Arkayla are in work mode, the kind that comes with amps humming, cables everywhere, and a big night circled in the diary. “We’re in the rehearsal room getting everything sorted for our sold-out headline show at Manchester Academy 2,” says Fin, lead guitarist and occasional singer, speaking from the thick of it. It’s exactly where the band need to be right now: mid-prep and fully locked in.

At the centre of Arkayla is a group dynamic that thrives on difference. “I’m Fin on lead guitar, and I sing a bit, Cal is our frontman and singer, Dylan’s on drums, and Joe’s on bass,” he says. “Four very, very different brains that somehow cohesively work together.” That clash of personalities and tastes isn’t smoothed over; it’s the engine. Every song is a negotiation, and that’s exactly how they like it.

Their surroundings played a big role in shaping that instinct. “The Northern Quarter and town in general played a huge part for us,” Fin says. “Me and Cal used to spend hours in the record shops trying to find Beatles 7".” It wasn’t just about records though. “Being surrounded by iconic venues and just the characters you meet everywhere is enough material for five albums.” The city gave them reference points, stories, and a sense that guitar music still mattered.

There was a clear moment where things stopped feeling like experiments and started sounding like Arkayla. “Probably 'Falling Down',” Fin says, without hesitation. “It was the moment where the Strokes-y guitars and that sort of Smiths melancholy properly collided.” More importantly, it felt owned. “It felt like the first time we’d distilled all our influences into something that sounded unquestionably like us.”

That confidence carries straight into their new EP ‘DON’T LOOK FOR ANSWERS’, which was shaped less by long-term planning and more by pure energy. “It came from us just trying to make our live set as exciting as possible,” he explains. “We used to write acoustically, whereas these were the first songs we wrote all together in the rehearsal room.” The mindset was simple, almost stubbornly so. “It’s about not taking your medication, taking life as it comes and not thinking too hard about the future. ‘Live in the moment’ type shit.”

There’s a clear test for whether a song makes the cut. “If there aren’t loud guitars with harmonies weaving in and out, it usually doesn’t feel like Arkayla yet,” Fin says. “There’s always that moment where the melody, the energy, and the tension lock in together; that’s when we know we’re onto something.” It’s less about perfection and more about feel, that second when everyone in the room knows it’s working.

Not everything is quite so poetic, though. Take ‘Waste of Time’, a song about lateness that hits close to home. Asked who the biggest offender is, Fin doesn’t hesitate. “Easily Joe, our bassist and resident latecomer.” There is, apparently, a pattern. “To be fair to him, he’s working on it, but he always seems to be waiting for a bus that never actually arrives.”

As the rooms have got bigger and the numbers have climbed, the band have tried not to lose sight of what actually matters. “The songs, first and foremost,” Fin says. “Cal’s voice carries a lot of emotion, and the lyrics come from a very real place, so people seem to latch onto that honesty.” That balance between comfort and surprise keeps coming up. “People are always saying it feels familiar but fresh at the same time.”

Some moments still catch them off guard. “Opening for The Royston Club at Manchester Academy,” he says. “We walked out, and the crowd just erupted.” It’s the kind of thing you replay in your head afterwards. “Hearing people scream our lyrics back at us in a room that size was one of those moments you dream about as a kid.”

Spending that much time together has also made one thing very clear. “Every song is basically four different music tastes colliding until we find the sweet spot,” Fin says. “We all come from different angles, and those arguments or debates actually end up making the tracks better. The compromise is the sound.” It’s not always calm, but it’s productive.

Outside the band, their lives are as mismatched as their influences. Fin is “obsessed with 5-a-side football” and plays “four times a week”. Cal, meanwhile, has “recently taken to being moody and swimming in murky pools of water”, though he balances that out with running. Joe “can usually be found in the pub”. Dylan, on the other hand, remains unpredictable. “He’s sort of a wildcard; it feels like he spends his time learning a new 10-minute joke to tell us.”

Looking ahead, there’s no attempt to play things down. “Massive,” Fin says, when asked about the scale of his 2026 plans. “We’re heading out on a European tour supporting Blossoms, then we’ve got our own sold-out UK headline tour in May.” And that’s not all. “Plus a stack of new music we’re already working on. Next year is shaping up to be the biggest yet.”

Longer term, the ambition stays grounded. “Still doing what we’re doing but on a much bigger scale,” he says of his 5-year plan. “Writing better songs, playing to bigger crowds, and making music that actually means something to people.” There’s also a personal footnote. “And I’d personally be in the Caribbean somewhere.”

As for any final message, Arkayla keep it simple. “Don’t look for answers,” Fin says. “Just listen to the music.”

Taken from the February 2026 issue of Dork. Arkayla’s EP ‘DON’T LOOK FOR ANSWERS’ is out now.