A quick chat with Jayda G

If being a polymath were a competition, Jayda G would be in the top tier. From maker of pure dancefloor anthems to her cardio-filled DJ sets, hosting a podcast, and being a trained environmental toxicologist, Jayda is an inexhaustible solar force. High-energy performances, her iconic 2024 pregnant Mixmag Lab set, a documentary on the carbon-absorbing potential of oceans, and addictive remixes make up just some of her activities.

Blending deep-rooted inspiration from nature (think orca whale cries) with the rigour and attention to detail only a scientific education provides, the undeniable joy in her music is shot through with deeper, darker emotions — and this opposition can’t exist in isolation for her. But not to sound too cheeky, and let’s be real: making music is all about having fun for Jayda.

We caught up with Jayda for a quick chat following the release of her fantasy-leaning summer anthem ‘All Day,’ where we discussed how therapy feeds into her music, her son dance-approving tracks, and capturing sounds from nature.

We can’t stop listening to your last released track All Day! Could you tell us a bit about the track and the process of bringing it to life? 

Thank you! It’s such a fun tune for summer that really sums up the exciting stage of being obsessed with someone. I have been playing it out at my shows before it came out, and it really got everyone dancing, so obvi we had to release it! 

There’s something very alive in the way you bring in field recordings, like birdsong or underwater textures. What do those natural sounds open up for you in your music?

I’m constantly inspired by nature and it always finds a way into my sonic world. There’s rhythm and melody in the natural world, if you pay attention to it. It just makes me feel more grounded in myself, which in turn makes it easier to create. 

What are some of the strangest or most unexpected natural sounds or places you’ve sampled or drawn inspiration from?

I did a whole album called Significant Changes based on the sounds from Orca Whales cries – pretty niche! 

As an environmental toxicologist, when you’re producing or DJing, do you consciously draw on your scientific training? Do you feel like one discipline sometimes informs the other?

Although they are worlds apart, my training has definitely informed the way that I think — I’m very meticulous about the details. However, scientific training is very regimented, whereas when I’m DJ’ing, I really am going off the energy of the crowd and you never know where a night will go, so it’s much looser! 

From your record Guy, which was such a personal tribute to your father, to now referencing motherhood on Uncomfortable, family seems like a powerful thread in your work. How has that relationship to family and loss evolved in your music?

Family has always been super important to me. A lot of my most life-altering moments that have really impacted me have been related to family, so when I’m creating that’s the well of emotion I often draw from. Becoming a mother for the first time is a wild ride, so when I got back into the studio post-baby, that was the one experience on my mind worth writing about. 

There’s a strong emotional duality in your music — processing grief or complexity through really joyful, high-energy sound. Oftentimes, specifically in Global North societies, these sentiments are forced to exist on entirely different planes. What does it feel like to intentionally bring them into harmony?

I really believe that if you face your grief and emotions, it allows you to access your joy and gratitude on an even higher scale. They can’t exist in isolation. My music often stems from my life insights and therapy, so transforming them into music you can dance to is awesome, and releasing on the dancefloor is also therapy.

How has becoming a mother influenced your creative process and your relationship to sound?

My son loves to dance to the music I play in the house, so now every track has to be dance-checked by him! 

Love that. When everything in a track feels good but something still isn’t working, how do you figure out what’s actually the problem?

I need to come away from the track for a few days, come back with fresh ears and usually it will jump out at you and it was obvious all along. 

What’s something you’re actively unlearning these days?

 …. Umm what it feels like to have 8 hours sleep (mum life lol) 

All Day is such, playful, fun, and sexy track. Did making it shift anything in how you approach your next projects?

Yeah, I’m just really having fun with the music I’m making now! I wanted to switch it up and create a whole fantasy, psychedelic, utopian world to go along with the fun summer tunes which have been so fun to make.