Full EP stream: Natasha Kozaily – A Tale of One Fish

San Diego has plenty of singer/songwriters, but how many of them hail from the Cayman Islands? We’re not sure either, but we know that Natasha Kozaily does.

The ukulele-strumming Kozaily was already making a name for herself in her Caribbean homeland when music producer Chad Farran convinced her to relocate to America’s Finest City.™ Together, the two recorded Kozaily’s exotic debut, Between Shores, which was followed by a tour through the Cayman Islands and Cuba with her San Diegan backing band. Between Shores has built plenty of buzz for Kozaily, including Album of the Year honors from the Cayman Music and Entertainment Association, and Malibu Music Awards nominations for her songs “Be Brave” and “Letter to Beirut.”

Kozaily just released a new EP, titled A Tale of One Fish, which you can stream on her website. She also has two shows coming up in San Diego: one on September 21 at The Office in North Park, and another on October 11 at The Ruby Room in Hillcrest. In anticipation of those performances, she shared with us some of the things that have influenced her music.

Natasha Kozaily Poetic Memory:

1. Dirty Projectors: I first saw them by chance one night in Wales in 2008 when I was studying music at the university there. They blew me away and I fell in love with their album Bitte Orca.

2. The Prophet by Khalil Gibran: Growing up my mother’s library was full with the works of Gibran. When I was 18, I read The Prophet for the first time. This line has inspired me countless times in my life and music: “Love one another, but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.”

3. Miss Julia: Julia Hydes aka “Miss Julia” is the only female drummer in the history of Caymanian folk music. At 102 years old she is still alive and playing today…wow.

4. “Bird with Beastlike Qualities”: When I moved to San Diego, I was fortunate enough to fall straight into this scene of amazing and inspiring musicians, like Dusty Brough, Chad Farran, Julien Cantelm, David Carano, Joe Amato, and Stephanie Schmitz, to name a few. Jamming and making music with these guys has been the highlight of my musical career and marked a huge turning point in my life and music. If I had to choose one song to be the soundtrack of my first couple months in California, this tune by Dusty Brough and Eva Scow would be it:

5. My Turtle Encounter: It was July 2010, and I was snorkeling off the wall on the small Island of Little Cayman. A turtle appeared among the corals and, like an old friend, swam towards me and I reached my hand out and laid it on its back. This was definitely one of the most spiritual moments of my life.