Today we’d like to introduce you to Marika Takeuchi.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I was born and raised in Tokyo and moved to the U.S 10 years ago. I started piano when I was three, and I played a few other instruments including violin, french horn and Japanese drum (Taiko) at my early ages. I fell in love with writing and producing music when I was 19. I was suffering from severe depression back then, and writing music was the only way to heal myself. I didn’t really have friends to form a band or ensemble, so when I discovered that I could turn my small musical ideas into whole new songs all by myself with music technology, I was totally intrigued.
I overcame depression through writing music, and that’s how I decided to become a professional composer. I studied composition/music production at a music college in Tokyo, then went to Berklee college of music to study Film Scoring. I graduated in 2012, and since then I’ve released five albums of my modern-classical music and scored short films, advertisements and video games. I enjoy both being an artist and a commercial composer.
Please tell us about your art.
I write piano music and modern-classical music where I combine classical and electronic music. Depression and loneliness are always big themes for my music. Because no matter how happy we may seem from outside, we all have shadows in our hearts. So I write music hoping to heal people who are having a hard time and inspire people to accept our imperfections. Or sometimes I just write because I have no other way to deal with my emotions. So my music is sort of like my diary.
I get lots of inspirations through traveling, films, arts, photography, and life itself.
I do all the writing and production at my home studio, using sample libraries and all the music technology, as well as acoustic instruments such as piano, violin and guitar (Just to be specific, I use violin when I’m writing to create effects/interesting sounds and better phrases, and usually have actual violinists play the melodies on my albums. For the rest of the instruments, I play them myself.).
Given everything that is going on in the world today, do you think the role of artists has changed? How do local, national or international events and issues affect your art?
Arts are even more important today, with the world being more divided. Arts are our common languages that everyone can appreciate, no matter where we’re from, where we are, and what backgrounds we have. Being a musician/artist gives me many wonderful opportunities to connect with people around the world, and makes me realize how powerful art/music can be. Both national and international events certainly have affected me to write more music about unity and acceptance, and I believe that we as artists should keep delivering such messages through our arts.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
My music is available on all the major music services, including Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Amazon, etc… Stream or download my songs would be very much appreciated. Physical CDs and sheet music are available on my website, www.marika-takeuchi.com.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.marika-takeuchi.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marika_takeuchi/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarikaTakeuchiMusic
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0lsDi98XEKVkgN2kdZWBHT
Image Credit:
Ebru Yildiz, Charlie Chalkin, Yusuke Suzuki
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