BimBamBoom's fourth album "PILI PILI" was released on January 11th 2023, featuring a lead track called "THE WOMAN". It’s the first song I both composed and wrote the lyrics for in this band.
Some might wonder why I would choose a song title that emphasizes gender in this day and age, even using a specifier, "THE".
I expected some criticism or disapproval, but decided to use this title anyway.
I also challenged myself to direct the music video for this song, which was another first for me, but I had a good reason.
Over the course of 2022, BimBamBoom released a total of 9 music videos, that were all directed, filmed, and edited by our guitarist, Aiko, who suddenly left the band at a completely unexpected time! (lol)
Put simply, Aiko said: “I don’t want to direct the next music video.”*1 which was for "THE WOMAN."
((Thinking back, the band had been relying on her too much, and it was time for others to step up and take on new responsibilities, honestly.))
So, we were left with the question; what to do about the music video?
Not having a video wouldn’t kill the song, but I wanted to try making one. To see if I could.
What about the direction?
The other members agreed there should be a video, but as the composer, wouldn’t I have a clearer vision of what the video should look like?
(Or maybe the nuance was they just wanted to leave it up to me? lol)
Honestely, that’s how it felt, but I think that’s how it was supposed to be.
So, long story short…
It felt like going through the turnstile for a train bound toward an unknown destination without knowing if there would be seats or straps to hold onto.
I had no idea how to piece together the images in my head.
The saving grace was that Aiko, despite having said *1, agreed to be the train conductor and guarantee the editing of the video.
That’s how I came to be a first-time director.
and....