Biography

Overlaying virtuosic two-hand tapping, eloquent phrasing, and time-warping tremolo upon a slow-honey drip of soul, Naia Izumi speaks through his music as if the sound flows through him. The guitarist, drummer, bassist, singer-songwriter and producer has cultivated an imitable sound that is the result of both a lifelong study and single-minded dedication to his craft. Developing a fascination with guitar at an early age, Naia would play for hours on end, losing himself in the instrument and studying alongside jazz and blues musicians in his local trailer park. Diagnosed with autism at the age of 16, he dropped out of high school to join the Job Corps before deciding to pursue his dream full force, busking on the streets and performing hundreds of gigs across the country before settling in Los Angeles. In 2018, Naia made his breakout win at NPR’s highly-coveted Tiny Desk Contest with his track “Soft Spoken,” which landed the musician a major label record deal with Sony Music Masterworks. Since then Naia’s music has continued to fall on receptive ears, racking up millions of streams and acclaim from NPR, The New York Times, Paste Magazine, The Washington Post, Guitar World, American Songwriter and more, all impressively before the release of a debut album. Continuing his momentum into 2021, Naia now gears up for the next chapter in his already impressive career with the release of his debut full-length, A Residency in the Los Angeles Area, on July 30 2021.