WHO IS SHE?: The London-born singer-songwriter remained relatively anonymous on longtime boyfriend Tricky's first four albums. Since then, she's gone solo in both senses of the word. Her debut album, Anything, featuring cameos from Tricky, Josh Homme, composer David Arnold and superstar DJ David Holmes, dropped in the U.S. on August 10, and she appears on Diplo's Florida CD, out this week. Her voice -- husky, expressive and soulful -- is already being compared to Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Björk and Beth Gibbons. Not shabby at all.

WHAT HAS SHE DONE?:Topley-Bird first sang for Tricky when she was just a flirty 16-year-old schoolgirl. Tricky's groundbreaking cult hit albums of the '90s would have been relatively chaste trip-hop affairs without Martina's purring, growling, cooing and near rapping. Since dissolving their relationship, she's been writing as a solo artist. Her debut, released as Quixotic in the U.K., was nominated for the prestigious Mercury Prize, celebrating the best in British music.

WHY DO WE CARE?:On Anything, 27-year-old Topley-Bird's unique voice makes us melt whether she's singing neo-blues, alt rock or intimate electronica. And the term "exotic" doesn't do her beauty justice. She claims El Salvadorean, Seminole Indian and African-American heritage.

Playboy.com: Your voice is as sensual and sexy on your new solo CD as it was on the Tricky tunes. What does that say about you?

Martina-Topley Bird: What's the point of being alive if you are not sensual? It's natural, it's kind of relaxed. I think sensual is the right term, because it is not blatantly sexy sexy.

PB: Your album is all over the place stylistically. Rock on "Need One." Soul on "Soul Food." Blues. Electronica. Are you trying to be difficult to pin down?

MT-B: That is just one take on how it is to be a human. I wanna do what I wanna do. I want to do lots of different stuff. At one point the idea was that each song should represent the style of a subsequent album. I went to a Diamanda Galas gig, and that was the first time I saw someone do styles back-to-back-to-back: Armenian musical styles to operatic singing. And it worked. This was an honest thing for me to do, because I love lots and lots of kinds of music.

PB: What do you like to do when you are not making music?

MT-B: I would like to travel. I like eating a lot. I'm not that wild about cooking, but I love food. And I love steam rooms. I'd love to have a steam room in my house, but that's a ways off.

PB: You sometimes sing about sex without being explicit about it. It seems more abstract and imagistic than the boasting in most hip-hop. Is that something that great female singers have in common, an ability to make sex feel sophisticated?

MT-B: Sometimes. I like things that are implied. I like to use my imagination. But, since playing out live, I think I am changing my point of view, not necessarily about sexual content, but I want to be more direct. I hadn't really thought of that. It's the way that people sing, rather than what they are singing about. But good lyrics are really important to me. There is a place for all of it. For example, my sister was playing Millie Jackson, which I think is hilarious. Millie tends to be raunchy and rude.

PB: Is touring fun for you?

MT-B: It's been good. Putting the band together and reworking the songs was brilliant, even better than the record for me in some instances. It sounds terrible, but I have this guy that is a human beatbox and harmonica player. The reviews have been brilliant, which is good. I like it, they like it, everybody likes it.

PB: Which female vocalists do you admire?

MT-B: I always forget when I go into a record shop what I came to buy, but I like things that are unique. I like Björk, PJ Harvey, Alison Goldfrapp, she's a mate. Chet Baker, Otis Redding, Nina Simone. I can't think of anyone new that I really like.

PB: You've ended up on good terms with your ex, Tricky. Do you still date musicians or have you learned a lesson?

MT-B: You can't really be that ruthless. Not all musicians are flaky and get up at one in the afternoon. Not that Tricky is, but there is a perception of musicians being that way. To be in a position to get by and make a living at it, they have to be organized and self-disciplined. If you meet the right person, as long as they are not an ax murderer, then it works.

PB: There's a semi-nude green photo of you on the front of your new album.

MT-B: One suggested album title was I'd "Do" Anything, but it doesn't represent the album well. I really like the photos and the photographer was a director I had worked with before on a Tricky video. She did a Christina Aguilera video, "Fighter," with all the moths. It was gothic dark but beautiful.

PB: Would you consider posing for Playboy?

MT-B: At this point in time, it's not at the top of my list of things to do, but I would be quite flattered to be asked. In the meantime, you can use some stills from my video if you want to.

Photo: Courtesy of Magnum PR