Arkayla are cemented as one to watch, selling out live shows, and releasing brooding, intense and glittered singles, whilst becoming flag bearers for a new generation of talent from their Manchester home town. Tastemaker support seems to fall at their feet, iTunes Alt Charts, BBC Radio 6, Radio X and XS Manchester have all lauded the four-piece, helping them to secure performances at Band on the Wall, the Troubadour and the Isle of Wight Festival.
With their new single ‘Lost In A Valentine’, Arkayla again shows why they’ve been tagged as leaders of the next generation for Manchester’s alternative scene. Its roots as an acoustic ballad make themselves known in the early moments, though the fast-paced electric takeover morphs a sentimental moment into a trademark Arkayla pure-indie energiser.
The nostalgic rhythms paired with moments of unadulterated incessant punch share a spark in the music, the twinkle in Arkayla‘s eye that makes their sound as charming as it is. Bounding through intricate but raw layers of electric guitars, the instruments, not least the hammering bass line, become the perfect backdrop to the enticing performative nature of the vocals, the sound daring you to come closer, to be absorbed by the spirit.
“The initial idea we had for Lost In A Valentine was a proper tender acoustic ballad,” Arkayla guitarist, Fin, shares. “We weren’t really sure where to go with it until we came up with the bassline, which instantly gave it that fiery energy you find across a lot of our music. It’s an ode to love, escapism and the self-loathing a lot of people feel about their hometowns.”
