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In the month since this page last encountered singer and songwriter
Mari Iijima at Project: A-Kon, she finished her new music album. Iijima
said that she completed production on the album, to be titled "No Limit,"
a few days before she traveled from her Los Angeles home to Baltimore for
Otakon. Iijima brought a disc with highlights from the album and played
one track at an Otakon panel. She expected to have the album on sale in
two weeks at Anime Expo. |
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1999 is a year of changes for Iijima, and the album is a sign of those
changes - and her determination to succeed. She started the year with a
contract with a Japanese record company, but that company chose not to
renew the contract after 13 years. "At first I was depressed, but then
I thought, `This is my chance. I'm independent now,'" Iijima said. Calling
upon her friends in the L.A. recording industry, with whom she has worked
during the decade she has lived in California, Iijima created the album
in two months' time. |
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"No Limits" will contain a mixture of the new and the old for Iijima.
Seven tracks will be new versions of previously released sings as heard
on her Japanese albums, but with English-language lyrics this time. Three
songs will be new, also in English. All of the lyrics were written by Iijima,
who said "Writing the lyrics was the hardest part for me." The cadences
of Japanese, Iijima's native language, and English are different enough
that it took considerable work (and assistance from collaborator James
Studer) to work out the words. Iijima wants very, very badly for "No Limits"
to be a success so she can fulfill her dream of breaking into the American
music market as a star. |
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Ironically, Iijima said she's really not an anime fan any more, but
she does see shows on the Cartoon Network when her sons are watching that
cable channel. Dexter's Laboratory is among her favorites. |
