Natasha grew up on the small island of Grand Cayman in the Caribbean Sea, 180 miles south of Cuba and 195 miles west of Jamaica. Her parents being from opposite sides of the globe (her mother, a native Islander of Cayman, and her father, a Lebanese far from home) resulted in Natasha’s deep love and curiosity for the world around which can be seen throughout her art and life.
Lover of the stage and theater, she honed her craft at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City where she graduated in 2007. She studied classical piano since the age of seven and graduated in 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Cardiff University in Wales specializing in Ethnomusicology. Her undergraduate ethnomusicology thesis entitled “An Island’s Story: Told through the music of Julia Hydes” is celebrated and treasured as the first and only in depth writing on Caymanian folk music and drummer, Miss Julia Hydes. In 2014, Natasha was honored in celebration of Cayman’s National Heroes Day with The Emerging Pioneer Award for her significant contribution to the culture and heritage of the Cayman Islands and in 2016 she was a Silver Star Recipient at the Cayman National Cultural Foundation’s National Arts and Culture Awards.
In August 2010, Natasha moved to San Diego, California where she now writes, records and performs music under the moniker NATULA. She calls her music “third-culture pop” as a nod to her third culture identity crisis which leads her to explore elements of traditional folk music in a pop context. Her debut single “South” has been praised by music blogs like Indie Shuffle as an “experimental folk-pop tune that hits all the right notes”, and Pigeons and Planes as a “wild new-age pop gem” During her Golden 30 Tour, Natasha embarked on a global tour of house concerts raising over $11,000 for the Syrian Refugee Crisis via the IRC.
In September 2015, she opened Kalabash School of Music + the Arts in La Jolla, California where she teaches music and inspires students to write their own original material. She is a teaching-artist and a member of the Board of Directors for the Center for World Music, a nonprofit organization whose primary purpose is to foster intercultural awareness and understanding through in-depth encounters with the world’s performing arts traditions. She is also founder and front woman for Baby Bushka, an all female, 8 piece Kate Bush experience that is taking over the world.
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