Cocco (真喜志 智子, Tomoko Makishi?, born January 19, 1977 in Naha, Okinawa) is a female Lewchewan J-Pop singer who debuted in 1996 with a self-titled EP titled Cocko. A track from the EP, "Sing a Song ~No Music, No Life~", was used in an advertising campaign for Tower Records Japan. In March 1997, she released her major label debut single "Kauntodaun" (lit. "Count Down") and a full-length album followed shortly after. It wasn't until 1998 when she scored a big hit in Japan with "Tsuyoku Hakanaimonotachi" ("The Strong and Ephemeral"), selling more than 250,000 copies of that single.
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 didn't last too 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 titled 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 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 a special guest 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.
On July 7, 2007, Cocco performed at the Japanese leg of Live Earth at the Makuhari Messe, Tokyo.
Discography
Singles
- "Count Down" (21 March 1997)
- "Tsuyoku Hakanai Monotachi' (The Strong and Ephemeral) (21 November 1997)
- "Raining" (21 March 1998)
- "Kumoji no Hate" (Beyond the Way Clouds Go) (7 October 1998)
- "Jukai no Ito" (Thread in the Deep Forest) (14 April 1999)
- "Poromeria" (Plumeria) (14 October 1999)
- "Mizukagami" (Water Mirror) (26 April 2000)
- "Kemonomichi" (Animal Trail) (28 June 2000)
- "Hoshi ni Negai o" (Wish upon a Star) (26 July 2000)
- "Hane : lay down my arms" (Wings) (21 February 2001)
- "Yakenogahara" (Burnt Field) (18 April 2001)
- "Onsoku Punch" (Speed of sound Punch) (22 February 2006)
- "Hi no Terinagara Ame no Furu" (Raining while sunny) (24 May 2006)(about 40,000 copies sold)
- "Dugong no mieru Oka" (The hill of Dugongs) (15 Sep 2007)(about 20,000 copies sold)
- "こっこさんの台所" 16 Sep 2009) (16,954 copies sold (still in charts))
Albums
- Bougainvillea (21 May 1997)
- Kumuiuta (Lullaby) (13 May 1998)
- Rapunzel (14 June 2000)
- Sangurōzu (Sungu Rose) (18 April 2001)
- Zansaian (21 June 2006)(about 120,000 copies sold)
- Kirakira (25 July 2007)(about 90,000 copies sold)
Books
- Star Sands in the South Ocean
- Love Songs from the South Ocean (15 August 2004)
Dvds
- お楽しみ秘蔵ビデオ＋全シングルクリップ＝計16曲集 (1,824 copies sold)
- Heaven's hell (44,247 copies sold)
- Cocco きらきら Live Tour 2007/2008 ～Final at 日本武道館 2 Days～ (?)
Featured
Her song Raining can be heard at the end of Hideaki Anno's Shiki Jitsu (Ceremonial Day).
External links
