By Megan Duenas
Co Editor in Chief
Originating in Manchester, Jack Roche, Charley Bagnall, Danny Wilkin and Lewi Morgan encompass the new UK pop meets soul band, Rixton. Not so long ago in 2013, were these four playing in hole in the wall venues in hopes of reaching their goal of more than internet fame. WIth their hit song “ Me and My Broken Heart” debuting as #6 in U.S. charts and their discovery from Scooter Braun, who’s behind success of Justin Bieber and Carly Ray Jepsen, it’s safe to say they can successfully blend soul and harmonized pop into music for the ears of everyone who listens.
“ We knew what we wanted- huge pop songs with soul,” Jake Roche comments on their choice of genre and the vision for Rixton. With their own start up just a year and a half before landing a label all band members started their own careers in music before being acquainted. Dropping out of school at the age of 16, Jake Roche and university dropout Danny Wilkin started the band playing around Manchester and living in a caravan. Three years after gigging and playing they were introduced to Charley Bagnall and Lewi Morgan, Rixton evolved into a band that would be destined for topping the charts in the U.K. and being backed by U.K.’s own, Ed Sheeran.
RIxton, unlike other bands today, writes and develops their own hits emerging what we knew as soul and pop into a synthesizing version of both intertwined. “Me and My Broken Heart” is a meeting of Maroon 5 and The Wanted into a voice and sound unique to themselves only. Yes, they have proven they can produce catchy songs played on the radio and recognized by all in a skip of a beat, but they have what many other boy bands lack, originality. Rixton, is not the new One Direction nor do they compete with 5 Seconds of Summer, but they compete on their own scale of greatness, reaching heights never surpassed by any boy band.
Wait on Me and Me and My Broken Heart are the latest songs debuting for these UK natives, they have rapidly been taking on the charts for UK and US and their soulful sympathies and their foot stomping pop physique mixes together to be a pot of success.