generasia:Featured article for 2011 week 35

Cocco

Cocco, born Makishi Satoko, has been around in the music industry since early 1997. However she first got started in music by having a few small concerts in the United States. Back then she went under "Cocko" an odd spelling of the nickname "Cocco" that her sister had given her. Through small concerts she happened to catch the eyes of many producers and eventually landed a deal with Speedstar Records.

She was first heard in Japan when Tower Records Japan used her song "Sing a Song ~No Music, No Life~" for a series of commercials. Shortly afterwards she released her major debut album Bougainvillea. However as time went on Cocco did not take her new famous status well. Cocco was very much the opposite of artists in the Japanese Music Industry as she was terrified of the media and just a simple interview or concert rehearseal could bring her to tears. Also unlike other artists, singing was not a happy thing for her, it was a way to cleanse herself of negative thoughts such as anger and sadness. Often times its be said that Cocco is not very satified with her music because she can't project the haunting melody thats in her mind to her bandmates.

In 2001, Cocco would go on hiatus until 2005 when she joined the group SINGER SONGER before going solo a year later. Her second best-of album, The Best Ban, was released on August 15, 2011 and marks the 15th anniversary of her debut.