Prior to warming up the crowd at the Thirty Seconds To Mars show in Amsterdam, we had the opportunity and privilege to sit down with Roy English, better known under his artist name Jagwar Twin to ask him a whole range of questions regarding his music, what we can expect and the turmoil that comes with working as a creative in the music industry. Late last year, Jagwar Twin made major waves with the release of the song Bad Feeling (Oompa Loompa), which garnered a lot of new fans and might have played a role in securing a direct support slot on great tours, such as the current one with Thirty Seconds To Mars. Below you will find the discussion we had with the artist. Enjoy!
First and foremost, how are you doing?
Jagwar Twin: I’m doing great, really good. It’s beautiful to be here.
So how have the shows been so far? How has Europe been so far?
Jagwar Twin: Europe is now my favourite place to play. I’ve never toured in Europe before. And now I don’t want to leave. It’s amazing. Crowds are so warm and inviting and the shows have just been magic.
You’ve toured with some fun artists throughout the years. If you had to pick a few that really inspired your live show, which ones would that be?
Jagwar Twin: I’ve learned a ton on this tour with Thirty Seconds To Mars and the way that Jared [Leto] interacts with the crowd and they put on such a great show. I learned a lot from Avril Lavigne too. She’s so great and such an amazing human being. Such an amazing person.
I also learned a lot touring with 5 Seconds of Summer. They put on a great live show. Just hit after hit and they keep the energy up and they’re really great.
We also saw some videos from you guys playing in Ohio with Josh Dun on the drums.
Jagwar Twin: Yes. Twenty One Pilots is one of my favorite bands ever and Josh has been a friend for a very long time. He plays drums on a lot of the Jagwar Twin songs, including Happy Face and Bad Feeling. And he got up in Ohio last year when we came through his town. That was really fun. I love their new album, Clancy. I mean, I think that they’re genius. Everything that they do is so thought out and intentional.
You shared a little bit about the meaning of your artist’s name. Why did you decide on the name with the meaning being the meaning?
Jagwar Twin: That’s a good question. I think it captures a bit of who I am at the core, playing in light and dark. Understanding darkness to understand light, to understand your own light. And I think that the mythology of the twin aspect, the light and the dark, the heart and the mind, play into my own journey as my own human expression. So it resonated.
The duality kind of comes back in the songs and compliments them. If we’re talking about your music, the duality is not the only thing that you mix in there because I can’t give you a genre. How does it work when you’re in the zone, you’re creating a song, is genre even in your mind?
Jagwar Twin: I never thought about genres, even when I was a kid, I never thought about them. I would just feel a feeling or an emotion and it kind of went one genre direction or another or none but it served the story. More recently, and I also don’t know what genre this would be, songs like Happy Face and Bad Feeling and a lot of the new music that’s coming started with me exploring my ancestry. German, Polish, Russian, Slavic, and even some Spanish. With the accordions and the tuba.
Happy Face and Bad Feeling they’ve done really well.
Jagwar Twin: They’ve done well, but you know, it took a long time. I think when something has a little extra mental, it takes longer, you know. I got dropped from a major label with Happy Face. They said the song sucked. I wrote Happy Face, it was maybe 2017 or 18, and I had the song just as you hear it today, with Josh Dun on the drums, and it was too experimental for that time, got dropped from the label, but then it found its way. Bad Feeling was quicker but it still took a couple of years to get seeded into the place and culture, so I think that it’s moving quicker, now, the waves are moving faster. Life is moving faster.
What can fans expect from Jagwar Twin in the coming months?
Jagwar Twin: A lot! A lot new this year.
Unfortunately his answer to the following question was lost due to an audio issue, but when asked about how to balance artistic integrity with the pressures of the music industry, Jagwar Twin mentioned that it is a complex task, and for him, it’s deeply intertwined with his personal journey and beliefs. He mentioned that he experienced the highs and lows of the music world, and they’ve taught him invaluable lessons about staying true to myself. Having to go back to live with his parents has also grounded him. Last year, he moved back with them because music wasn’t paying the bills. It was a tough period, but he found a deeper connection to his art and audience. This experience reinforced his belief that success in music isn’t just about numbers or streams; it’s about the impact of the music itself and the connection it fosters with people. Naturally, the fact that songs like Bad Feeling (Oompa Loompa) and Happy Face are resonating with audiences does put a smile on English’s face.
You have worked with a lot of artists and producers throughout the years. What has been your most memorable collaboration and what did you learn from it?
Jagwar Twin: One comes to mind and I learned a great lesson here. I was in the studio with Dr. Dre and S1, he wanted to hear some songs, and so I was playing him this song that I really loved. It had no drums on it, it was just this orchestral piece with me singing on it. Beautiful piece. Um, it was called Worldstop. And we listen to it, we’re in the studio, he’s sitting here vibing, and the song ends and he looks at me, and he goes, “But where are the drums, bro?”. He has his drum machine ready to go to build the drum track and I look at him, and I’m just like, “Oh, I don’t like drums, it doesn’t need drums.” And he’s like, “Okay, cool, what are we doing here?”
I look back on that, and I think two things. One, “You’re a fucking idiot. Dr. Dre was really just ready to bless you with the track. You’re in the studio with two of the biggest producers in the world, S1 and Dr. Dre. And you’re just like, Nah, I don’t need that.” So, I blew that. However, I also look back on that kid, “You were telling the truth. You liked the song as it was.” Maybe it wasn’t commercially successful whatsoever, but the childlike purity of that was cute.
And I learned to sometimes, and I did this many times, just walk through the doors that are opened to you. So I learned a lot from that.
Another memorable really cool thing was I did some production on Lana del Rey’s single Say Yes to Heaven that came out last year. What was so cool about that is I did that almost 10 years ago and then again thought it was a failure. The song never came out and then 10 years later they put the song out. So you just never know where things are gonna go. Plant seeds and let them grow.
Lightning round: so far, your favourite European city?
Amsterdam. I can’t answer that, honestly. I would say Prague.
Favourite song to play live?
The Circle.
What artists do you listen to most on the road?
Kendrick Lamar.
What comes first? Music or lyrics?
Depends on the song.
Who are you hoping to ever collaborate with that you haven’t yet?
Coldplay.
Favourite ice cream flavour?
Mint chocolate chip.
