Born 1956. Environmental musician, sound designer, media producer. President of Studio Aeon Inc. Part-time lecturer at the Open University of Japan.
Sound designer known for the ‘wee, wee, wee’ mobile phone earthquake early warning alarm sound, the iD e-money signalling sound and the early music for docomo’s Melody Call. He has also worked on environmental music for the Roppongi Hills Arena, sound environment design and time signal music for the Queen’s Square Yokohama mall, and the Yokohama City Sound Logo. In recent years, Japanese ambient music from the 1980s has attracted international attention and offers for re-releases from the UK, Switzerland, Denmark and other countries. The USA compilation album “Kankyo Ongaku: Japanese Ambient, Environmental & New Age Music 1980–1990,” which includes some of KOKUBO’s music, was nominated for a 2020 Grammy Award (Best Historical Album category). The “Hatsumimi Alarm,” a wake-up alarm that theoretically can wake anyone up comfortably, was produced for a TV program and ranked high on the iTunes download site. featured the ‘Earthquake Early Warning Sound’ on the popular NHK program ‘Chiko chan ni shikarareru!’
Focusing on the power of nature to heal the human mind, she composes relaxation music that gently resonates with the modern mind. In a private studio in Mukawa, Yamanashi Prefecture, which is blessed with nature, he creates music using a microphone he developed called Cyberphonic, which can record three-dimensional sound, with a theoretical background in high-frequency noise, 1/f fluctuation and brain wave measurements, which have a relaxing effect on the brain. In recent years, he has been working not only with sound but also with nature images, and has visited more than 50 countries and regions for recording. 2014 provided the nature sound track ‘Interlude’ for EXILE ATSUSHI’s second solo album ‘Music,’ and the track was included in his third solo album ‘Love Ballade.’ In 2022, his private studio (Sage Studio) was immersed and renewed. The studio is now 7.1.4ch Dolby Atmos-compatible and live streaming is now possible.
While working as a sound designer who ‘designs environments with sound (music)’ for public spaces such as cities, offices and museums, he is also active as an artist who provides healing music for private spaces. In 1999, she launched the ‘Aeon Label’ and has released 23 titles to date. In September 2007, she released her best album Quiet Comfort, the culmination of 20 years of work. In 2009, the 10-title ‘Poetry of the Earth’ series, featuring nature sounds from around the world, was completed. In 2013, Della, a leading seller of relaxation and healing CDs, released “Water Healing,” in 2014 “Healing Forest – Finland (CD+Blu-ray),” which was produced with music and video, and in 2016 “Forest Healing.” In 2016, he released “Forest Healing.”
In recent years, he has also focused on video production as a media producer, working on 360° panoramic films, and in 2014, his “Nature Mandala: World of Harmony” won the Special Jury Prize at the 5th International Science Video Festival’s Short Program Contest. He also leads a music production group called G-rush, which has produced a number of game music works that use sound to create a world view, such as ‘Elemental Monster’ and ‘Tengai Makyou ZIRIA’ (both by Hudson).