#AmazingAccrington - Autumn 2019

Currently in Lisbon, working to develop his songwriting skills with some brilliant artists such as AZTX and April Ivy, Danny began to reflect on his time spent in Accrington as a child. “I have really fond happy memories of growing up in Accrington, sadly I don’t get to come back very much because we are always on the road but I visit my grandparents who live in the area as often as I can. I grew up on Balmoral Road, just off Burnley Road which was great as I could walk to school [Peel Park Primary] everyday! I spent my summers in Oak Hill Park having picnics and my winters there sledging. I also learnt to play basketball at Coppice Park and went mountain-biking there with my step-dad over the weekends. At 11 I moved to Huncoat which was also fantastic as I could take my bike over Mill Hill Lane to visit my friend. It’s safe to say I spent a lot of my childhood outdoors exploring Hyndburn! My parents have always been incredibly supportive, for the highs and the lows. My dad taught me piano at age 4 and I have never stopped playing since. They let me develop and grow but never pushed me, I am incredibly grateful for that.

With the backing of their manager, Scooter Braun, the band named themselves push baby. A nod to their pop roots and their ability to power through. “We began to make our own music, directed our own videos and had complete control of everything. Nowwe are in a position to share that with the world whilst constantly creating and evolving ... musically and visually. The newmusic has strong pop melodies with more RnB production. The first single, ‘Mama’s House’, is a direct reflection of the turmoil we went through and that feeling of returning home after being on top of the world.” Fans have taken to social media to tell the world of their delight at the boys being back in business! The reception to push baby’s music has been phenomenal, listening to any track you can hear the authenticity and vulnerability that hasn’t come across previously. As fantastic as their previous music was, push baby has a raw sound that is unlike other music out there. “It’s honesty in its purest form, and we’re all incredibly proud of everything we have made and will make. We don’t look too far ahead; we are certainly living in the moment. It’s not about success, it’s about connection. If that’s 100 people or 100 million people, either way is great.”

“Calling ourselves Rixton we started with covers, posting on YouTube and doing small shows where possible. It was during a writing session in 2012 we got the call, that life-changing call we had all hoped for. It was Scooter Braun, the manager for the likes of Justin Bieber and Arianna Grande! Obviously, we instantly thought it was a joke, but it turned out he had seen our stuff and he arrived the following day for discussions. It was at this point we realised our lives would change.” Their first single, “Me and My Broken Heart” released in early 2014 hit number 1 in the UK and charted in the USA, Australia and Sweden. The single went gold, but it wasn’t all plain sailing. The band were flown to America, swiftly signed to Universal and recorded their first albumwith Benny Blanco. Just a few days into the album process, Scooter Braun surprised themwith news of their first signed gig. Supporting Justin Bieber at Madison Square Garden! “To have you first signed gig as supporting Justin Bieber in front of 20,000 people was a dream come true, it was a long way away from the 100-capacity gigs in London. It was an incredible experience.” Despite writing together for years, Danny didn’t feel like they had much to say, maybe they hadn’t lived enough just yet to produce multiple albums of music that resonates?

“After the debut single went to number 1 in the UK we then sold out a tour in America, UK and Europe... we toured with Arianna Grande and Ed Sheeran for over two years, we were living the dream but the second and third singles weren’t quite as successful. We were carried away in the moment, but we didn’t have much experience or much to say and we also didn’t have much control over what we produced. I guess it’s possible we didn’t know ourselves well enough just yet and were just incredibly grateful to be in the position we were in. When you don’t feel a bond with your own music it’s easy to become frustrated. We were growing restless and ended up making some bad decisions, we were fighting with our producer over choices and in the end we parted ways with the label.” We were all broken in some way. “It was a long, difficult process and I think it’s safe to say we were all broken in some way from it. It took us a good fewmonths to recover, we all moved back in with our parents and took some time out.” It didn’t take long for the boys to start writing again though, after just a fewmonths they began meeting up to rediscover themselves as a band, taking a more experimental approach to their music. We almost re-set, wanted to start from scratch and discover our own style. We had to find the love for music again, we needed each other for that. ”

Any advice for any young people hoping for a career in the music industry? “Don’t give up, know yourself and remember even when it feels like things have ended, that might just be the beginning of the best part of your life! I was never the most confident, I always felt socially inept at school and music was my outlet. I would like to tell all the nurturing teachers, all the friends who would sit listening to me sing constantly... it’s made the world of difference having support from such a young age. I would also like to tell all the people who feel like I did, you will find your niche!” The new stuff! So, how can you listen? Find push baby on any music streaming service, YouTube or social media (they’re pretty into the Instagram... if you follow them expect to see a lot of strange pictures of crocs and fluorescent colours!) “The music we’re creating is from the heart, it’s been formed in our homes and is very experimental, with strong pop melodies, hopefully people enjoy listening to it as much as we’ve enjoyed making it!” With a million different elements to each song, we aren’t sure which is our favourite push baby track (so far): - Mama’s House - thor - @thebackoheparty

6 #Ama z i n g A c c r i n g t o n A u t umn  2 0 1 9

#Ama z i n g A c c r i n g t o n A u t umn 2 0 1 9 7