“How Beautiful Life Is”: Haru Nemuri at Elsewhere thoughts
this came from my instagram after the show. again, no good camera, so some photos are from an earlier show.
Haru Nemuri let her emotions take over after she asked herself, “What if I never became a musician?” “What if I wasn’t so outspoken about social issues?” “Would I be happier?”. A list of things that, if done differently, none of us would be standing where we were last night. Nemuri broke down into tears, finished her song, and then said “Thank you for letting me get emotional, the feeling is a positive and a negative, but it makes me feel alive”.
Haru Nemuri at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn, March 4, 2022
And that’s the power of Nemuri’s music. It’s confrontational, she’s a poet, a rapper, and pop singer with a punk rock soul. Her music takes on the weight of the world, protesting capitalism, war, discrimination, and is all about empowerment. Most artists in the genre, especially in Japan, shy away from political statements, so it’s refreshing to hear Nemuri tackle things head-first. Honest about the political climate in the world, she reminded us of our power to change beyond a binary choice every four novembers, a power within us.
When she closed the show, her final song was “Ikiru“, a song that repeats “How beautiful life is!”. It may seem at odds with the anti-establishment sentiment, but finding joy when so much is bleak is in itself an act of resistance. Nemuri said sharing moments like this is what keeps her alive, what gives her joy and what reminds her of how beautiful life can truly be.