Today we’d like to introduce you to Aydra J Swan
Hi Aydra J , so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My journey to Los Angeles began like many; with starry eyes. Growing up in rural wine country of Sonoma, I had my heart ablaze to enter the entertainment industry. Despite a lack of formal education and leaving high school at 17 for Haight-Ashbury, I had a strong sense of entrepreneurship. Mostly in thanks to my mother who formed a storytelling business during my formative years. I began writing songs as young as they come, and after landing in Topanga Canyon during my 22nd year around the sun, I leaned into music production and performing shows in LA.
To make ends meet I established Gourmet Girl, a farm-to-table private chef service for celebrities. It allowed me to pour time and resources into my vision. I always had a strong draw to video production and photography, and began to create content for my emerging musical brand which would later become ÆYDRA.
After a decade in Los Angeles, cutting my teeth as a performing and recording artist, I relocated to the high Mojave desert and started a new leg of the journey. My Joshua Tree dream was quickly embraced as I began playing regular shows and producing events, having the great joy of incorporating aerial arts into my act and expanding my sound. Performing alongside celebrated artists in the area and bringing in varied acts to shows was a tremendous highlight. I launched Pink Swan Media and embarked on creating photo and video experiences for others as an income source while releasing music and even touring around some between Europe and Mexico.
It’s a special feeling when you can genuinely say you’ve brought many of your dreams to fruition. My vision of merging themed gourmet meals with music was then realized in the desert where I curated Odyssee, based on my 2022 release, and had the honor to perform at popular venues and restaurants alongside pillars of my community while reaching my fans with an uplifting message.
These days I’m popping between Los Angeles and Joshua Tree, making time to travel and enjoying my current release, Iliad of Rainbows, an ode to finding light through the storms and having firm faith. The debut vinyl run was funded by my Kickstarter (thank you so much to all my backers!) and I’m looking towards further touring of the album in the LA area and beyond.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I believe we all get the cards we’re dealt to support our purpose and it’s up to us what we do with them. Despite growing up in a privileged state, being a caucasian female, and having a wonderful family and community (all blessings I do not take for granted!) my life has not been void of challenges. Financial tension burdened my family from a young age and we lost our home while I was in my early teens. From this adversity was born an iron will to succeed and show up for the world as an artist. To inspire hope no matter your circumstances.
Being a musician, I’m no stranger to the fact that it’s considered one of the hardest industries in the world. A highly competitive and often unfair space where very few are squeezed and molded to international success and the rest live mostly in feast or famine. I’ve had uncanny victories and also heavy despair. It’s easy to question your assignment or dedicate to quitting. At the end of the day, music chose me and as Elizabeth Gilbert describes in Big Magic, we can choose to accept our curriculum and work hard and with an open heart to have the outcome we desire or decline it. The dream rang and I answered.
If achieving a ‘destiny’ is pushing on despite the struggle and rooting into a mindset of worth and success to achieve your assignment, then I believe I’m destined for music to become my entire life. In the journey there, the trick is to find gratitude and joy in the innovations that afford you to invest in that destiny. The sacrifices we make along the way, how we treat people, and most importantly, ourselves is the true testament to how badly we want it and at what level we achieve.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As a musician, songwriter, and creator, my niche is principally pop. Having grown up in the underground Dj scene in San Francisco, I tend to blend trance and deep house elements into my production. I consider myself a pop/dance artist with emphasis on performance arts, I love telling a story on stage with music and visuals. Within a show I might hop between Dj-ing and singing to performing live on the aerial hoop or even with fire. I’ve worked alongside magicians, supporting musicians and speciality performers as well, of whom I have the great honor to have kismet connections to!
I’ve attached to the term ‘elemental artist’ after developing a love for all 4 elements, even performing underwater. During travels through the Yucatan I had the pleasure to dive and create in over 80 cenotes, from this I began publishing works on YouTube alongside original music, which greatly increased my audience. In live shows I aim to blend the elements and enliven the 5 senses, returning us to our true nature and connection TO nature.
Over the years I’ve been called prolific with an unwavering desire to cross finish lines. I’ve published 3 albums, multiple singles, and music videos as well as created videos and music for others and assisted in branding and development of their vision. I find a lot of joy in being of service when it comes to the dreams of others and how they view and feel about themselves. Self-worth and spreading a positive self-image where it’s safe to be seen and heard both on and offline is critical to me and I believe the evolution of humanity.
Mostly I’m proud to have come this far and feel so close to something utterly powerful beyond words. I work every day on self-improvement from morning practices and pages, to eating a primarily plant-based diet for over 20 years, evolving my yoga and aerial arts, and being sure I stay in the best shape for my body and voice to deliver an unforgettable show. Above all, I love to perform and plan to continue lighting up stages for years to come. A new mantra I have; if it’s possible, it’s possible for me.
What does success mean to you?
Success I believe, is the feeling of peace. I read somewhere recently, that success is having a regulated nervous system, I feel truth in my body when I really let that land. It is being at peace in the present moment. We place so much importance on financial security, taking luxury vacations, and buying more things. All of that is sort of a bandaid for where we should really be looking, which is within, and asking if we feel good about who we are, what we’ve done, the impact we’ve made, how far we come. Moreover, if we feel safe, free, and at peace, we have succeeded.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.aydrajswan.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aydrajswan/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@aydraintheelements
Image Credits
Rami Iimar
James Aitken
