“She refuses pitch correction. Not as a gimmick—she genuinely feels uncomfortable with it,” Kameda says. “Most young singers want to sound like an ideal. Saya wants to sound like a person.”
By A. Nakamura Photography by R. Tanaka
“I don’t think of myself as a rebel,” Natsukawa says, laughing softly over tea in a Shibuya recording studio. Her voice—honeyed, slightly raspy at the edges—is instantly recognizable. “I just couldn’t pretend anymore.” Born in Naha, Natsukawa grew up surrounded by the sanshin and the distinct, melancholic scales of traditional Okinawan min’yō. But it was 2000s J-rock ballads—specifically MISIA and Angela Aki—that made her want to write. saya natsukawa