-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- coba (accordionist ・composer) profile
coba has won several international accordion competitions, he has released CDs in Europe and Japan, even reaching no.1 in the charts. coba has come to be more than a name - it means music which crosses thematic boundaries and which has a world-wide influence. After Bjork saw coba perform in London in the late 90's, she immediately asked coba to join her band for a world tour. Since then, he has become of the most renowned Japanese artists and he has spent 15 years regularly touring Europe. He has released 30 albums of his music to date. coba has always strived for the best in his music and his success is proven by the excellent reviews it has received in Japan and worldwide. coba has dramatically transformed the traditional image of the accordion into a new form, compatible with the contemporary Pop music climate. This form has arguably come to be known as a genre in itself - 'coba'. coba is a prodigious composer who is currently working on sound tracks for films, traditional and modern Japanese theatre, TV and TV advertisements. His role is composer, producer and performer, including working with orchestras. He is based in Tokyo-Paris and London and is continually working internationally.
coba biography
Born in 1959, coba had started playing the accordion at the age of 9. At the age of 18 he traveled to Italy to study at the Accordion Department of the Scuola di Musica Luciano Fancelli in Venice from which he graduated at the top of the class.
Footmarks in his career include the following:
April, 1979: Wins first prize at the 2nd All Japan Accordion Contest.
September, 1979: Wins first prize at the Alassio International Accordion competition (held in Alassio, Italy).
October, 1980: Wins first prize at the 30th C.M.A. World Accordion competition (held in Vienna, Austria).
1989: Starts touring Europe.
1991: Solo album Under the Moon in Sicily (EMI) wins Special Prize of Nippon Record Taisho (the Japan Record Grand Awards). Launched an annual national concert tour covering 20 cities.
1994: 6th album Mania coba (EMI) becomes a national hit, selling over two hundred thousand copies.
1995-1997: Participated in Bjork's world tour, attracting over 3 million audiences in more than 60 countries around the world.
1996: Solo album 'ROOTS?' is chosen the best album by 'Nova Magazine' published by the French radio station 'RADIO NOVA'.
2005: Release album Dear Modestman from JVC Victor Entertainment, Inc.
2006: "Voce d'oro", a prize is given to the most active accordionist in the world.
He has just released his brand new album "elecute".
coba has released 31 albums to date, totaling in excess of two million album units, repeatedly renewing the record of sales for instrumental albums in Japan. Besides the annual national tour covering more than 30 cities in Japan, he is actively engaged in the wide range of music projects, including the producing of film, stage, TV, radio, game and advertisement music. In 2001 he had won "THE BEST MUSIC COMPOSER OF THE YEAR" for cinema music in THE ACADEMY AWARDS IN JAPAN. In 2002, he had written the music for movie "POKEMON" as well. coba is one of the most popular instrumental artists in Japan.
1st Album 「my hybrid scream」が完成しました。 1.supersonic 2.Ivory 3.I wanna be your boyfriend 4.嫌われ者 5.melting pot(edit) 6.N.S.D. 7.天国へ行こうよ(Album Version) 8.Inner light 9.Here She Comes Now 10.Merry go round
