Aja Volkman

Aja Volkman
Aja Volkman singing with Nico Vega in 2011
Background information
Born (1980-03-04) March 4, 1980
Origin Eugene, Oregon, United States
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • musician
Instruments
Years active 2005–present
Labels Five Seven Music
Associated acts
Website nicovega.com

Aja Volkman (/ˈeɪʒə/ ( listen); born March 4, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician, best known as the frontwoman of the indie rock band Nico Vega.[1] She has also released an EP titled Egyptian as a duo with Dan Reynolds (of Imagine Dragons) under the moniker Egyptian.[2]

Personal life

Volkman is the daughter of James Volkman and artist Rogene Manas.[3] She married the lead singer of Imagine Dragons, Dan Reynolds, on March 5, 2011 until 2018. They have three daughters: Arrow Eve (born August 18, 2012) and twin girls Gia James and Coco Rae (born March 28, 2017).[4][5] On April 26, 2018, Reynolds announced that he and Volkman would divorce after 7 years of marriage.[6] Volkman confirmed the pending divorce the following day.[7]

Career

Nico Vega (2005–present)

Aja Volkman with Nico Vega

Volkman was approached by Mike Peña after a solo performance in 2005.[8] Although Peña later left the band to pursue acting, Dan Epand (drummer) joined and this formed the basic structure of Nico Vega in 2007.[8] The band released a series of EPs. They signed to now defunct MySpace Records. Two years later the band released their debut eponymous album. Three tracks off of the album were produced by Linda Perry (Pink, Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani) and the rest were produced by Tim Edgar. The album was mixed by Tchad Blake (The Black Keys, Sheryl Crow).[9] Nico Vega performed on Last Call with Carson Daly later that year and then toured for the next couple years. They toured extensively with artists including Gavin Rossdale (of Bush), Manic Street Preachers, Imagine Dragons, She Wants Revenge, and Blondie. They have also opened for No Doubt.[10] During this time the band signed to Five Seven Music. Single "Beast" gained popularity in 2013 through BioShock Infinite advertisements, resulting in more than five million combined downloads and streams.[11]

Second album, Lead To Light, was released on July 22, 2014 and featured production from Dan Reynolds (Imagine Dragons, X Ambassadors), Tony Hoffer (Beck, Fitz and the Tantrums), and Tim Edgar (Nico Vega).[11] Single "I Believe (Get Over Yourself)" was co-written by Aja's ex-husband Dan Reynolds.[11][12] Track "Lightening" was co-written with Adam Bravin and Justin Warfield of rock group She Wants Revenge.

Egyptian (2010-2011)

Invited to perform an opening set for Nico Vega, Reynolds met Volkman in 2010. He invited her to help him finish some demos he was working on.[13][14][15] The two began a collaborative process which they titled Egyptian.[13] They recorded and released independently a four track eponymous EP digitally.[16]

They have performed this material once at the M Resort in Las Vegas.

Solo career (2015–present)

In 2015, Reynolds mentioned that Volkman is working on a solo project.[17] Album Sandy was released on May 19, 2017 and featured lead single "My Man".[18] The album features production by Joshua James and producer Tim Edgar (Nico Vega, Imagine Dragons).

Discography

Nico Vega

Egyptian

Solo

Other appearances

References

  1. ↑ Stone, Rolling (2013-01-30). "Nico Vega Unleash Heavy Hooks on 'Fury Oh Fury' – EP Premiere". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  2. ↑ Darby, Heidi. "Imagine Dragons' Dan Reynolds and Nico Vega's Aja Volkman-Reynolds' Weirdly Perfect Romance - Los Angeles Music - West Coast Sound". Blogs.laweekly.com. Retrieved 2012-07-26.
  3. ↑ "Nico Vega's Aja Volkman on marrying Imagine Dragons' Dan Reynolds and bringing their baby on tour". Las Vegas Weekly. 2013-02-05. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  4. ↑ "Celebrity Baby Scoop Interviews Nico Vega's Lead Singer, Aja Volkman". To the Motherhood. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  5. ↑ Juneau, Jen. "Imagine Dragons' Dan Reynolds Welcomes Twin Daughters Gia James and Coco Rae". People.com. Time Inc. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  6. ↑ Dan Reynolds (@DanReynolds) (April 26, 2018). "after 7 beautiful years together, Aja and I's marriage has come to an end. Our children continue to be the most important thing in our lives, & we will continue to co-parent them with all our love".
  7. ↑ "Aja Volkman on Instagram: "🕊"". Instagram. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
  8. 1 2 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-02-24. Retrieved 2014-05-14.
  9. ↑ "Nico Vega - Nico Vega | Credits". AllMusic. 2009-02-03. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  10. ↑ "indierockreviews.com". indierockreviews.com. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  11. 1 2 3 Written by nicovega (2014-02-10). "PRESS RELEASE: Nico Vega Launches New Single "I Believe" Kicks Off Tour with Imagine Dragons". Nico Vega. Archived from the original on 2017-08-09. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  12. ↑ Ray Rahman (2014-02-14). "Hear Nico Vega's new single 'I Believe (Get Over Yourself)'". Music-mix.ew.com. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  13. 1 2 Darby, Heidi. "Imagine Dragons' Dan Reynolds and Nico Vega's Aja Volkman-Reynolds' Weirdly Perfect Romance - Los Angeles Music - West Coast Sound". Blogs.laweekly.com. Retrieved 2012-07-26.
  14. ↑ "I'll Wait For You by Egyptian @ Rock N Roll Wine in Las Vegas". YouTube. 2011-07-03. Retrieved 2012-07-26.
  15. ↑ Darby, Heidi. "The 11 Feature - Egyptian: A Modern Rock Romance". Lifeabove11.com. Retrieved 2012-07-26.
  16. 1 2 "iTunes - Music - Egyptian - EP by Egyptian". Itunes.apple.com. 2011-04-18. Retrieved 2012-07-26.
  17. ↑ "The PV Q&A: Imagine Dragons' Dan Reynolds On Depression: 'This was everything we could have ever hoped for, but on the same note, it's probably the lowest I've ever been in my life.'". Purevolume.com. Archived from the original on 2016-05-20. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  18. ↑ "Single Review: "My Man," Aja Volkman | HuffPost". Huffingtonpost.com. 1970-01-01. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  19. ↑ "Nico Vega by Nico Vega on Apple Music". Itunes.apple.com. 2009-02-03. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  20. ↑ "Lead To Light by Nico Vega on Apple Music". Itunes.apple.com. 2014-07-22. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  21. ↑ "Instagram". Instagram. 2017-04-17. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  22. ↑ "Love Death Immortality by The Glitch Mob on Apple Music". Itunes.apple.com. 2014-02-11. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  23. ↑ "Nico Vega singer finds her calling on a different stage. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com.
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