Kotringo
Encyclopedia
Kotringo is the stage name
for Japanese pop
singer/songwriter and pianist Rieko Miyoshi (三吉里絵子 Miyoshi Rieko) born in Osaka
on 17 of July, 1978. In 2005 she sent in a demo tape to Ryuichi Sakamoto
's "Radio Sakamoto" Audition Corner and caught Sakamoto's interest. She would release her first single in November 2006. She has to date released six albums.
. In 1999, she was accepted by the Berklee College of Music
, where she majored in Jazz composition, arrangement and piano.
At Berklee, Kotringo received numerous awards, including the piano department's Achievement Award. During this time, she took part in the recording of the album "Finder's Keepers", with the Contemporary Jazz Big Bang lead by Michael McAllister, a classmate, accomplished guitar player, and recipient of numerous awards, including the ASCAP Foundation Young Composer Award. Kotringo performed for three years as an accompanist for the voice department at Berkelee and as a pianist for a church in Boston.
After receiving her degree in 2003, she moved to New York and spent a year performing at Detour, Garage, Kaveha's and St. Nicks.
's "Radio Sakamoto" Audition Corder (broadcast on J-WAVE, a Tokyo-based FM station covering the Kanto Region) caught Sakamoto's attention. Later, a second single she submitted to the program, "Nichiyo Machi" (Waiting for a Sunday) was broadcast on air. These events lead her to participation in the LOHAS Classical Concert in Kyoto produced by Ryuichi Sakamoto in June, 2006.
Since 2007 she has produced six albums. The latest album– picnic album 2 – is a cover album of western pop, featuring melodies from Rolling Stones, Petula Clark
, Björk
and others. The trick & tweet album from 2009 featured, as a bonus track, Kodomo no sekai (こどものせかい; Children's World) the ending theme song to the 2009 animated movie Mai Mai Miracle
.
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
for Japanese pop
J-pop
, an abbreviation for Japanese pop, is a musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in 1960s music, such as The Beatles, and replaced kayōkyoku in the Japanese music scene...
singer/songwriter and pianist Rieko Miyoshi (三吉里絵子 Miyoshi Rieko) born in Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
on 17 of July, 1978. In 2005 she sent in a demo tape to Ryuichi Sakamoto
Ryuichi Sakamoto
After working as a session musician with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi in 1977, the trio formed the internationally successful electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1978. Known for their seminal influence on electronic music, the group helped pioneer electronic genres such as...
's "Radio Sakamoto" Audition Corner and caught Sakamoto's interest. She would release her first single in November 2006. She has to date released six albums.
Early years
Kotringo was born in Osaka. She later moved west to Fukuoka, and then back east to Nagoya. Kotringo started playing the piano at age five, and began composing music at age seven.Musical education
After graduating from high school, Kotringo entered the Koyo Music School in KobeKobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
. In 1999, she was accepted by the Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
, where she majored in Jazz composition, arrangement and piano.
At Berklee, Kotringo received numerous awards, including the piano department's Achievement Award. During this time, she took part in the recording of the album "Finder's Keepers", with the Contemporary Jazz Big Bang lead by Michael McAllister, a classmate, accomplished guitar player, and recipient of numerous awards, including the ASCAP Foundation Young Composer Award. Kotringo performed for three years as an accompanist for the voice department at Berkelee and as a pianist for a church in Boston.
After receiving her degree in 2003, she moved to New York and spent a year performing at Detour, Garage, Kaveha's and St. Nicks.
Back in Japan
In the fall of 2005, Kotringo began to make music compositions and demo tapes at home. The following March, a composition she sent to Ryuichi SakamotoRyuichi Sakamoto
After working as a session musician with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi in 1977, the trio formed the internationally successful electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1978. Known for their seminal influence on electronic music, the group helped pioneer electronic genres such as...
's "Radio Sakamoto" Audition Corder (broadcast on J-WAVE, a Tokyo-based FM station covering the Kanto Region) caught Sakamoto's attention. Later, a second single she submitted to the program, "Nichiyo Machi" (Waiting for a Sunday) was broadcast on air. These events lead her to participation in the LOHAS Classical Concert in Kyoto produced by Ryuichi Sakamoto in June, 2006.
Recording career
In November of the same year, she made her debut with the release of her first single, the Ryuichi Sakamoto produced "Konnichiwa, Mata Ashita", a tie-in song for the Gekkeikan company's "Tsuki" commercial. Sakamoto was impressed by the multitude of Kotringo's talents: the originality of composition, the superb performance on piano, her pure and virginal singing voice crossed with sounds of electronica, all combined to give the effect of visual imagery coming to life from actual pages of a musical score... just like looking at a picture book.Since 2007 she has produced six albums. The latest album– picnic album 2 – is a cover album of western pop, featuring melodies from Rolling Stones, Petula Clark
Petula Clark
Petula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...
, Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
and others. The trick & tweet album from 2009 featured, as a bonus track, Kodomo no sekai (こどものせかい; Children's World) the ending theme song to the 2009 animated movie Mai Mai Miracle
Mai Mai Miracle
is a Japanese animated film based on Nobuko Takagi's novelization of her autobiography, Maimai Shinko. It was produced by the animation studio Madhouse, distributed by Shochiku, and directed by Sunao Katabuchi....
.
About the name
The name “Kotringo” is a combination of sounds taken from the Japanese words for small birds (kotori) and apple (ringo). The name comes from the fact that Kotringo had always kept a pet bird since childhood, and because she used to eat an apple every day. The computer she uses in composing music has a related brand name.Albums
- [2007.06.27] Songs in the Birdcage
- [2008.01.23] nemurugirl (mini-album)
- [2008.09.10] Sweet Nest
- [2009.09.16] trick & tweet
- [2010.09.22] picnic album 1
- [2011.01.19] picnic album 2
Singles
- [2006.11.29] Konnichiwa Mata Ashita (こんにちは またあした; Hello, See you Again Tomorrow)
- [2007.02.28] Nichiyo Machi (にちよ待ち; Waiting for a Sunday)