Roy English (born Brandon Roy Wronski; May 22, 1988),[2][1] also known as Jagwar Twin,[3] is an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. He is currently signed to Big Loud Rock under Big Loud Records.
English started out as a member of the band Dead Letter Diaries, before founding the bands Eye Alaska and Canary Dynasty. Going solo in 2015, English has since written and produced music alongside other industry artists, including Jeff Bhasker, Teddy Riley, Rick Nowels, Matt Wallace, Dave Sitek, and Alesso. English's debut studio album, Subject to Flooding, was released in September 2018 in collaboration with producers S1 and Linus, and featured contributions from Travis Barker of blink-182.[4]
History
2003–2011: Early History
English started out as a member of the band Dead Letter Diaries. In 2006, Roy became one of the founding members of the American indie-rock band Eye Alaska, which also included Cameron Trowbridge, Christopher Osegueda, Chase Kensrue, and Han Ko. The band toured the United States from 2007 to 2011, releasing their EP Yellow & Elephant and their 2009 album Genesis Underground, before disbanding.[5]
2012–2017: Solo debut and I'm Not Here Pt. 1
In 2012, following the disbandment of Eye Alaska, English contemplated departing his career in music, before meeting Jeff Bhasker.[6] Becoming a mentor, Bhasker helped English shape his songwriting and production skills.[7] In 2014, alongside S1 and Rick Nowels, English produced Lana Del Rey's 2014 single “I Can Fly”. In 2014, English contributed to the soundtrack for Tim Burton's movie Big Eyes with Lana Del Rey.
Immediately after, English was featured on "Tongue Tied July” with Michael Brun. On April 26, 2016, English released his EP I'm Not Here Pt. 1, which included three new songs: "Wasted Youth", "Can't Lie" and "Oxy." In May of the same year, English released a stripped-down version of “Can't Lie” and was announced as the opening act for 5 Seconds of Summer during their Sounds Live Feels Live World Tour on select North American dates.[11][12]
In March 2017, English released "Hotel Pools 01101001", performing it on NBC's Today after being chosen as Elvis Duran's Artist of the Month. The song was officially remixed by Badhabit and shortly after also by producer A.K. Tribe. A few months later, English released "Outa My Head 01101110", a collaboration with DJ and producer Badhabit.
2018–2021: Jagwar Twin and Subject to Flooding
Following the release of "Outa My Head 01101110", English began working with producers S1, Linus and Travis Barker of blink-182.[13][14] English traveled from Joshua Tree and Haiti to Ireland's coast and Florence, Italy for recording sessions.[6][7][15][16]
English, under the name of Jagwar Twin, released his debut single “Loser” on September 7, 2018, after writing it around 2017.[17]
English teamed up with producer S1 (Kanye West, Lorde) and rock producer Linus to develop Jagwar Twin’s musical identity. Roy English donned the name Jagwar Twin as a reference to the ancient Mayan belief that jaguars possessed mythical powers to see into all living beings.
Released by Zane Lowe on Beats 1, "Loser" amassed over 100k streams in its first 24 hours.[6][13] “Loser” received radio play upon release and was picked up for playlisting on Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music.[18] Of the song's message, English has explained, "We're all on this beautiful planet. We're made of the same stardust. We're all losers, and we're also all brilliant, beautiful souls."[17]
In 2019, English embarked on a headlining tour, titled the "Live in Close Proximity" tour. The tour consisted of 8 dates, all in the US, beginning on July 20, 2019 in Anaheim, California at The Parish at House of Blues and concluded on August 30, 2019, in Seattle, Washington at the Bumbershoot festival.[19]
On September 30, 2022, English released his second studio album, titled "33", including 10 songs and a collaboration with little luna ("Pay Attention"). The album was released by Big Loud Rock / Big Loud Records and produced by Matthew Pauling (Twenty One Pilots, 5 Seconds Of Summer).
The album included previously released singles "Happy Face", "I Like to Party" and "Down to You".[22]
"Happy Face" garnered over 70 million streams, 50 million video views and radio plays by multiple US alternate radio stations upon release.[23]
