Justin Nozuka
Justin Nozuka blends elements of acoustic-soul, folk, old-time blues and pop…
Justin Nozuka blends elements of acoustic-soul, folk, old-time blues and pop. Born in New York and raised in Canada, this young guitar-slinging aficionado is adept at mixing a dark, bluesy vibe with warm, acoustic soul where bits of old folk music and flamenco tunes swirl in and out of earshot. His lyrics span the range from light-hearted love songs to dark blues ballads, each thoughtfully channeled through a warm and captivating voice with intense emotion and control. Raised in a single parent household as the sixth of seven children, Justin enshrined his admiration for his mother Holly, whose name adorns the title of his debut album.
Justin wrote his first song at the ripe age of twelve and by sixteen, was playing solo in clubs and coffeehouses and selling homemade CDs from a stall after shows. While still attending high school, he hired producer, Bill Bell to record Holly. As Justin describes, "By then I had done most of the groundwork myself. I didn't send out demos because I wanted the right offer to come to me." Justin found the right team with Liberator Music, who will released the album here on July 3rd, 2009.
Holly has garnered critical acclaim from the press overseas, leaving the BBC to report, "In his debut album Holly, Justin Nozuka has created an impressive pieces of thoughtful acoustic-soul. Filled with understated melodies, minimal production, and an interesting, sometimes dark take on song-craft...4 Stars," and iTunes to place the single "After Tonight" in the coveted "Single Of The Week" spot. Justin Nozuka was recently nominated for a Juno (Canadian Grammy) for Best New Artist in his home country.
In the U.S. Holly has been well received by critics, with PEOPLE magazine claiming "John Mayer should start looking over his shoulder: This 19-year-old impresses with the acoustic soul on his debut," and teenVOGUE commenting "he's just a teenager, but this American-born Canadian-bred singer-songwriter's vocals are as soulful and wise as blues greats four times his age."
The video for the first single from the album "After Tonight" became the #1 most played video on VH1 for 9 consecutive weeks and was featured on MTV's TRL, MTVU and Music Choice.
Enthralling audiences worldwide, Justin has proven that his potential as an artist and songwriter is limitless. When you hear his music, you feel as if you've discovered something that's all your own yet it spans backstories and countries to fill a million yards and a hundred theatres.
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