A life of music, travel and finding her own voice
Patrina Morris has never really fitted into one box — and perhaps that’s exactly what makes her music so interesting.
Born in India to Anglo-Indian parents and brought up in North London, Patrina grew up surrounded by a mixture of cultures and influences. Music was always an important part of her life, although her first professional career took her in a very different direction.
As a young woman, she was discovered by a modelling agent while working in a restaurant to pay for Art School. Before long, she was travelling the world as an international fashion model, working in Paris, Milan, Tokyo and New York. Her face appeared in Italian and German editions of Vogue, Elle, and Marie Claire, as well as in campaigns for major brands including L’Oréal and Pepsi, among many others. It was a glamorous, fast-moving world that introduced her to different cultures, people and experiences — but behind the fashion career there was always music.
Eventually, Patrina followed that instinct and began working professionally as a singer, songwriter and lyricist. Her journey through the music industry brought her together with an extraordinary mix of musicians, writers and producers, including Matt Bianco, Aswad, Paul Oakenfold, Talvin Singh (Massive Attack, Björk), Andrew Hale of Sade, Rob Davis (Kylie Minogue), Jon Klein (Siouxsie and the Banshees), and the celebrated producer Paul “Groucho” Smykle (David Bowie, Grace Jones).
Those years gave her invaluable experience and a deeper understanding of songwriting, recording and production. She learned how songs are built, how musicians work together and how much can happen between an idea and a finished recording.
But, in many ways, she still hadn’t found the music that was completely her own.
That changed when she moved to Portugal.
Something about the Portuguese landscape and way of life gave Patrina the space to slow down, listen to herself and explore her own creativity. She learned to play guitar and began writing songs in a much more personal way. It was through the guitar that she found her true voice and a new creative freedom.
Brazilian music had always fascinated her, particularly bossa nova and samba, and she began bringing those influences together with the jazz, soul and pop music she had loved throughout her life. Antônio Carlos Jobim, Caetano Veloso, Toquinho and Stan Getz sat comfortably alongside Billie Holiday, Gil Scott-Heron, Terry Callier, Ani DiFranco, Tom Misch, Jose James, Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Burt Bacharach, and even Snoop and Bread in her eclectic musical world.
The result wasn’t really one particular genre. It was a “hybrid” of all she loved — it was simply Patrina.
Her music has a warmth and sensuality to it, reminiscent of the early 1970s beach samba sound of Brazil, but there is also a certain vulnerability. Her songs don’t try too hard. They leave room for the listener — for the melody, the words and the feeling behind them.
Her debut EP, “Stories I Never Told You”, was released in 2008, followed by “Lies Fall Away”. The latter became a major milestone in her career when she signed with EMI/Universal Japan. Her interpretation of The Cardigans’ “Carnival” went straight to No. 3 on the Japanese Single Charts, helping introduce her music to a much wider international audience.
Following this success, her subsequent releases were distributed through Red Digital / Sony NYC, including “Even in the End” and “SAD Is… The Home Sessions”. Her discography grew to include EP5: “Sweet as Ever”, alongside a collection of singles that allowed her to explore different sides of herself — from bossa nova and jazz to soul, pop, dance remixes by Ibiza DJ Savalas, and US film and TV projects and her role as a lyricist for other artists/genres.
Her work caught the attention of major tastemakers, leading to features and airplay on JazzFM-London, Jazziz, and AllAboutJazz. Another milestone in her career.
At the heart of all of it, though, has remained the songwriter.
Patrina is drawn to the emotional details of life: love, relationships, longing, memory, loss, the things we say and the things we leave unsaid. Over the years, she continued making music with an eclectic team of creatives including Octavio Pimenta da Sousa, Nate Jones, Taj Palmer, and Jon Klein, while recording and performing live in New York.
One of the most special chapters in her musical journey has been her collaboration with Brian Jackson, the legendary pianist and composer best known for his work with Gil Scott-Heron. Their connection produced stand-out songs including “Breaking All the Rules”, “Tempted”, and “Up So Close”.
There is something particularly fitting about this collaboration. Patrina’s music has always looked backwards and forwards at the same time — taking inspiration from older musical traditions while finding a way to make them feel personal and alive in the present. “Up So Close” became a beautiful meeting of those worlds, bringing together Brazilian influences, jazz, soul and the distinctive musical language of two artists from very different generations.
In more recent years, Patrina’s songwriting has become increasingly reflective. Her 2024 song “YOU”, written with Jon Klein, is a good example. It is a tender song about love, memories and the passage of time — subjects that perhaps carry a different meaning when you have lived a life as varied and colourful as Patrina’s.
And that life is very much part of her music.
There are traces of India, North London, the years spent travelling the world, the excitement and intensity of the fashion industry, the energy of London and New York studios and, above all, the feeling of finding a home in Portugal.
Today, Patrina continues to write and record from Portugal, following the same curiosity that has carried her through every chapter of her life. She doesn’t need to be defined simply as a jazz singer, a bossa nova artist or a singer-songwriter. All of those descriptions are true, but none of them quite tell the whole story.
Her music is the product of a life lived across cultures and continents — and of a woman who took a long, winding route to discovering her own voice.
Perhaps that’s why her songs feel so personal.
They aren’t just songs about life.
They are songs that have lived a life.
Patrina Morris
singer – songwriter