Jayda G
DJ, Grammy-nominated producer, biologist, podcast host, documentarian: Jayda G is one of those rare artists who seems to have lived several lives at once. The British Columbia-born, London-based artist brings social awareness and emotional depth to everything she touches, filling her music with curiosity and intention. Jayda is now entering a new, joyful phase of her career, one where she’s proving that motherhood and club culture don’t have to exist in opposition.
That new chapter begins with ‘The Shiver’, an ecstatic piano house anthem engineered for peak-time dancefloors. The track is dedicated to her husband – her high school sweetheart, and from whom she spent a decade apart after they went to separate universities, before reuniting in 2020. When they got back together, Jayda felt a literal shiver of happiness – a sensation she wanted to bottle in her sound.
The single marks a shift from her 2023 album Guy, a deeply personal tribute to her late father, William Richard Guy. The record, which wove archival recordings of his voice into lush, introspective soundscapes, was something she felt she needed to make for herself. It followed her mid-pandemic single ‘Both Of Us’, produced with Fred again.., as well as high-profile remixes for Taylor Swift and Dua Lipa and an acclaimed DJ-Kicks mix. Her celebrated debut album, 2019’s Significant Changes, set the tone for her blend of music and message, incorporating orca calls and conservationist messages into its grooves.
This creative rebirth is closely linked to her experience of becoming a mother – a fusion of the person she was before with the one she’s still discovering now. “I know the old person super well, but she’s not [yet] integrated into this new self, and it’s all very confusing,” she says. “I keep feeling like a teenager again – awkward in my mind and body.” Still, Jayda was determined to return from maternity leave with new music, a way of honouring the part of herself that existed before. “The intention was: I haven’t been gone for long, I’m still here, still wanting to make dance tunes, and dance and have a good time.”
And a Jayda G set is always a good time. Annie Mac described her as “one of my favourite DJs – ever – to watch,” and it’s easy to see why. Jayda plays with irrepressible energy, beaming ear to ear as she drops soul, house and disco classics alongside new gems, often belting along with the crowd. She’s played everywhere from Glastonbury and Coachella to Boiler Room and Ibiza, but one performance stands out: her 2024 set in the Mixmag Lab.
Jayda was visibly pregnant during the live record, wearing a fringed bralette that accentuated and celebrated her bump. Before playing, she’d searched online for footage of DJs playing while expecting and found almost nothing – especially no one who looked very obviously pregnant – and so she wanted to be that image for someone else, asking the platform to tag the video accordingly so it’d be searchable for other mothers-to-be.
Many women are quietly expected to pull back from public life or their creative careers after childbirth, and Jayda had fears of something similar happening. Would fans disengage, or view her differently? But the reaction has been overwhelmingly supportive. She’s now part of a mum DJ WhatsApp group with people like Logic1000 and Jamz Supernova in which they share music-specific questions or provide some much-needed camaraderie.
Alongside her work in music, Jayda is a natural and inquisitive podcast host, inviting guests from footballers to authors, UFC fighters and chefs onto her celebrated series Here’s Hoping. She’s quizzed the likes of Ixta Belfrage, Emma Dabiri and Jeremiah Asiamah on resilience and optimism. “It’s almost an excuse to speak to people I admire, and wouldn’t necessarily be in the same room as,” she says. “I love learning, and the psychology of what makes people tick.”
Her passion for science runs deep: having undergone a masters in environmental toxicology, Jayda is one of those people who “could have gone to school forever,” and has since worked on many projects in the environmental space. In 2024 she fronted the award-winning, CNN-hosted documentary Blue Carbon, a film where she worked to understand how coastal ecosystems could help mitigate the effects of climate change. And her advocacy is having an impact – whenever she tours, she finds fellow artists and ravers keen to ask her about her work with marine mammals and saltmarshes.
Whether she’s behind the decks, mic or camera, Jayda G’s work pulses with intention. As she enters this new phase of her life and career, things may look slightly different, but the message is the same: joy and connection.
SHORT VERSION:
DJ, Grammy-nominated producer, biologist, podcast host, documentarian: Jayda G is one of those rare artists who seems to have lived several lives at once. The British Columbia-born, London-based artist brings social awareness and emotional depth to everything she touches, filling her music with curiosity and intention. Jayda is now entering a new, joyful phase of her career, one where she’s proving that motherhood and club culture don’t have to exist in opposition. That new chapter begins with ‘The Shiver’, an ecstatic piano house anthem engineered for peak-time dancefloors.
A Jayda G set is always a good time. Annie Mac described her as “one of my favourite DJs – ever – to watch,” and it’s easy to see why. Jayda plays with irrepressible energy, beaming ear to ear as she drops soul, house and disco classics alongside new gems, often belting along with the crowd. She’s played everywhere from Glastonbury and Coachella to Boiler Room and Ibiza, but one performance stands out: her 2024 set in the Mixmag Lab.