A Brief Bio From street music to formal concerts; from busking across Europe with a band of jugglers to touring the USA, Elizabeth Papapetrou - also known as Motherheart - has sketched and colored her music in many shapes and hues. Her songs share diverse perspectives from a sunny, nurturing heart with a sharp awareness of human foibles - often her own. Writing with a soft, firm touch that peels to the bare heart of matters, she has been described as a Troubadour, which she enjoys and takes to mean a writer and singer of many-levelled truths. Elizabeth's musical career began in London and South East England, in bands formed around her voice and songs - most notably 'The Groove Monitors' . For a short time, she also worked as a studio session singer. The Blues was an early inspiration which evolved into a love of Jazz and all African-inspired or 'Black' music. This led to her creating - and performing at - a Jazz venue in London called The Canal Club ,which particularly showcased improvised music. When she later focussed on solo work, songs emerged rich in lyrical imagery, colored with jazzy phrasings and chord voicings, but with a content and style that draws from all Black music - plus contemporary folk and acoustic guitar. Rhythmically, her work often has a latin tinge to it. Elizabeth's dynamic, expressive, soaring voice is quite definitely contralto... yet she can swing it high, too - with sweet clarity. She labels her noted acoustic guitar technique as 'mutant fingerstyle', 'though she wields an effective pick, now and then. In addition to guitar, she has played percussion (interestingly, Elizabeth's first professional gig was as a percussionist doubling voice & guitar) and still writes songs around her solo fretless bass and voice. In addition to her strong focus on music, Elizabeth's talents have taken her through many paths of expression, as a writer, music journalist (for Acoustic Guitar magazine ,among others), author, poet, editor, screenwriter, voice & guitar tutor, music therapist, massage therapist, graphic artist, World Wide Web page designer and web mistress. In 1997, her song - Audrey - won a poetry award from Tangled Hearts Publishing appearing in their book 'Capture the Moment'. Elizabeth is keenly involved in using the Internet as a networking tool and runs several listserv mailing lists and web pages, including the multi award-winning Motherheart - a resource dedicated to nurturing in all aspects of life. Home - Bio - Tours - Press - Songs - Story - Links - Heart - Email