In the meantime, Nenerchy has had some time to actually live with her debut album. And if anything, that time has made her appreciate it even more. “I like it more. I like it more every day,” she tells us. There were some initial doubts, particularly about songs that felt different from what she had done before. “I was like, how are people going to react to that.” The response quickly put those worries to rest, though. “Now when people have reacted OK and very good, it’s like, yeah, it’s my album. It’s great. I love it.” That positive reaction has also come from people whose opinions carry particular weight for her. Before the album came out, a Discord pre-listening party brought together DJs and producers connected to producer Riutta, giving Nenerchy the chance to hear what other professionals thought of the record. “I love always hearing feedback from people I look up to,” she says. “They are pros of what they’re doing. So all love there.”

The release show itself became an even bigger emotional milestone. Around 350 people had bought tickets to see Nenerchy and Kirkkovene, and the atmosphere was overwhelming enough for her to break down in tears during the final part of the performance. “It was heartwarming and I kind of cried on stage during the last bits because I was so overwhelmed and I was so happy that all these three hundred and fifty people have bought a ticket just to see me and Kirkkovene,” she recalls. With her mother also there, the whole evening felt less like a conventional gig and more like something shared with a community. “It felt like family.” For Nenerchy, the night was essentially flawless. “The venue, the supporting act, my band, everything, everything was just 10 out of 10.” And then there was the part that perhaps sums up her approach to performing better than anything else: she went into the mosh pit. After stepping onto a monitor on her way there and briefly wondering whether she was actually supposed to be doing that, she decided to worry about the consequences later. “I was like, oh, shit,” she laughs. The reason she does things like that is simple. “I like to, you know, throw a party with the people and not just to perform for the people,” she explains. “Of course, I’m performing, but like I’m partying with you guys.” It is a philosophy that makes the transition to Tuska feel particularly fitting.

Even before her show, the significance of being there was slowly sinking in. “When we were driving here, it was like, oh, my God, it’s happening. It’s happening.” By the time we spoke, the nerves had started giving way to excitement. The technical side was under control, everything had been rehearsed, and Nenerchy had arrived at a very simple conclusion: “I’m going to have fun.” That attitude is perhaps easier to understand when you realise just how quickly this particular dream materialised. In our previous conversation, she had talked about seeing herself playing Tuska perhaps five or six years down the line. Instead, it happened in roughly two. And she has a very personal reminder of just how surreal that is. Nenerchy remembers attending Tuska herself and watching Suicidal Tendencies from the main stage area. When she found out she would be performing at the festival, she spent an hour searching for the picture she had taken that day. Then the connection between those two moments really hit her: “I was there and I’m going to be there.” Her reaction is probably the most fitting summary of the whole story: “Oh, oh, my God, it’s happening. I was there and I’m going to be there. And it’s like, it’s crazy.”

Despite the hectic schedule, the nerves and everything that comes with suddenly finding yourself at milestones you once imagined years away, Nenerchy is trying to stay present. “I’m trying to enjoy it right now. I’m having fun. So that’s the number one thing.”

Of course, that doesn’t mean she’s sitting still. New projects are already taking shape, with Nenerchy writing new songs and Riutta working on new beats. After the intensity of making Prima Bailarina, they deliberately gave themselves some breathing room before getting back into the studio. Now the sleeves are rolled up again, with studio sessions already planned for the weeks following Tuska.

Before that, though, she still had plenty of reasons to enjoy being at the festival as a fan. She’s already caught Lost Society and Gatecreeper, with the latter being a new discovery that immediately won her over. “I was sold. I was sold.” And then there’s Bring Me The Horizon, which she names as her main act of the weekend.

So while Nenerchy‘s own name is now appearing on the same festival bill she once experienced from the audience, she hasn’t lost that sense of excitement that comes with simply being a music fan. The debut album is out, the sold-out release show is behind her, Tuska is no longer a distant goal, and new music is already on the horizon. Yet the philosophy remains remarkably straightforward: “I’m having a party.”

Links