It gives me the feels: Jayda G deals in good vibes and joyous jams

Jayda G pours herself into her music, simultaneously injecting life and soul into the world through her exultant DJ sets and beatific productions. Hailing from the Canadian Riviera, she’s among a prominent crew of artists at the epicentre of a movement towards a serene and hazy take on house music.

Nowadays Jayda divides her time between British Columbia and Berlin while maintaining a hectic tour schedule, tearing across the globe like an intercontinental whirlwind of good vibes and joyous jams. It was in the German capital that she first met Sex Tags Mania co-founder DJ Fett Burger, while out for a drink with former Vancouver resident PLO Man, and the pair have since struck up a fruitful partnership.

In late 2014 they founded a party under the name Freakout Cult, and the following spring they evolved the project into a label with the glowing collaborative effort ‘NYC Party Track’. Last February Jayda’s debut solo release 'Jaydaisms' arrived in a fanfare of uplifting grooves and dreamy melodies, a tone matched on follow-up through 1080p.

Now Swedish outlet Geography has locked her in for a three-track EP called 'Swirl Shake Mix'. It marks a shift into new territory, audible on the measured rhythms and haunting vocals of 'Shake It All Down (Vocal Mix)'. Check out the premiere alongside an exclusive Q+A below.

A sense of vibrancy and positivity is strongly present in your whole aesthetic. From your colourful record artwork, video accompaniments and press shots to the messages printed on your records. How important do you think the link between music and its visual accompaniments is?

I think it's pretty huge. If you give a little piece of you into everything that you touch then people feel that, and that resonates with people. It's really important so that people can see a thread going through all the elements. Through the tracks, through the artwork, even with other people that I'm playing with, they're seeing the trend and getting elements and vibes of what is actually me.

You’re an environmental toxicologist, and you post photos of natural beauty on your artist Facebook page. How does your appreciation of nature feed into your music?

Pretty strongly I would say. I go home to Grand Forks a lot, that's my home town, a very small town in British Columbia, just a bit far away from Vancouver. It's very immersed in nature; my parents live on top of a mountain surrounded by forests. When I'm there around that nature I feel the most centred. It's a very calming experience. I find when you are aligned with yourself that's when the best music comes out.

Would you say you channel certain moods that you feel from natural settings into music?

For sure. I definitely notice a really big difference between the tracks that I make when I'm in Vancouver versus tracks that I make when I'm in Berlin. I basically have two homes now! It's really interesting: Vancouver is a beautiful place and there's a real serenity about it, and it brings that out in the music. With Berlin I feel like there's so much energy in the city, and that definitely comes out in the music.

Vancouver is widely perceived as this carefree utopia which people think feeds into this blissful house sound, but it’s less publicised that it’s a city that struggles with issues like addiction and mental illness, as well as a distinct wealth gap. How would you say the outsider perception of the city compares to the reality?

I have so many people come up to me now who have been hearing about Vancouver. They say, "Wow, it must be this huge, amazing city with this crazy culture centre!" But Vancouver's actually really small, just over half a million people live there. It's funny in that sense. There’s people who have been putting a lot of energy into the art and underground scene in Vancouver, they've put a lot of heart into it, they've really had to work at it, because it's not something that Vancouver is very receptive to as a city. Similar to how London is dealing with residential people, they don't want to hear parties at night.

How do you think the reality of the city impacts upon the music scene?

I guess it’s a mixture. There is this vibey, beautiful element, because the city's really immersed in nature. You can drive half an hour and go hiking into the mountains or the forest, and that definitely for me feeds into my music and I think it does for other people too. But then there's other areas where a lot of our parties happen, usually in the centre of the downtown east-side, where there's a huge homeless issue. That's where a lot of peoples' studios are because it's the cheapest, so that definitely has to feed into it. How can it not? Hearing some person who's having some serious mental issues screaming on the side of the street is definitely going to impact things.

I think there's this funny dichotomy of the two that blends in together, and you hear that in the sounds of Vancouver. You do have this kind of blissful, utopia feeling, but then you do have people whose productions are a bit harder and edgier, there's a roughness to it as well. Like anything, there's a lot of diversity to it, and the city would lend to that.

Flying between residences in separate continents and maintaining a relentless tour schedule sounds exhausting.

It is!

Is it ever a struggle to find time to produce? And to live?

It's very difficult. Not many people know this but I'm also still writing my Masters manuscript in the middle of all this, so yeah, it's really fucking hard. I've no time to be lazy, that's for sure. I like to be a busy person; I've always bitten off more than I can chew in life in general, so it doesn't surprise me that I'm in this situation. I'm a huge believer in time management. This is the scientist in me, "Manage your time well!", that's really what it has to boil down to. During weekdays I'm pretty private, I don't go out much, I mostly keep to myself. I find being back by myself and getting in touch with my own personality is really key, and if I don't do that it ripples into the weekends, etc.

How does the Berlin party scene compare to Vancouver in your view?

