21 Questions with Rixton’s Danny Wilkin

Rixton's debut single, Me and My Broken Heart, saw them break through in spectacular fashion; hitting Number 1 on the Official Singles Chart and making a significant dent on the US singles chart. 

Now they're on the tricky task of following it up. The track - called Wait On Me - is released next week (November 16), so we called up band member Danny Wilkin to find out how he's feeling about it. 

Hello Danny. Where are you at the precise moment?

“I am in the Dorset Hotel in Shepherd’s Bush.”

Fancy! You must have stayed in a lot of hotels recently. How does this one fair in comparison?

“This is definitely one of the fancier ones. We’ve been in some pretty terrible ones. We don’t mind though.”

Do you take full advantage of the free stuff in hotels?

“We try to. The make-or-break of a hotel is if there’s a gym. We never use it, we just like to know it’s there.”

What was the really last exciting thing you did?

“We just got back from a festival in Mexico called the Corona Capital Festival. Jack White, Kings of Leon, The Kooks and Sam Smith were there and the audience was so welcoming.”

How was the weather in Mexico?

“I can't it rained for the most part! I’d bought a nice flowery shirt for the occasion and I wasn’t able to wear it.”

Do you have many fans in Mexico?

“Our fan base is growing at a really steady rate. Not many people know us out there, but as we carried on playing our set more and more people came over to watch us.”

Your fan base in the UK is growing fast. Are you used to people following your every move yet?

“What we don’t understand how they find us. We book into hotels under a different name and they’re still waiting outside for us when we arrive.”

What the best fake name that you’ve checked into a hotel under?

“I can’t tell you as I still use the same one, and it’s also too rude to say!”

What’s the weirdest ‘gift’ a fan has presented you with?

“I once got a wedding photo album from a fan that had stuck her head and my head over the bride and groom’s faces. That was kind of creepy, although I’m sure they had good intentions.”

Tell us about your new single Wait On Me.

“The song was brought to us towards the end of making the album. I think it’s a great pop song and it’s so, so catchy. I think it shows a different side of us compared to Me And My Broken Heart.

What different side is that?

“I feel like this song is more musical and basically just a strong R&B-pop song to follow Me And My Broken Heart.”

Me And My Broken Heart was a massive success here and in America. How are you feeling about following it up?

“The thing with that song is we genuinely didn’t expect it to have the success that it did. All we can do is work as hard as we can. Whatever happens, happens. Hopefully the success will continue.”

The song took off in America before it hit Number 1 here. Is it going to be difficult juggling releases between both countries at the same time?

“Yes it is! Like I said we really didn’t think America would play the song much, but now it has, we need to keep up our presence there.”

Your debut album Let The Road is coming out next March. That feels like ages away…

“Believe me, it feels like ages for us as well. The more we push the release back the more nervous I get. It’s like our baby and we don’t want to turn it out into the wild yet.”

Is it true some of the songs on the album are five or six years old?

“That’s true. There’s a song on the album called Speakerphone that I wrote four years ago, and the title track of the album was written by me and Jake six years ago. I remember we were in a caravan in my back garden.”

The back garden? That doesn’t sound like very adventurous camping, Danny.

“No, that’s where it was parked up! The song is about remember that whatever happens, there’s always a home for us and there’s always family.”

Benny Blanco executive-produced the album. Obviously you had already written most of the songs, but did he play around with them much when you got in the studio to record them?

“Things are always going to change once you’re in the studio. In fact, the song Let The Road was one we didn’t think much of until we played it to him. Speakerphone changed quite a lot as well from the original but we didn’t mind too much – Benny Blanco knows what he’s doing!”

Still, it must have been strange to have your songs chopped up and changed around?

“It’s funny, when we first started we were that band who thought we could do it all and write everything. That’s such a stupid way to think! If Benny Blanco comes along or Ed Sheeran wants to write a song for you, who are we to deny them?”

What was working with Ed Sheeran like? We hear he turns out songs very quickly…

“He came into the studio and turned out six songs in two hours, which is CRAZY. I can barely write one song in three days. He wrote Hotel Ceiling for the album, and it could be my favourite song on the record. He’s also the nicest person I’ve ever met. To me, he’s what a superstar should be.”

You’re managed by Scooter Braun. Was he not keen to set you up with his other clients (Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber) for collaborations?

“Not really to be honest. We did have offers for collaborations but they felt forced. We’d rather people get a flavour of who we are rather than who we collaborate with. That said, I’d love to write with Ryan Tedder one day.”

You’re a band of boys, but you don’t like being called a boy band, right?

“We don’t mind people calling us a boyband – there are loads of great things about being called that! When people see us live though, they understand what we mean. I think people are starting to realise we play our own instruments and write our own songs. The word is getting out!”

Rixton’s new single Wait On Me is out on November 16.