Cocco is the stage name of Japanese folk-pop singer-songwriter Makishi Satoko. Born in Okinawa on January 19, 1977, her initial ambition was to become a professional ballerina. After an unsuccessful audition in Tokyo, she decided to fully devote herself to music instead. She made her debut on the indie label Bounce with the EP Cocko, released in 1996. One of the tracks from the EP, “Sing a Song ~No Music, No Life~,” was used in a Tower Records Japan ad, taking her to new heights of popularity. This resulted in a recording contract with Victor Entertainment, who released her proper studio debut Bougainvillea in 1997. The LP was a smashing success, reaching Number 33 on the Oricon charts and setting the stage for her sophomore effort Kumuiuta (1998). Propelled by the hit single “Tsuyoku Hakanai Monotachi,” the album reached the top of the charts in Japan and sold over 878,000 copies. Cocco scored another Number 1 record with 2000’s Rapunzel, closely followed by Sangu Rose in 2001. She announced her retirement from the music business shortly after releasing Sangu Rose and mainly stayed active as a writer, publishing the art books Minami no Shima no Hoshi no Suna (2002) and Minami no Shima no Koi no Uta (2004). In the following years, Cocco returned to her music career with the full-lengths Zancyan (2006), Kirakira (2007), Emerald (2010), all of which made their way into the Japanese Top 5. Subsequently, Cocco made her acting debut on Shinya Tsukamoto’s KOTOKO (2012) and released the albums Pas de Bourrée (2014), Adan Ballet (2016), and Star Shank (2019).
