Cocco
| Cocco | |
|---|---|
| Birth name |
Makishi Satoko 真喜志智子 |
| Born | January 19, 1977 |
| Origin | Naha, Japan |
| Genres | J-pop, Folk, Pop, Rock, Alternative rock, Grunge |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Years active |
1996–2001 2006– |
| Labels | Speedstar Records |
| Associated acts | Singer Songer |
| Website | www.cocco.co.jp |
Cocco (真喜志 智子 Makishi Satoko, born January 19, 1977 in Naha, Okinawa) is a female J-pop / folk rock singer.
Early life
Cocco went to many ballet auditions, hoping to become a professional ballerina. She went to singing auditions to earn the traveling expenses for a ballet audition in Tokyo. She did not pass it, but after impressing the judges, she was later signed by Victor Entertainment.
Career
Cocco made her debut on an indie label under the name "Cocko" with a self-titled EP Cocko on November 21, 1996. A track from the EP, Sing a Song ~No Music, No Life~, was used in an advertising campaign for Tower Records Japan.
On March 21, 1997, Cocco changed the official spelling of her name to "Cocco" and released her major label debut single Countdown. A full-length album followed shortly after. It was not until 1998 when she scored a big hit in Japan with Tsuyoku Hakanaimonotachi, which sold more than 250,000.
Cocco went on to record three more albums – Kumuiuta in 1998, Rapunzel in 2000, and Sangurōzu in 2001. Before the release of Sangurōzu, Cocco announced she was retiring from the music business. Later that year, her label released a career retrospective, Best + Ura Best + Mihappyōkyokushū, which contained her singles, some b-sides and five unreleased tracks.
Her retirement did not last long. In 2002, she published her first art book, Minami no Shima no Hoshi no Suna. In August 2003, she organized a benefit concert to raise awareness about cleaning up beaches in Okinawa. A DVD documentary entitled Heaven's Hell followed in December.
2004 saw her appearance on the Yutaka Ozaki cover album "BLUE" and the publication of her second book, Minami no Shima no Koi no Uta, which was accompanied by a limited edition single, "Garnet/Celeste Blue". In 2005, Cocco collaborated with photographer/singer Nanaco on a CD/book combination titled The Bird.
In late 2004, Cocco teamed up with Shigeru Kishida of the Japanese rock group Quruli to re-record "Sing a Song" for Tower Records' 25th Anniversary in Japan. The sessions inspired the formation of Singer Songer, a band featuring Cocco, Kishida, Quruli bassist Masashi Sato, Cornelius support keyboardist Hirohisa Horie and former FEED drummer Dai Taro.
Singer Songer made its live debut as special guests at Quruli's year-end concert in December 2004, and in May 2005, the band released a single, "Shoka Rinrin". An album, Barairo Pop was released in June 2005. It contains a selection of country-flavored tracks that are much happier than Cocco's previous works.
In April, 2006, she wrote a series of essays for Mainichi Shimbun. Since then, Cocco has continued to write for various newspapers and magazines.
On July 7, 2007, Cocco performed at the Japanese leg of Live Earth at the Makuhari Messe, Chiba. After releasing the album Kira Kira, she started living in the UK and went to college to learn photography.
In 2010, Cocco published her first long novel "Polomerria". She appeared at the World Happiness 2010 rock festival in Tokyo on August 8. She released Emerald, her first self-produced album, on August 11. Cocco provided 14-year-old Director Ryugo Nakamura's first feature film Yagi no Boken with the theme song Yagi no Sanpo. She got a letter from the youngest film director in Japanese film history, and she decided to help the boy.
In 2011, the production costs 0 yen indie film Inspired movies produced by Cocco and her fellow video artists was released.
In 2012, Cocco made her acting debut, starring in KOTOKO, directed by Shinya Tsukamoto. She was also responsible for the art direction and music.
Discography
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Chart positions [1] |
Total sales [2] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Bougainvillea (ブーゲンビリア Būgenbiria)
|
33 | 122,000 |
| 1998 | Kumuiuta (クムイウタ Lullaby)
|
1 | 878,000 |
| 2000 | Rapunzel (ラプンツェル Rapuntseru)
|
1 | 380,000 |
| 2001 | Sangu Rose (サングローズ Coral Rose)
|
5 | 226,000 |
| 2006 | Zancyan (ザンサイアン Mermaid Cyan)
|
3 | 127,000 |
| 2007 | Kirakira (きらきら Sparkling)
|
6 | 91,000 |
| 2010 | Emerald (エメラルド Emerarudo)
|
5 | 39,000 |
Compilation albums
| Year | Album details | Chart positions [1] |
Total sales [2] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Best + Ura Best + Mihappyōkyokushū (ベスト+裏ベスト+未発表曲集, "Best, B-side Best and Unreleased Songs Collection")
|
1 | 504,000 |
