KOKIA

j-pop

Akiko Yoshida is a Japanese folk/world/new age singer-songwriter, who performs under the stage name Kokia (stylised as KOKIA, an anagram of Akiko), and sings with a wide radius of musical influences. She is best known for her songs Arigatō... (Thank You?) (which reached #1 in Hong Kong when it was covered by Sammi Cheng) and The Power of Smile. She is also recognised for her numerous contributions to anime/game soundtracks, the most notable being Ai no Melody/Chōwa Oto (With Reflection) for the film Origin: Spirits of the Past, Follow the Nightingale for the game Tales of Innocence and Tatta Hitotsu no Omoi for the anime Gunslinger Girl: Il Teatrino. Kokia often performs in Europe, basing her activities in Paris and releasing music through Wasabi Records, a subsidiary of Kazé. Early life, Pony Canyon debut Kokia was born on July 22, 1976, and raised by her mother. She started playing the violin when she was two and a half years old, but preferred the family piano. Often instead of playing with toys, Kokia played with the family piano. Kokia remembers putting picture books on the music stand and creating music that represented the scenes. When Kokia was 10, she went abroad to America with her sister Kyoko to study at the Summer music school (and did so again when she was 14). In high school, she studied in vocal music and opera, later majoring in opera at the Toho Gakuen School of Music. While at university, a friend gave a demo tape Kokia had recorded to a record exe...