Justin Nozuka

Justin Nozuka biography

Justin Tokimitsu Nozuka (born September 29, 1988 in New York, USA) is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter of Japanese descent. Justin Nozuka was born in New York and grew up in Toronto, Raised by a single mother, Justin was the sixth of seven children where all four of his brothers are artists in some form. As a teen, he spun Motown, folk and hip-hop as he fleshed out his music skills learning guitar with his Mexican friends at boarding school. Blending elements of neo-soul, folk, old-time blues and pop, Justin has the guts of Ray LaMontagne and the soul of Lauryn Hill. This guitar slinging aficionado has the street smarts of an urban swinger and the heart-bending soul of a gospel preacher, and is adept at blending a dark, bluesy Americana vibe with warm, acoustic soul where bits of old folk music and flamenco tunes swirl in and out of earshot. During his short career, Justin has already snagged stage time with John Cale, Crowded House, Ziggy Marley, Sam Roberts, Jully Black and Xavier Rudd. "In his debut album "Holly", Justin Nozuka has created eleven impressive pieces of thoughtful acoustic-soul. Filled with understated melodies, minimal production and an interesting, sometimes dark take on song-craft...4 Stars." -- BBC "Superior acoustic soul. .4 Stars." -- Q Magazine, UK "...Nozuka is producing material that is unlike any other singer songwriters - and consequently is beyond genre definition. Largely, it is one man and his faithful guitar - but with a voice like his, there really is no need for any other instrumentation. In truth it would only get in the way. 4 Stars." -- Belfast Daily Telegraph "Nozuka seemed very modest, but there was absolutely no reason. He had every eye on him and it was nearly impossible to look away. Every song seemed to outdo the one before it, and when he quietly walked off, we were all aching for more." --Chartattack.com Years Active: 2006 – present