Japanese Music Fans Discover Jagwar Twin Featured

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Japanese Music Fans Discover Jagwar Twin Photograph courtesy of CTHDRL

Japanese Music Fans Discover Jagwar Twin

Putting on a Happy Face

Roy English, a U.S.-based songwriter, producer, and musician known by his moniker Jagwar Twin, started writing and developing music at a very young age. After multiple musical endeavors and years of releasing music, Jagwar Twin’s popularity reached unprecedented heights after two of his songs, “Happy Face” and “Loser,” were uploaded on YouTube with Japanese translations. Jagwar Twin became an overnight sensation in Japan. As of August 2022, “Happy Face” had crossed 43 million streams on Spotify, with Japan being in the top five global markets on all streaming platforms. Tokyo Journal Editor-in-Chief Anthony Al-Jamie spoke with Jagwar Twin about his experiences as an up-and-coming musician, as well as his connection to Japan.

TJ: How did you get started in the music industry?
JAGWAR TWIN:
In junior high, I picked up a guitar and started writing songs, just because I felt like a misfit. Right out of high school, I got signed to a small indie label called Fearless Records and then toured the country for four years. We would sell CDs at the malls to get gas money from stop to stop. We started at the bottom with me and my friends and from there we just kept growing.

TJ: Why do you think your music has gained momentum in Japan?
JAGWAR TWIN:
I don’t know the answer. I want to go to Japan, and I resonate with the culture, the art, and the storytelling there. I’ve really enjoyed talking to a lot of Japanese fans on Twitter or Instagram. Sometimes, I’ll use Google Translate to write something or sometimes they’ll use it to write in English. That connection with fans, especially around the world, is really beautiful.

The complete article can be found in Issue #281 of the Tokyo Journal.

日本のファンから人気を集めるジャグワー・ツイン

「Happy Face (ハッピー・フェイス)」になって

ジャグワー・ツインの名称で知られているアメリカの歌手、ロイ・イングリッシュは幼い頃から音楽を作詞作曲していたという。多彩な音楽活動を続けていたが、彼の曲「Happy Face」と「Loser」が YouTube に日本語の歌詞付きでアップロードされ、人気に火が点いた。Spotify における「Happy Face」の再生回数は既に 4300 万回を超える。なんと日本がジャグワー・ツインにとって一番の人気市場なのだ。『東京ジャーナル』編集長のアントニー・アルジェイミーがジャグワー・ツインにインタビューし、新進気鋭のアーティストとしての経験と日本との関係性について聞いた。

TJ: 音楽業界に入ったきっかけは?
JAGWAR TWIN:
中学生の頃、あまり周りに馴染めなくて、なんとなくギターを始め、曲作りを始めました。高校を卒業してすぐ、「Fearless Records」という小さなインディーレコード会社に所属し、4年間アメリカ全国をツアーで回っていました。次の会場までのガソリン代を稼ぐためショッピングモールで CD を売ったりしてやりくりしていたんです。本当に仲間たちと下からはい上がってきたって感じですね。

TJ: なぜあなたの曲が日本で人気が出たのだと思いますか?
JAGWAR TWIN:
正直僕もわかりません。でも日本の文化や芸術、物語 にはとても共感していて、ぜひ一度日本に行ってみたいです。Twitter やInstagram で日本のファンの方々とお話しするのもとても楽しくて。たまに僕が Google 翻訳を使って日本語で何かを書くと、ファンの方も同じくGoogle 翻訳を使って英語で返信してくれるんです。世界中のファンの方々とこうしてつながれるのは、本当に素晴らしいことだと思います。

tj

この記事の全容は Tokyo Journal #281号 にてお読みいただけます。

Written By:

Anthony Al-Jamie

Anthony Al-Jamie lived and worked in Japan for over 20 years. His in-depth understanding of Japanese language and culture has allowed him to carry out interviews with many of the most renowned individuals in Japan. He first began writing for the Tokyo Journal in the 1990s as Education Editor, later he was promoted to Senior Editor, and eventually International Editor and Executive Editor. He currently serves the Tokyo Journal as Editor-in-Chief.



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