FRIENDS FROM MOON – to release new EP
- Posted on 21-10-2024
“Friends from Moon” is a one-man band helmed by an Indian musician, Ritwik Shivam. It acts as an outlet for blatant expression of every human emotion and the intention with this is to share his best musical experiences which have been inspired from the world of music, art and literature. A few prominent styles that can be heard in his music are Progressive & Alternative Metal, Hard & Alternative Rock, Electronica, Industrial and Orchestral Music.
Ritwik is back with his second EP “The End” about which he says “It’s based in a futuristic world with a combination of low life and high tech. When you listen to the overly synthesized production and the digital soundscapes you’ll notice that they serve as characteristics associated with a cataclysmic decline in this society and a requiem for the lost utopia.
The EP is set to be released October 25th.
One day while revisiting a lot of these sci-fi dystopian movies like Maze Runner, Blade Runner, Dune, etc.,I got really fascinated by the idea of a high tech society with a tyrannical government and a social divide. All these pieces of ideas were aligning with a really dystopian and cyberpunk aesthetic. It was then that I decided to carve that aesthetic into a story and come up with my own lyrical and musical themes to identify with that landscape or atmosphere.”
Track Breakdown :
Beginning with “The Circle Completes”, it is like a rendezvous with birth and death where the sweet synths are the embodiment of the innocence of childhood and the dark textures are the embodiment of what went wrong with everything which gives birth to the narrator’s desire to see everything end. The soundscape embodies the idea of a doomsday.
Musically, this track goes in many different directions from electronica to techno to industrial to metal.The aim with this was to develop a sonic palette with bittersweet loops and samples that remind people of something blissful yet hostile.
“Castaway” unfolds from a state of despondence and despair to a state of uprising against a tyrannical organization which has complete control over the people and society. The protagonist refers to himself and his likes as castaways which means the people who’ve been isolated and left in a state of collapse by a tyrannical megacorporation. The instrumentation is heavily layered and textured with the combination of low-tuned gritty guitars, techno rhythms, loop-based synths, dark ambience and soaring vocals.
The way events unfold in “The Waiting Time” gives away the sense of impending doom or a catastrophe about to hit humanity. But another underlying theme in this track is that of unfaithfulness. There’s a sarcastic tone in the verses where the protagonist is slyly indicating his knowledge about this deception by his lover. Being the heaviest of all, this track also features ‘Pritam Adhikary’, the vocalist of “Aarlon” and a frequent collaborator.
Personnel:
Featuring Vocals on “The Waiting Time” – Pritam Goswami Adhikary (Aarlon)
Featuring Vocals on “Castaway” – Pranay Gupta
Resampled Vocals on “The Circle Completes” – Aaina Padiath
Lyrics/Composition/Performance/Programming/Production/Mix/Master – Ritwik Shivam (Friends from Moon)
Artworks – Paul David