Ayakara – Caroline's Summer Nights (Track Premiere)

Ayakara are five school friends from Leith – Max, Callum, Felix, Alex and Jonnie – who have been making their mark with energetic, crowd-bouncing live shows for three years now. Their tunes have an old school vibe, and are laced with a good sense of humour; they’re catchy, cheeky and loads of fun. 

Having previously premiered Ayakara's video for Dressed From '67, as well as their Dark Glamour single, the band are back with another slice of upbeat indie-pop, but this time they're approaching it with an air of tragedy. Caroline's Summer Nights, which you can listen to in the Spotify player below, is a story about the death of a friend, and wishing things could just rewind.

Of the single, guitarist Felix Christie tells us: “We were inspired to create a tragic pop song that could live up to the emotional power of Leadbelly, but with a modern punky-melodic sound that makes you want to dance.”

Ayakara play Head for the Hills festival, Ramsbottom, 15-17 Sep, and The Mash House, Edinburgh, 23 Sep with support from The Nickajack Men, The Phantoms, and Mark Sharp. Tickets for that Edinburgh show are available here.