Meet the future of Nu Soul. It is vocalist/songwriter/producer Patricia Maertens mix of the raw emotion of India Arie, the sophisticated grooves of Jill Scott and the experimental funk of Nelly Furtado. It is powerful, feisty and goes beyond your parent's soul records.

Inspired by her unique upbringing, Patricia ventured toward a new direction in Soul. Born in Hollywood and raised in the inner city of Inglewood, she spent her first years listening to her 1580 KDAY heroes Rufus, Rose Royce and Rick James. Weekends meant listening to conga rhythms floating out of Centinela Park. But her teenage years, spent in the sleepy beach town of Palos Verdes, left her searching for new music. She found it in the abstract words of 70's punk poetess Patti Smith, in the voice of Bessie Smith with her poignant sadness and in the timeless funk of Stevie. Spending summers in the rainforests of El Salvador (home of her mother) and a few cold winters in her father's homeland of Germany also filled her ears with international sounds adding to Patricia's growing musical palette.

Seeing life and the world from very different places has given Patricia a point of view few others share. Her original words, funky rhythms and raw soulful voice are creating quite the buzz in the Los Angeles urban underground music scene. Patricia live cannot be missed! She has played at the Temple Bar, The Mint, Genghis Cohen and other great LA Venues.

Patricia remains her own woman. She wrote the music and lyrics to the songs as well as acting as president of her indie label Lothario Records. "This is music without compromise," says Patricia. Welcome to the future of Nu Soul.

www.PatriciaMaertens.com

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© Melt Magazine 2003