Nature Sounds: DJ, music producer, and scientist Jayda G infuses environmentalism into house music
Even in a world of hyphenates, Jayda G is a rarity of mash-ups. By moving to her own beat, she encourages anyone within listening range to move to theirs.
Jayda G, an in-demand DJ, also happens to be a biologist with a specialty in environmental toxicology. Merging her two lifelong passions, Jayda G was thrilled to DJ a global dance party on TikTok Live, following National Geographic’s Earth Day Eve 2021 virtual celebration. The event featured musicians, including Willie Nelson and Yo-Yo Ma, performing in exquisite natural settings worldwide. National Geographic Explorers Dr. Jane Goodall and Brian Skerry, among others, spoke about the need to protect our planet.
The day before the worldwide afterparty, Jayda G reflected on growing up in Grand Forks, British Columbia, “in a house filled with National Geographics.” The magazines, coffee table books, and wildlife specials on VHS were intrinsic parts of her childhood. “As a family, we had gotten the magazine for as long as I could remember,” she said. “I remember as a kid very distinctly sitting in the living room and going over them and over them. They really burned into my memory as a child.”
Jayda G, 32, whose latest single, “All I Need,” is out now, chatted with us from London and what follows was edited for clarity.
National Geographic: How were you introduced to nature?
Jayda G: I grew up in Grand Forks, directly three hours north of Spokane on the Canadian side, population 4,000. It was a great place to grow up, especially because my parents were back-to-the-lander hippies. When they initially moved to Grand Forks, they lived in a tiny cabin with no running water and electricity. The house I grew up in was on the top of a mountain, with tons of trees behind us and in front of us and a lot of temperate, coniferous forest, with lots of ponderosa pines. It was really typical Canadian countryside – mountains, trees, lakes, rivers – lot of wildlife. I grew up learning to identify the main birds. Nature was a really big part of my upbringing.
National Geographic: What is your background as a scientist?
Jayda G: My undergrad was from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, in bio honors in the Ecology, Evolution & Behaviour Department. I then went on. I had signed up for the whole academic trajectory. I really thought I was going to become a professor, and after that first degree, I did a lot of fieldwork. I worked with every animal. I did three years of field biology. I did my Masters at Simon Fraser University in the School of Resource and Environmental Management and specialized in environmental toxicology.
National Geographic: How did you become a DJ?
Jayda G: I started DJing for fun, truly as a hobby. And, I feel like I have two themes, two groups of people – all my nerdy, science school friends, and all my friends who go to shows, and we go out a lot. The two don’t mix very often. The music part started to grow as I continued in my degree. And by 2016, I had finished the coursework of my degree, and I had released my first remix. I had gotten a few shows in Europe, and someone reached out to be my agent. And the next thing I knew, I was getting booked quite regularly in Europe, where there is a huge dance scene. So I moved to Berlin. I figured I can write my thesis from Berlin. I would not recommend that to anyone.
National Geographic: We know about spinning and mixing, but how do DJs create music?
Jayda G: It is one of those weird things in life. If you are in it, everyone knows, but you step outside of it, and it is a mystifying thing. It is art and can blend how you see fit as an artist. Deejaying and music production are separate, and when I DJ, I DJ a lot of old songs, ’90s house music, disco, and soul from the ’70s and ’80s. When I am doing my DJ sets, I am playing other people’s songs, and I always play one or two of my songs. The music production is where you are making your own music from scratch, making the beats and drum loops. I am playing keys. I was really lucky my mom put me in violin and piano when I was five and didn’t quit until I was 16.
National Geographic: How are music and nature connected?
Jayda G: For me, both really speak to the soul. In the end, music is the all-connector. When you are at a concert, that is when the magic happens. That is the point you are always trying to reach as a performer. It is the thing that grounds us and connects us. It also speaks to the soul, it cleanses you, it grounds you. It is the big connector. A couple of days ago, I was listening to one of the songbirds and commenting on how beautiful the songbirds’ song is. And that is the scene you are trying to create when you are making music. It is something that totally works for me personally because it is who I am.
National Geographic: What small change would you like to see people make that could yield the most significant difference in helping Earth?
Jayda G: So many people are maybe not as connected to the Earth as they should be. If they just go outside and maybe listen. I know it sounds corny, but hug a tree. It is a living thing. That is the first spark of being outside and feeling the grass under feet and listening to songbirds, and looking and paying attention to nature as you do your phone. It would make a lot more sense to make Earth Day an everyday thing. In the big scheme of things, we have lost our empathy for the natural world. We need to love our natural world as we do our family.
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