

For the pianist and composer, music is more than a career, it is threaded into his very being, influencing not only what he does each day, but how he perceives the world and everyone in it. Music offers Alexis intimate glimpses of seismic shifts - political, cultural and social – creating a vivid picture of humanity and how people relate to one another. 

“The music I make now has an even deeper meaning and resonance because it is tied to the wider mission of having a positive impact on the world.” For Alexis, music acts as a visual prism, bending light in every direction, both forward and back - and his latest project takes him back to the beginning of everything. 

The Classical Soul Tour is in support of Alexis' new album, Classical Soul Volume One – partly recorded at Brad Pitt’s stunning Miraval Studios – draws on flickering impressions of memory as they appear in Alexis’s mind’s eye. Evoking classic Hip Hop mixtapes, Classical Soul Volume One makes use of tiny snippets of soul anthems – like Ain’t No Sunshine and A Change Is Gonna Come – dotted as palette cleansers throughout the record, pulling you into half-remembered moments from Alexis’s childhood and his West Indian household. He hopes the listener comes away with a song in their heart, and the feeling that certain tracks have been written specifically for them. 

“There is a panoramic feeling to this project,” says Alexis. “A 360 process of looking back, looking forward, and feeling deep gratitude. I want to be on this journey with the person who listens to this record too; I want to hear their stories – their inner symphonies – and the way it was for them.”