Biography
Justin Nozuka earned Juno nominations as a singer and songwriter whose velvety, introspective voice blends pop, R&B, and folk traditions. Still in his teens, he saw his first album, Holly, signed in 2008 by the U.S. imprint Glassnote Records. The 2010 follow-up You I Wind Land and Sea registered modest chart traction, prompting him to pursue a leaner, more exploratory direction on the 2014 release Ulysees. Throughout the rest of the decade he issued a string of reflective folk-pop projects before shifting toward opulent bedroom R&B on the 2020 single “No One But You” and his fifth album, 2023’s Daydreams & Endless Nights.
Born in New York City in 1988 as the sixth of seven children to a Japanese father and American mother—the actress Holly Sedgwick, sister of Kyra Sedgwick—Nozuka grew up in a musical household. His brother George Nozuka, three years older, issued the dance-pop debut Believe in 2006. After the family relocated to Toronto, Justin learned guitar from a boarding-school classmate and began composing at fifteen. While still in high school he performed on the city’s folk and singer-songwriter circuit, attracting the British label Outcaste Records, home to Joss Stone and KT Tunstall. Holly appeared first in the U.K. and Canada before Glassnote reissued it stateside in 2008; the record charted modestly in both American and European territories and secured Juno nods for New Artist and Breakthrough Artist of the Year. You I Wind Land and Sea improved on that performance, reaching the top of Billboard’s Heatseekers list and earning a Juno nomination for Adult Alternative Album, ultimately edged out by Neil Young. That same year Nozuka performed the single “My Heart Is Yours” on The Late Show with David Letterman.
Seeking further sonic growth, he constructed a home studio and spent several years writing and self-producing the atmospheric third album Ulysees, which surfaced in early 2014. He revisited a more straightforward folk approach on the EPs High Tide and Low Tide and the 2018 full-length Run to Waters. Nozuka resurfaced in 2020 as a soulful pop vocalist alongside Jamaican-British singer Mahalia on the duet “No One But You.” The track later surfaced on the April 2021 EP then, now & again, marking his first release for Black Box Music. Three months afterward the label issued the live counterpart now & again (Live from Revolution Recording), while subsequent singles “Nova” and “Closer” extended the plush, intimate R&B aesthetic. In June 2023 he delivered his inaugural full-length for the imprint, the contemplative Daydreams & Endless Nights, whose production team included his brother Henry Nozuka; the album was supported by a sold-out tour across Europe and North America.
Born in New York City in 1988 as the sixth of seven children to a Japanese father and American mother—the actress Holly Sedgwick, sister of Kyra Sedgwick—Nozuka grew up in a musical household. His brother George Nozuka, three years older, issued the dance-pop debut Believe in 2006. After the family relocated to Toronto, Justin learned guitar from a boarding-school classmate and began composing at fifteen. While still in high school he performed on the city’s folk and singer-songwriter circuit, attracting the British label Outcaste Records, home to Joss Stone and KT Tunstall. Holly appeared first in the U.K. and Canada before Glassnote reissued it stateside in 2008; the record charted modestly in both American and European territories and secured Juno nods for New Artist and Breakthrough Artist of the Year. You I Wind Land and Sea improved on that performance, reaching the top of Billboard’s Heatseekers list and earning a Juno nomination for Adult Alternative Album, ultimately edged out by Neil Young. That same year Nozuka performed the single “My Heart Is Yours” on The Late Show with David Letterman.
Seeking further sonic growth, he constructed a home studio and spent several years writing and self-producing the atmospheric third album Ulysees, which surfaced in early 2014. He revisited a more straightforward folk approach on the EPs High Tide and Low Tide and the 2018 full-length Run to Waters. Nozuka resurfaced in 2020 as a soulful pop vocalist alongside Jamaican-British singer Mahalia on the duet “No One But You.” The track later surfaced on the April 2021 EP then, now & again, marking his first release for Black Box Music. Three months afterward the label issued the live counterpart now & again (Live from Revolution Recording), while subsequent singles “Nova” and “Closer” extended the plush, intimate R&B aesthetic. In June 2023 he delivered his inaugural full-length for the imprint, the contemplative Daydreams & Endless Nights, whose production team included his brother Henry Nozuka; the album was supported by a sold-out tour across Europe and North America.
Albums
Singles
