 In 2001, Mari
Iijima released an ambitious package of material featuring her artistry.
Her CD of Japanese and English songs, "Right Now," was accompanied
by a poster and a "making of" video. The CD is being sold in the U.S. and
Japan. Iijima also is wrapping up a soundtrack for the old silent film
"Lorna Doone" and has more live performance dates ahead. Yet, "I can not
say my career is blooming. I hope my career will go better than it's going
now." Iijima has no regrets about her decision to move from Japan to the
U.S. and live in California, saying she wanted a chance to compete with
the American musicians she admired. When I was in Japan, I listened to
the music and thought `I can beat that.' I've always felt underrated and
that was always a struggle, and when I left Japan I felt I was free of
that and I would compete with the real thing." |
|
 But the U.S.
market tends to support performers with high-profile gimmicks, while "I
don't have a gimmick. I'm a serious musician." The closest Iijima has presented
to a gimmick was when she made a foray into Christian popular music, thinking
that a Japanese woman in that area might draw attention, but nothing came
of it. The music market in the U.S. has evolved over two decades from an
emphasis on the three-minute song to an emphasis on the three-minute music
video. Even country music has moved from a storytelling medium to a video-driven
industry, and it all came from a cable TV network. "I watch MTV with my
sons and it's so difficult for me to find something I like," Iijima said.
"Because of my age it's getting harder to get excited about music." |
 Music remains
a personal expression for Iijima, whose albums usually are filled with
autobiographical songs. "It was always like writing diaries every day,"
she said. "If I saw something, I wrote a song about it." That habit of
composition made writing the Lorna Doone soundtrack a new challenge for
Iijima, because she had to compose music for a movie, someone else's experience,
rather than her own. And while the lyrics of Iijima's songs tell the story
of her life, the movie soundtrack is for string quartet with no vocals,
so the music must carry the emotions that Iijima's words always express. |
