Image provided to THEBIGGERPICTURE by a kid named rufus, taken by @izackyou
Friends, released by Kuala Lumpur-based artist a kid named rufus (FKA RUFUS), is an indie-pop banger about the struggles of adolescence. The 17-year-old artist’s latest single features an catchy melody, backed by a rhythmic drum beat, which accentuates his pure, authentic, raw vocals. “Where are all the people on your phone?”, asks a kid named rufus, decrying the omnipresence of social media in his and his peers’ daily lives, and the way in which one can get sucked into obsessing with likes and followers. The pre-chorus, “I know I’m not a perfect stranger”, draws inspiration from fellow alternative-pop singer Jayde, building up to the chorus, “where did all my best friends go?”, expressing his frustration about the social structure of adolescence, where many of his friends were “sucked into this culture of doing… ‘adult’ things - alcohol, drugs, sex, etc… you get outcasted if you weren’t experimenting with those things too… it was so toxic”. These wise observations by a kid named rufus serve to express the exasperation, the sadness that many teenagers like the artist experience when they find themselves on the outside of these social cliques; and he couldn’t express it in a more beautiful way.
Those lyrics are introspective, and in some ways rather melancholic, but this is juxtaposed against the uplifting production, particularly in between the hook and the bridge, which adds a sense of momentum and pace to the single. A kid named rufus, real name Rufus Sivaroshan, produced it in collaboration with rising US indie-pop artist Noah Taylor; the single itself has already accumulated several thousands of streams across a variety of streaming services and has been recognised by the likes of Indie Nation and Lyrical Lemonade.
Friends is Sivaroshan’s fourth single, following his debut single, Fine, released last March; over minimalist production, he tells the world of his dreams and ambitions, both musically and in other aspects of his life. Useless, which dropped in July, was more of a typical pop song, in which he brought to life a story about a toxic relationship, and proved extremely popular, racking up more than half a million streams on Spotify. Atlantis, his last single, was more melancholic, about heart-break.
All four of his singles perfectly complement each other; with excellent, unique and diverse beats paired with his raw, intimate vocals filled with emotion, love, loss and ambition. A kid named rufus is an artist to watch. It will be interesting to see what he puts out in the future, and he certainly has the potential to achieve mainstream success.
Stream Friends here: Spotify | Soundcloud | YouTube | Apple Music
Follow a kid named rufus on Spotify | Soundcloud | YouTube | Apple Music | Instagram | Twitter