Jerusalem-born, now Bristol-based, the artist known as Tlya X An is a strange tangle of influences. Hyper-pop, dance, RnB and trap are all drawn into her sphere, then reassembled as something wholly original. An electronics maestro lurks in the background, hidden behind a balaclava and makes for an arresting sight, and when coupled with the slightly strange, off-kilter nature of tracks such as Daddy and Holy J you have an arresting (though not unpleasant) experience. All the songs Tlya X An performs are self-penned, and they have a certain something that could easily crossover and bring mainstream success. Making good use of musical dynamics, lithe, ethereal vocals are tethered by ground-shaking beats and it’s an interesting dichotomy, and one that holds the crowd’s attention over 40 sumptuous minutes.
Drawing equally from post-hardcore legends Fugazi, and avant-garde musician Susumu Hirasawa, Yokohama native Haru Nemuri is another artist who defies easy categorisation. A mass of contradictions, Haru walks a fine line between nihilism and hope, life and death, and creation and deconstruction. Yet, it is these juxtapositions that makes Haru so relatable; as human beings we are contrary, with our thoughts and feelings pinged around a prism that fractures them in every direction, and it is almost as if we see part of ourselves in Haru’s songs. It is obviously a popular approach because it’s standing room only as the assembled crowd electrify the air with their excited chatter, and this only heightens the air of expectation. When Haru does take to the stage she is a force of nature, swirling and twirling like a raging tornado. Kick in the World (déconstructed) is the opening number which is introduced with some quick-fire rap before a transmogrification occurs and Haru unleashes what can only be described as black metal growls. There are some technical issues after this song, but this allows Haru to deliver a lengthy monologue and it creates a rapport with the crowd, and one that echoes throughout the whole show.
Haru Nemuri is the kind of artist who demands your full attention, and woe betide anyone who is not fully present because she stage dives at the end of a wonderful sweary Who the fuck Is burning the forest? and then invades the crowd to sing from the floor during a ferocious narashite. It is a full-on performance that befits intense music and the two combine to create a kind of sensory overload with the music, and Haru’s spasmodic stage moves, attacking us from all directions, and with athletic fitness she rarely lets up over the course of 90-minutes. However, at the show’s finale the crowd chant for “one more song” and Haru is only happy to oblige, not with one, but two and a sweat-soaked Ikiru ensures tonight won’t be forgotten in a hurry.
For an artist whose intent on making the sounds within her head three-dimensional and live and breathe in the world, this show let’s us see the inner workings of a unique artist.
Haru Nemuri Setlist:
1. Kick in the World (déconstructed)
2. Shunrai
3. Who the fuck is burning the forest?
4. narashite
5. Sekai wo Torikaeshite Okure
6. zzz pt.i
7. I Refuse
8. Never Let You Go
9. Riot
10. iconostasis
11. Destruction Sisters
12. Shunka RyougenEncores:
13. MAKE MORE NOISE OF YOU
14. Ikiru
