Photo: Dom Delfino
Arankai has released his second album, The Shape of Blue, and marks the occasion with the arrival of its title track as a brand new single. The rising rocker has steadily climbed to viral popularity through his unique, emotion-packed tracks and fan-favourite social videos. Now he steps into a new era with his best-crafted music yet, and yes, there are endless heavy breakdowns (as per usual).
“The Shape of Blue, like its predecessor A Portrait of Red, covers a range of human experiences: rebellion, pride,sacrifice, to name a few that stick out. I tend to draw from personal experiences, but with this particular record I found myself writing songs that reflected specific situations involving other people; sometimes I wasn’t even a part of those situations, it was just a powerful moment I found inspiring.
I really wanted this record to be something special. I did a lot of things I haven’t done before, wrote songs in styles that were new to me; I really wanted to give people a new, exciting experience. I believe 'The Shape of Blue', as an album, is a strong, emotive piece. And I hope people enjoy it as much as I loved making it.”
Arankai is built on instinct, exploration and authentic expression: the impulse to surprise himself first, then to pull listeners into music that feels volatile, vulnerable and alive.
The most important question Oscar Porter asks himself about every composition is this: does it surprise? The Midwestern vocalist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who started Arankai as a uniquely personal creative outlet remains committed to this pursuit of kinetic renewal and vitality.
That pursuit has shaped Arankai from its earliest outbursts shared among friends and fans into one of heavy music’s fastest rising artists. The sound makes room for towering melodies, crushing riffs, industrial textures, electronic flourishes and emotionally unflinching vulnerability without treating any boundary as fixed.
Every decision serves the song. Every song serves the story. “I don’t want to be bored when I listen to music,” he says.“Serve it to me in a way that I haven’t heard before.”
Early on, Arankai built a community of like-minded listeners through a string of self-releases that spread organically on social media. Songs like 'A GOOD DAY TO D13,' 'Hangman,' 'Contortionist' and 'Dead Throne' resonated deeply,surprising Porter. “It clicked. It worked,” he recalls. “I was like, ‘Holy shit. Maybe I can do this.’” The response transformed what had begun as a personal outlet into a rapidly growing movement and led to a partnership with Hopeless Records.
That tension between private release and public connection now defines Arankai’s next phase: music that keeps expanding in scale without sanding down the volatility that drew people in first.
A first headline tour confirmed that Arankai’s connection with its audience extended far beyond TikTok and phone screens. “The first sellout hit, then the second, then the third,” Porter says. “By the end, over 80 percent of my first headline tour was sold out, and we were upgrading rooms just to accommodate people. It was like, ‘Okay... maybe this is real. Maybe this is something special.’”
'A Portrait of Red' was the first album in a planned trilogy, exploring betrayal, identity, self-destruction and resilience through songs that balanced towering hooks with disarming vulnerability and unrelenting heaviness.
Arankai’s story continues with 'The Shape of Blue', where diverse anthems like 'Choke,' 'I Hope It Hurts' and 'Convince Me' expand the world first established on 'A Portrait of Red' with unapologetic attitude, intensity and energy.
“I knew I needed something different,” he explains. “Something raw and visceral that sounded like the lyrics I was writing.” Porter turned to foundational trailblazing albums by ’90s and 2000s heavy artists like Deftones, Korn and Sevendust, using that influence as a spark for a singular statement that feels both familiar and entirely his own.
“Part of me is convinced I’m living in a fever dream,” confesses Porter, who keeps faith central to his worldview and artistic output. “There’s no way this just happened. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. I thought we’d show up somewhere and there’d be ten people there who hated us.”
The journey that began as a deeply personal creative outlet has become something vitally important and shared, and 'The Shape of Blue' is only the next chapter. Porter is determined to challenge himself emotionally, spiritually and musically, as Arankai grows alongside the audience that discovered it, one unforgettable new song at a time.
FORTHCOMING UK DATES:
JANUARY 2027 (w/ Melrose Avenue)
27: DUBLIN Academy
28: BELFAST Limelight 2
30: GLASGOW The Garage
31: LEEDS The Key Club
FEBRUARY 2027 (w/ Melrose Avenue)
01: MANCHESTER Club Academy
03: BIRMINGHAM O2 Institute 2
04: LONDON Electric Ballroom
