Justin Nozuka

This is Justin Nozuka, 18 years old, New York-born but Toronto-raised and based. He's unassuming to a fault, but has made an album that's swiftly gaining attention and doing the talking for him. Holly is being rushed into the UK consciousness with all due speed by Outcaste, to get Justin's assured mix of blues, folk and soul-tinged singer-songwriting to the international audience it cries out for.

Nozuka is taking a 'have guitar, will travel' attitude to his burgeoning career, and with songs as striking as those on Holly, it's the only way to go. There's something compelling about the open-faced emotion he conveys in these compositions. They run the emotional gamut from the isolation of Down In A Cold Dirty Well, the feel good factor of I'm In Peace and wistful reflection of Supposed To Grow Old, to the lusty blues of Be Back Soon.

Those who witnessed Justin's London performance debut at the 12 Bar Club in January heard him finish the set with the (literally) show-stopping Save Him, a chilling account of domestic abuse which stands as his first murder ballad. If it was a book, they'd call it a page-turner. 'Writing that,' he says, 'it took a couple of hours then I just started getting into the story, as if I was next door hearing what goes on on the other side, through the wall.'

Talk to him, and the modest confidence in the songs is mirrored in the person that created them. 'It's happening very quickly for me, but it doesn't feel crazy,' he says. 'In Toronto I've been playing lots of shows and the following does seem to be building. It feels like the right steps, and it feels like the right time to be working a lot.'

Born to a Japanese father and American mother in New York, and the sixth of seven children, Justin moved from New York at eight years old to Toronto. 'There are lots of cool places to play, it's a good scene, especially for singer-songwriters. It's a very musical family, I have four brothers and two sisters. All the brothers play music, so there was always music around the house.'

His older brother George provided particular inspiration, and still does. 'He's two years older than me. He does R&B, he just released a CD called Believe in Canada. He started getting into music very young, and he was a huge role model to me. He just had huge drive.'

Justin's own musical roots were laid down when he wrote his first song at the age of 12. 'I got serious about it when I was 14. I went to an international boarding school and that's when I started learning guitar,' he says. 'A bunch of kids from Mexico came, and a couple of them played Mexican-Spanish guitar. My roommate was also Mexican and started picking it up. They taught me a few songs and I started to compose my own.'

The earliest songs on Holly came to life while he was just 15, which seems impossible when you hear the emotional depth of Supposed To Grow Old. 'I had just finished Grade 9, and I'd just broken up with my girlfriend. It was a pretty serious relationship given the age I was at.'

All the songs are vividly illustrated by Nozuka's supple vocals, which weave in and around the melody with an elasticity to rival the best Rhythm & Blues and soul singers. 'I listened to a lot of radio and a lot of soul music, like Lauryn Hill and Marvin Gaye. That's the way I always sang.'

And the album title? It's named after his mum. 'My parents are split up, and my mum's just a very powerful lady. Throughout the creation of the record, I gained a huge appreciation for her, ' he says. 'She raised seven kids by herself. Ever since I was young, she's given me such support, which is a big reason why I'm still doing it.'

Nozuka won't graduate until June, and while he looks forward to the greater freedom to gig his way around the world, he's characteristically single-minded about his studies. 'it's a great lesson for me, a great experience,' he says, adding with quiet determination: 'I've got to do it.'

Enough of the back story. You just need to hear the music to believe in it. 'I think people now are very interested in feeling music, whether it's Damien Rice or Ben Harper,' he says. 'It's all becoming more popular because people can feel the bareness and know it's not manufactured. That's very attractive.'