Turning Idol culture on its head: Haru Nemuri x RAY – Attack from Livehouse, June 5, 2025.
In Japan’s highly produced Idol musical culture, RAY and Haru Nemuri stand out as outliers.
RAY are shoegaze idols. Yeah, that’s a thing – and it’s not something even I would have expected. But even their official description includes the grittiness to their sound. Heck, most of their merch just says “SHOEGAZE” with no reference to RAY themselves. And while yes, they sing to a backing track, and do a lot of what typical idols do, there’s legit creative cred here. They’ve collaborated with so many giants of the scene, including members of Cryuff In The Bedroom, For Tracy Hyde, and Ringo Deathstarr. Also, seeing them dance to this intense music for an hour was incredible – endless motion that in my opinion, was more impressive than the athletics I saw at the Kyocera dome a night earlier for an Orix Buffaloes game. And that’s part of what makes RAY so fascinating, the women are so talented, they can bring whatever vision to light for RAY.
If you ever want to see what RAY truly are about, there’s an incredible video on YouTube of them performing “Sea of Tranquility”, which may be one of my favorite pieces of art I’ve ever seen. And it truly is art. It’s something that challenged all my preconceived bullshit about what idols could be.
Haru Nemuri is a true anti-idol, a punk rock soul who wears her opinions loud and proud. The last time I saw her in Brooklyn, she reflected on how difficult things are, thought if being less empathetic would have made her a happier person, broke down into tears and exclaimed that moments like that one show it’s all worth it.
The communal experience, the loud, bombastic, intense release of pent up energy and frustration, with life, with the systems that dictate so much. She’s so vocal about these issues, from Gaza, to being a true anarchist and feminist. It makes you realize you are not alone when within systems that reinforce and reward conformity and pacifism.
Nemuri, in my opinion, is one of her generation’s greatest artists, she keeps pushing boundaries, musically, visually, lyrically, and redefines herself and her art with each release, show, etc. On stage, it’s magnified, hundreds of times over. Whether it’s Brooklyn, or Shinjuku, she’s a human whirlwind. Spinning, running, fist pumping on stage, choreographed moments, and stuff on the fly. Jumping from the stage and singing in the crowd. Her music bridges the gap between so many people, and it could easily be seen in the diverse crowd screaming along to her songs, many of whom were from overseas.
And as stated earlier, RAY is collaborative at its core, and Nemuri has been part of that universe, too. Nemuri has worked with RAY’s Yua Uchiyama, and they performed together last night. Then Nemuri brought the three RAY members out for one last song, an explosive rendition of “Shunrai”. A fitting closer for a really special, special show.
I also want to take a moment to shout out RAY for their progressive policy compared to many other Japanese groups. RAY just recently allowed video to be taken of their performances, and did so while their director explicitly stated they saw overseas fans wanting to take a souvenir home, in the form of a short video on Insta/etc. Instead of alienating either the increasing foreign fanbase by doubling-down on the no-video policy, or frustrating long-time fans based in Japan by holding them to a different standard, they looked at the policy and realized the power of the communal experience, even through a screen. RAY are a group that truly NEEDS to be seen – like I said, an hour of constant motion to some intense, oftentimes droning music. It’s striking to see if you’re in the right circles, a Shoegaze or alt-rock fan, or even an Idol fan. It’s something that many people in all those worlds may not know exists – and to see it, in full motion, even in a 15 second Insta story, is enough to steal someone’s attention, and totally challenge anyone’s opinions on the genre. So yeah, after all that ramble, thank you RAY.
Connect with RAY:
RAY: insta / x / site
Yua Uchiyama: insta / x / tiktok / note (music reviews)
Mao Tsukiumi: insta / x
Mikoto Tsumugi: insta / x / tiktok / blog
Shizuku Kotoyama (was not at this show but has returned to RAY): insta / x / tiktok
Connect with Haru Nemuri:
insta / x / site / facebook / north american tour tickets / patreon