MORRIE the UNIVERSE “SOLITUDE” Season 7 Episode 48 at YOKOHAMA O-SITE

MORRIE’s SOLITUDE concert series has entered its 7th season. During the progress of his musical journey, he has even held SOLITUDE shows in New York City. Much to the fans’ surprise, MORRIE recently announced a special US show with Kiyoharu titled MORRIE’s Solitude & KIYOHARU’s Elegy in New York. It will be held at Joe’s Pub in New York City on August 16th, and tickets are available here.

Episode 48: The Game Of Reincarnation took place on May 18th. Clad in all black, MORRIE walked onto the stage with his acoustic guitar. He started the show by playing his new song Yomi Kara. With beautiful guitar sounds and his rich voice, he drew a soundscape of the journey through the shining wilderness beyond the boundary of death and the underworld. “I will bring you back,” he sang while the stage lights lit him from behind. Later, accompanied by the gentle strumming sounds of his guitar, he started to sing Kage. The fans enjoyed the depth and mellowness of his musicianship as they listened to the older song about a search for the whereabouts of being.

During the show, he spoke about his journey to a pyramid in Egypt. “What I am interested in is something eternal and unchanging, beyond time and space. There is amazement when I think of being. Amazement is interesting because it is spontaneous. Please go beyond amazement by yourself,” he said.

“Speaking of reincarnation,” he continued, “whether in reincarnation or in remembrance of a previous life, there is always this ‘I’ in ‘here’ at ‘this moment in time’. Why is that? That is the point. Does it make sense to you a bit?” he said. Later, he covered Sai Yoshiko’s Kaasama no Uta, and it seemed to musically convey what he was talking about before the song.

After adjusting the headstocks of his electric guitar, he continued the show by playing Yume Utsutsu. He sang of a man who suddenly woke up and found himself transformed into a butterfly, before waking up again to find himself as a man sleeping next to his partner. “You can’t tell which one is actually his dream, but either way, ‘I’ in ‘here’ at ‘this moment’ is always present,” he said after the song. Then, he mentioned “the World Spirit” by Ludwig Wittgenstein. “The World Spirit is the only reality that exists. The being will never cease to exist once it comes into existence. This is not science. I hope humanity uses more of its time and energy to solve this kind of mystery together,” he said. MORRIE also mentioned that he has already written his will, considering his age.

“I enjoy May. The sunlight is very beautiful, and you can feel the energy of life in the air. It might be good to have a SOLITUDE show on a mountain. Sakito and SUGIZO recommended a hot spring. An Egyptian pyramid would be great. I will play a dark song next,” he spoke in a relaxed mood before Haru. With his hauntingly glamorous voice and intoxicating falsetto, he sang of sweet death in a field of poppies. Relentlessly stroking his guitar, he transitioned into the next song, Atowa Notonare Yamatonare. “Till there is nothing,” he said, the sound of his voice embodying a feeling of transcendence. “It was ironic back in the day, but not anymore,” he said after the song.

“By the way, have you been to Hakone? The next song, Phantom Lake, is about a dragon who was confined deep in Ashinoko Lake,” he described the tale of the dragon of Kuzuryu Shrine in Hakone. “The mystery of the being keeps deepening, but traveling may give me a hint,” he said. Dynamically modulating the strength of his guitar sounds, he sang of the unknown realm beyond death and nothingness.

“I hope I get to have SOLITUDE shows in Europe as well,” MORRIE said during the encore. “I know I have to prepare myself for death. A mysterious power will bring death to me. I would like to know what will be there after,” he said. With his guitar strokes, powerful voice projection and occasional use of falsetto, MORRIE sang of the infinite journey through the shining wilderness of Japanese pampas grass under the crescent moon. “Thank you for coming today,” MORRIE bade the fans farewell and left the stage as their applause filled the venue.

Set list

01. Yomi Kara (From Hades)
02. Falling
03. Kage (Shadow)
04. Go Under
05. Killing Me Beautiful
06. Kaasama no Uta (The Mother Song)
07. Sleep in The Sky
08. Yume Utsutsu (Dream/Reality)
09. Chinmoku no Himitsu (Secret of Silence)
10. Disquieting Muse
11. Haru (Spring)
12. Atowa Notonare Yamatonare (After Me The Deluge)
13. Phantom Lake

Encore

14. Hikaru Koya (The Shining Wilderness)