Koto is a name used by several artists, including:

1. An italo disco… Read Full Bio ↴Koto is a name used by several artists, including:

1. An italo disco act founded in the 80s.
2. KOTO, a Japanese solo idol who performs with an electropop sound.
3. KOTO (real name: Koto Kate Hachiya), a Japanese singer-songwriter who debuted in 2005 with Universal Music.

1: Koto represents the sound of the early Italo Disco era from the 80s with his melodic synth driven dancetracks. Originally, Koto was a duo of composer Anfrando Maiola and producer, late Stefano Cundari. Due to their record label being purchased by a bigger label (ZYX Music) the rights for the name "Koto" also went to ZYX, which had asked Dutch producer Michiel Van Der Kuy (Laserdance) to work on the Koto project. He has re-recorded some of old Koto hits ("Masterpieces") and some more albums.

He performed several times on the German music show Formel Eins wearing a karate suit (black belt of course) and bouncing in front of his keyboard while playing hits like Jabdah and Visitors.

Later, Anfrando Maiola has won back the rights to the name "Koto" and continues the project, but in different, techno style.

2: Her debut single "KOTOlip" was produced by Sasaki Kissa of new wave / synth punk unit Recoride. She is also the lead singer of the band kotofolic, and a member of シャオチャイポン (Xiao Chai Pon). In addition to music and performance, KOTO owns the clothing brand vanilla bunnies, and the KOTORA record label, a new imprint of Universal Music. KOTO began dancing in elementary school, and entered many contests. In 2011, she became a model for the CHEER brand and slowly began gaining popularity, leading to her debut as an idol in January, 2014. Backed up by popular electronic artists like SAWA and Sasaki Kissa, KOTO is currently renowned for her fast-paced, high-energy sound and her high level of dancing skill, leading to performances in important venues such as Shibuya's WOMB, known internationally as a holy ground for electronic music.

KOTO's first full-length album, "Platonic Planet", was released in 2015 to a very positive reception for an indies idol. Early in the same year she began performing in kotofolic, her band project, which debuted with the song "Fanfare".
She has performed in collaboration with the musician SAWA, who also produced a number of her songs.

In addition to being a dancer in her own right, KOTO has also created choreographies for other artists, including SCRamBLE], 狂い咲けセンターロード, and WEAR.

In 2017, KOTO's unit with Hirano Yuri, Xiao Chai Pon, debuted with a single release. She also launched the crowd-funded clothing brand vanilla bunnies,

In 2018, now aged 20, KOTO released "Bye Bye Teens' Lullaby", her first album to be released through a major record label. Universal Music created the KOTORA sub-label exclusively for KOTO to celebrate her 20th birthday.

KOTO official site: http://www.kotora.tokyo
KOTO official Twitter: @koccyan925

Maiola/Cundari discography: discogs/artist/Koto
Michiel Van Der Kuy discography: discogs/artist/Koto+(2)

3. KOTO is bilingual and released her music in both English and Japanese.