Name: Cokiyu

Where She’s From: Ehime, Japan

When She Started: 2002

Genre: Ambient electro-pop

Most Similar: MMOTHS, Grimes

Sounds Like: Sugar, spice and everything nice

Her music might make you happy, but Japanese electronica pop songstress Cokiyu isn’t full of fluff. The Kunitachi College of Music graduate earned her Master’s Degree in musicology study where she learned how to fine-tune her falsetto and play woodwind and percussion instruments – all elements heard throughout her budding discography and various collaborations. Whether she’s singing along to a flurry of digital, strategically placed bleeps and blips on “Stagnancy” or melting in the midst of hushed, lullaby-like chimes in “Haku,” Cokiyu’s delicate voice is carefully, delightfully consistent.

Among the things Cokiyu learned at school was the importance of teamwork. Over the years, she’s worked with Natalia Lafourcade, Dot Alison and Shugo Tokumaru. One recent  standout is “Twinkle Way” with LA’s Baths – a tangled web of echoes, simple digital elements and stretched notes that rival your favorite operatic divas.

–Words by Khalea Underwood