Empathy, community, and creative expression collide with JAGWAR TWIN, the near-supernatural alter-ego of singer, songwriter, producer, and storyteller Roy English. The songs are captivating and confessional in equal measure. JAGWAR TWIN provokes and inspires, adapting to rapidly evolving changes in culture with the speed and agility of the enduring “big cat” of the Americas, the jaguar. [...] Read More
English dissolves the imaginary barriers between artist and audience. As American Songwriter observed, “Jagwar Twin’s sound is built around the individual expression of universal experience.”
This attitude and ethos inform everything on Jagwar Twin’s ambitious sophomore album, 33. Otherworldly garage-rock guitars, grimy breakbeats, and vivid poetry combine with electro-pop flourish and soulful R&B into a unique style that’s broadly “alternative” and definitively Jagwar Twin.
The arrival of 33, produced by Matthew Pauling (Twenty One Pilots, 5 Seconds Of Summer) and mixed by Jeff Ellis (Grandson, Frank Ocean, Doja Cat), coincides with the launch of the Jagwar Twin digital universe Hall of Mirrors. The culmination of a months-long Web3 campaign, it’s an immersive Web3 environment beaming with wonder and possibility, that rethinks the artist-fan equation. Driven by songs like “Happy Face”, “It’s Your Time,” “Soul is a Star,” “Down to You,” and “The Circle,” English channels the iconic showmanship of Ziggy Stardust-era David Bowie and Bad-era Michael Jackson throughout the album.
“My hope is that the stories on 33 will show the listener to the listener,” English says. “It’s about showing possibilities beyond the grid we’re living in; how a 33-year-old failed influencer finally found their voice in this digital-first world. I want to make music that makes me want to dance, too.”
English grew up with parents who encouraged a love of music. “My mom would sing Joni Mitchell to me a lot. She played a lot of music around the house, including Celtic and African music,” he explains. “She would point out the different instruments to me. I knew music could change how I felt and that the storytelling could show me new perspectives, whether it was Tupac or punk rock.”
The possibilities for connectivity and discovery through music next coalesced for English in the underground alt-rock scene, where he cut his teeth as frontman for Eye Alaska. The band released a well-received Billboard Top 40 Heatseekers album with Fearless Records before disbanding.
“All of the seeds of Jagwar Twin were there. I was just playing around it,” English reasons. “Getting signed right after high school, sleeping in a van with eight dudes in a Walmart parking lot, living on $5 a day. I learned a lot about collaboration and what not to do. I got in my own way a lot. Even if you’re right, you can still be wrong. I learned how important it is to be compassionate and lift up others. When you’re playing to 500 or fewer people, right there and sweaty in the room, it’s about finding that authentic center in yourself and being able to emanate it and translate it.”
Following the breakup of his band, he collaborated as a co-producer, co-songwriter, and feature on a number of successful singles, including Lana Del Rey’s “I Can Fly” and Swedish DJ Alesso’s “Cool.” He also toured with 5 Seconds Of Summer in support of his 2016 self-released solo EP, I’m Not Here Pt. 1. followed by tours with Lovelytheband and sole support for Avril Lavigne before the pandemic.
English traveled to Florence, Italy, Joshua Tree, California, the coast of Ireland, and Haiti, making Jagwar Twin’s debut album. Subject to Flooding arrived in 2018 via Atlantic Records, produced by S1 (Kanye West, Beyoncé, Lorde) and Matthew Pauling (Twenty One Pilots, 5 Seconds Of Summer). Individualism anthem “Loser,” which premiered on The Zane Lowe Show, earned over 17.4 million streams on Spotify. Sports synch icon “Long Time Coming” and “Shine” were similarly transcendent, connecting with diverse listeners worldwide.
Having survived the rollercoaster of the music industry machine, English celebrates the possibilities of helping build the future of the industry through NFTs, and Web3 technology, with cautious optimism to avoid the mistakes of Web 2.0. Each ambitious step, from music NFTs to interactive immersion, pushes the Jagwar Twin mission forward.
2020’s “Happy Face,” released independently in partnership with digital design and experience studio CTHDRL via a trippy award-winning smile-triggered facial recognition experience, leading to an innovative partnership with Big Loud Rock that serves to rethink what modern independence means for artists, has now earned over 66 million streams to date. A Mad Libs-style interactive emoji experience unveiled 2021’s “Down to You,” followed by the trippy cake-fueled experience for “I Like to Party.” All three songs appear on the forthcoming album 33, Jagwar Twin’s inaugural album with Big Loud Rock.
“The song ‘I Like to Party’ is about political division, separation, war, the Pandemic,” English explains. “But the best part about it? When I asked someone once what their favorite part of the song was, they said, ‘I just love partying! I like to party.’ And that’s it. That’s the goal, to have it meet everybody at the exact place that they’re at; there’s no ‘greater’ or ‘lesser’ stage of our development.”
And that small interaction summarizes so much of what Jagwar Twin is all about.
“My favorite thing about songwriting is taking a really intricate, deep concept and making it simple enough for a child to sing along to,” says English. “A kid can sing, ‘hey, put on a happy face.’ And if you look beneath the hood, there’s another layer. It’s just constantly honing that skill. I’m fascinated with mythology. The art for me is to take abstract thoughts and put them into something ‘small.’ that can spark emotions in others.”
Jagwar Twin originated with English’s self-discovery and ventures forward with encouragement to others to do the same work, to emphasize the things that unite us rather than what divides us. The hope is to enter a new era of authenticity, vulnerability, and tranquility and dance all the way there.
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