| 2011 | The Best Ban (ザ・ベスト盤 The Best Disc)
|
4 |
Singles
Indie label
| Year | Title | Oricon singles sales chart | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| peak position [1] |
total sales [2] | |||
| 1996 | "Cokco"
|
— | — | |
Major label
| Year | Title | Oricon singles sales chart | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| peak position [1] |
total sales [2] | |||
| 1997 | "Countdown" (カウントダウン) | 98 | 2,200 | Bougainvillea |
| "Tsuyoku Hakanai Monotachi" (強く儚い者たち The Strong and Ephemeral) | 18 | 361,000 | Kumuiuta | |
| 1998 | "Raining" | 17 | 128,000 | |
| "Kumoji no Hate" (雲路の果て End of the Road Through the Clouds) | 6 | 144,000 | Rapunzel | |
| 1999 | "Jukai no Ito" (樹海の糸 Threads in the Deep Forest) | 3 | 182,000 | |
| "Plumeria" (ポロメリア Poromeria) | 9 | 97,000 | ||
| 2000 | "Mizu Kagami" (水鏡 Water Reflection) | 10 | 68,000 | |
"Kemono Michi" (けもの道 Animal Trail)
|
10 | 37,000 | ||
| "Hoshi ni Negai o" (星に願いを When You Wish Upon a Star) | 25 | 32,000 | Sangu Rose | |
| 2001 | "Hane: Lay Down My Arms" (羽根～ｌａｙ ｄｏｗｎ ｍｙ ａｒｍｓ～ Feathers: lay down my arms) | 16 | 38,000 | |
"Fūka Fūsō" (風化風葬 Burial in the Elements)
|
— | — | ||
"Yakeno ga Hara" (焼け野が原 Burnt Field)
|
12 | 55,000 | ||
| 2006 | "Onsoku Punch" (音速パンチ Speed of Sound Punch) | 5 | 80,000 | Zancyan |
| "Hi no Teri Nagara Ame no Furu" (陽の照りながら雨の降る Rain Falls While the Sun Shines) | 4 | 48,000 | ||
| 2007 | "Dugong no Mieru Oka" (ジュゴンの見える丘 The Hill Where Dugong Can Be Seen)
|
14 | 32,000 | — |
| 2009 | "Cocco-san no Daidokoro CD" (こっこさんの台所ＣＤ Cocco's Kitchen CD)
|
6 | 18,000 | Emerald |
| 2010 | "Nirai Kanai" | 20 | 12,000 | |
Cocco-chan to Shigeru-kun
Cocco-chan to Shigeru-kun (こっこちゃんとしげるくん Miss Cocco & Mr. Shigeru) is a prototype of Singer Songer, and the member doesn’t change.
| Year | Album details | Chart positions [1] |
Total sales [2] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Sing A Song ~No Music, No Love Life~
|
Singer Songer
Singer Songer is a musical group consists of five musicians, featuring Cocco as a lead singer.
| Year | Album details | Chart positions [1] |
Total sales [2] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Shoka Rin-Rin (初花凛々 The dignified first bloom of flowers)
|
||
Barairo Pop (ばらいろポップ Rose color Pop)
|
Videography
Music video compilations
| Year | Album details | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Otanoshimi Hizō Video + Zen Single Clip = Kei Jū Roku Kyokushū (お楽しみ秘蔵ビデオ+全シングルクリップ=計16曲集 Pleasure Treasure Video + All Single Clips = 16 Planned Song Collection)
|
|
| 2011 | Cocco Inspired movies
|
|
"The Best Clip Shū" (ザ・ベストクリップ集 The best clip collection)
|
|
Concert tour videos
| Year | Album details | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | "Kira-Kira Live Tour 2007/2008 ~Final at Nippon Budokan 2 Days~" (きらきら Live Tour 2007/2008 〜Final at 日本武道館 2 Days〜)
|
|
| 2011 | Emerald Tour 2010
|
|
Documentaries
| Year | Album details | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Heaven's Hell
|
|
| 2009 | Daijōbu de Aru Yōni: Cocco Owaranai Tabi (大丈夫であるように -Cocco 終らない旅- So I Can Be Alright: Cocco's Endless Journey)
|
|
Filmography
Movies
| Year | Film Name | Character Name | Film director |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Daijōbu de Aru Yōni: Cocco Owaranai Tabi (大丈夫であるように -Cocco 終らない旅- So I Can Be Alright: Cocco's Endless Journey) | (documentary) | Hirokazu Koreeda |
| 2010 | Kotoko | Kotoko (琴子) | Shinya Tsukamoto |
Bibliography
| Title | Original Publication Date | Publisher | Category | Book sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 南の島の星の砂 Minami no Shima no Hoshi no Suna Star Sands in the South Ocean |
September 27, 2002 | Kawade Shobo Shinsha | Picture book | ISBN 978-4-309-26584-1 |
| 南の島の恋の歌 Minami no Shima no Koi no Uta Love Songs from the South Ocean |
August 15, 2004 | Kawade Shobo Shinsha | Picture book | ISBN 978-4-309-26769-2 |
| 8.15 Okinawa Cocco | December 21, 2006 | The NHK publication, photographer: nanaco | Photo-book | ISBN 978-4-14-081161-0 |
| 想い事。 Omoi Goto. Thoughts. |
August 15, 2007 | The Mainichi Newspapers | Essays and photos | ISBN 978-4-620-31826-4 |
| 大丈夫であるように -Cocco 終らない旅- Daijōbu de Aru Yōni: Cocco Owaranai Tabi So I Can Be Alright: Cocco's Endless Journey |
December 5, 2008 | Poplar Publishing, photographer: nanaco | Photo-book | ISBN 978-4-591-10719-5 |
| こっこさんの台所 Cocco-san no Daidokoro Miss Cocco's Kitchen |
August 15, 2009 | Gentosha | Essays and recipes | ISBN 978-4-344-01717-7 |
| ポロメリア Poromeria Plumeria |
May 26, 2010 | Gentosha | Novel | ISBN 978-4-344-01835-8 |
References
External links
- Cocco official site
- Discography
- Nippop Profile | Cocco
- Project J Profile
- Cocco at the Internet Movie Database