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Friends from Moon Returns with Punchy New Single ‘Rebellion Road’

The song is the New Delhi musician’s first of 2022

Feb 11, 2022

New Delhi songwriter and musician Ritwik Shivam aka Friends from Moon. Photo: Courtesy of the artist

After teasing his forthcoming eight-track album Astray (out next month) with the singles “Rage On” and the title track as well as an eerie cover of the Beatles’ “Come Together” last year, New Delhi musician Ritwik Shivam aka Friends from Moon is now back with a brand-new single energetic track called “Rebellion Road.” The song will also feature on Astray.

In this interview with Rolling Stone India, the artist talks to us about his latest release, the recording process and what’s in the pipeline.

How did “Rebellion Road” come to be?

I remember it was early 2021, a friend and I were driving through the city in the night while playing some alternative and punk rock in the car. Suddenly a song pops up called ‘Magnificent’ by U2 and there was the eureka moment that paved the way for the intro riff of the song. The illustration of the song is a direct reference to that night, and how in that moment we wanted to live by the idea of being outlaws or delinquents, or the way we wanted to take control of the world around us which is what the politically driven songs of Green Day on the car stereo were telling us to do. So, in a sense, the song’s an ode to the time in our lives when we used to be wild and reckless when the world around us reflected our infectious passion and there was no one who could stop us.

Lyrically, the typical revolutionary appeal in a punk rock song is replaced here by a heavy-handed balladry and immodest self-analysis. It has everything to do with being a misfit and an inhibited person. Sonically, I’d say the roots lie back to my favorite childhood alternative bands.

What was the recording process for this song?

I tend to complete the whole song inside my mind before committing and translating it to a DAW (digital audio workstation). That’s what happened here too. So, the song was complete in my head and then I had to just pick up the instruments and record. This is one of the tracks where I performed everything; guitars, bass, vocals, synths and programming the drums.

So far everything that I’ve written and put out has had its inception and fruition in my bedroom studio. Although there has been a cool label and a few people who were kind enough to extend their helping hand, I, for now, have decided to have all the control of my content whether it be production, recording, mixing or mastering. But I’d like to mention Gaurav Chintamani (of Advaita) who guided me, technically, to master the song.

What’s next for you?

The highlight of the album is the next track called “Marvels Beyond Madness” which comes out exactly on the day the album drops and is also loosely based on H.P. Lovecraft’s short story The Call of Cthulhu. I wanted to write the most evil metal song ever and what I’ve achieved here sonically is no short of that I assure you. It has what every ardent metalhead would want: blast beats, low-tuned guitars, ominous sound design, low growls and soaring clean vocals.

Stream “Rebellion Road” below:

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