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coba is a Japanese accordionist and composer who studied the instrument in Italy. In 1980 he won first prize at the C.M.A. World Accordion Competition, becoming its first winner from Asia. He joined Björk's world tour from 1995 to 1997.

His recordings move between solo accordion and collaborations. The two albums below show those approaches: one for accordion alone, the other including guest musicians. The Accordion collects his own pieces played on accordion alone. On Samurai Accordion he invited guests including rapper Afro and guitarist Kazumi Watanabe. These albums show both his solo approach, carrying melody and accompaniment himself, and his collaborations across musical styles.