In my view? Very different. Germans have a very different background musically. If I'm playing disco, it's... interesting! I remember the first time I played in Berlin I thought I did a horrible job. There was this weird thing happening, it was packed and people were there, but they weren't really going for it, getting down and dirty and shit you know? I turned to my friend like, "What's going on? Am I doing a horrible job?" He says, "No, no, it's just the Germans, this is how they dance, they're having a great time! See, someone's up on the table." But they were all doing this funny, slight shimmy movement. It's really different.

Also their party culture is the Mecca of partying. There's so much freedom, you can go out for days and never have to come home. Vancouver obviously does not have that. We try, we'll have parties going to the next day, but it's hard, it's not quite the same. I think there's also a nice organicness that happens in Vancouver because it's not the norm, so when you do have those parties that are going on until 10 in the morning, you're like, "Wow! That was insane!" People don't get that in Berlin, because it's the norm.

What inspired the name Freakout Cult?

Because we wanted to do a party for the freaks!

Why did you start the label and what is the aim for it?

At the beginning we had some really cool tracks under our belt that Fett Burger and I were doing together. It felt like they didn't fit anywhere necessarily, so we thought, why not just start a label of our own to have as a platform to do whatever we want. Bring in whoever we resonate with who doesn't have to fit a particular sound that the label is aiming for. The writing on the edge is really true. "Music has no boundaries", that's the real essence of the label.

Beyond the founding members, so far you’ve put out a record by LNS. What drew you to her music and why does it fit with Freakout Cult?

I've known LNS for a very long time. She sent me 'Leo' and I thought it was awesome. We have a saying: "It gives me the feels," you know? I decided it had to be on the label and she was super pumped. I feel the label should give artists a chance to truly express themselves and not feel hindered or like they have to please us. In the sense that, we want them the feel like they have a freedom, which is another clear message and essence of label.

I know from watching you DJ that you’re not afraid to belt out a chorus!

You should have heard me last night! I'm singing to myself the whole time, and there was this one moment where it quietened down really quickly and I heard myself and was like, "Oh god, sorry guys, sorry for subjecting you to my craziness."

I was wondering, do you use your own vocals in your tracks?

Actually yeah, that's pretty new, that's just on the new Geography EP. The pitched-down vocals and the vocal track is me. The B-side on the 1080p record was the first time I worked with vocals, from Cafe Lanai, and it was really fun. Vocals were a really big change up in terms of production and how that works and how you mix down the sounds, it was a really nice learning curve. I just want to continue on; when you're sitting in a studio you're like, "Well, I don't have anyone's voice but my own, so let's see what I can do here!"

‘Shake It All Down (Vocal Mix)’ has quite a different feel to the releases that have preceded it. Is there an inspiration for this new direction?

I think it's important to not pigeonhole yourself, and I really mean that in my entire life. I've never stuck to one particular thing in my science career, because I don't want to get pigeonholed. It's the same principle in music. We're all versatile people, and if you stick to the same thing then you may get bored of it. So I was really trying to push myself to make different sounds, to make a different feel or vibe to the music.

Your sets have a really diverse mix of old classics and newer more obscure releases. It works really well placing them together. How would you describe your approach to DJing? What are you looking for in the records you select to play?

It's pretty simple, it's basically shit that I really like! It's similar, lending to your earlier question about art and all the elements that make up you. I think DJing can be very contrived, with people playing what they think people want to hear. That is not what this is about. When I'm DJing, you are getting a very accurate representation of me DJing in my bedroom! It's really nice to be able to share that with everyone versus just yourself.

You released a mix on tape through Wichelroede. How did your approach to this differ to a club set?

It has to be perfect. I find when I do mixes, it's similar to a track in the sense that I'm focusing on how I'm feeling at that moment, focusing on what I want to emulate out into the world. I think for the tape I definitely wanted something that people would listen to in the car or something. I'd been wanting to do a slower, soulful, vibey mix for a while so that's what I really went for.

Internet live stream comments can often devolve into needless abuse. Boiler Room has taken the step to permanently close their chat room. Do you think that’s a good move? Can you believe it’s got to this point?

I can totally believe it. There's always going to be haters. It doesn't surprise me, especially with the internet and the anonymity of people. People can say mad shit and not feel the repercussions of it, there's totally that disconnect of having to own up with what you're saying. It's sad, because Boiler Room and a lot of the DJ music community starts off as something that's quite meaningful and organic, and something you want to share with people. Then for people to come back and be all, "Screw you, fuck you," it sucks. But in the end, it really emulates where that person is coming from, and the unsettling feelings that they feel within themselves. That's how I deal with those kind of critiques, of people who are saying unfounded things. I think, you know what, this is about you, and nothing to do with me.

You’ve played gigs for female-focused crews such as Soledad Muñoz’s Genero Sound and Discwoman. Do you feel more inclined to work with people who have a strong support of other women?

Well, those just happened – but I think it's great that there are these communities that really support female DJs and producers. My own take is that, if you're good, then you're good. It doesn't matter what you are, who you are, what you look like. The productions, the DJ mix should speak for itself. And if it’s fucking awesome, it's fucking awesome.

'Swirl Shake Mix' is out soon via Geography. Pre-order now

Patrick Hinton is Mixmag's Digital Staff Writer. Follow him on Twitter

Vassilis Skandalis is Mixmag's Senior Designer. Check his mixes on Mixcloud