Aya Njeim
I've been blessed to discover & play with mama music since early childhood in Lebanon. I grew up speaking Arabic, French & English which allows me to sing in those languages & exposes me to sounds from those parts of the world. As my journey began I was singing in choirs, bands and the conservatory while in High School and then went to Hunter College in NYC for a music major in classical training as a vocalist. My very good friend Chava and I form a band called theory of mind; we worked on different humble projects, collaborations, performances & joined a circus to accompany the acrobatic acts with our singing and guitar. We mainly worked night life so I had the opportunity to improvise & jam with DJs and producers playing the parties & shows, that brought me to understand in myself that as a musician I would love to play rhythm and melodies producing music to sing on, or jamming on already existing music having the honor to add layers to them. Raving & love brought me to the Kootenays where magic happens, where I met Joaqu & we formed our duo ayajoaqa & where I am gradually building my studio learning production and wanting to collaborate in many ways with many artforms and grow musically.
Joaquin Klein
I was born in a small mud house on the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo mountains in New Mexico. My father was a gigging musician, so naturally the home was filled with instruments, practices and jams. One of my earliest memories is chilling in the Bass drum of my dad's drum kit. He would put a nice pillow in there so when I'd had enough i could just crawl in & sleep. The muted bass seemed as comforting as a human heartbeat. This is where my love of music started. When I moved to the Kootenays 20 years ago I was exposed to turntables for the first time and knew I had to have a go. I have been playing ever since. I love how music transcends all differences and brings people together; the world over. One of my favorite things on the planet is a dancefloor full of smiling sweaty people really getting down.
Kootenay Yoga Festival Offering
Ayajoqa DJ Set
When we jam we choose music from different cultures of the world with rhythms & melodies that resonate with us deeply. Feeling honoured to jam on jams. Adding singing, pitches and rhythms to the already existing sounds. For us, it's all about the magic of life love music expression & connection.