The woman with a purple wig is me. To protect myself from the violence against Asian women, I had to hide my identity, wearing a wig, mask, and sunglasses. In the beginning, I was filled with fear. Writing this song helped me to regain my emotional balance.
I also felt I had to speak out about racial violence against all groups of people. We all need to stand up and work together for peace and understanding. This is why I wrote lyrics for “Colors are Beautiful.”
These songs are not about anger. I wrote them to encourage everyone, including myself, to see the world in a more positive way.
Originally, I assumed that another vocalist would sing these songs. But when I played my simple demos for my friend and mentor, William Parker, he said: “Eri, it’s your story. It will be more powerful if you sing yourself.”
I wrote “Ends to Start” because during the pandemic many things came to an end. But endings are not always completely sad, as sometimes they can give opportunities for new, good things to start.
Eri Yamamoto, piano, voice
David Ambrosio, bass
Ikuo Takeuchi, drums
