Aja Volkman

Aja Volkman (/ˈeɪʒə/ (listen); born March 4, 1980)[1] is an American singer, songwriter, and musician, best known as the frontwoman of the Indie Rock band Nico Vega.[2] She has also released an EP titled Egyptian as a duo with Dan Reynolds (of Imagine Dragons) under the moniker Egyptian.[3]

Aja Volkman
Aja Volkman singing with Nico Vega in 2011
Background information
Born (1980-03-04) March 4, 1980
OriginEugene, Oregon, United States
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • musician
Instruments
Years active2005–present
LabelsFive Seven Music
Associated acts
Websitenicovega.com

Personal life

Volkman is the daughter of James Volkman and artist Rogene Manas. She attended South Eugene High School and graduated in the class of 1998 at the age of 18.[4] She married the lead singer of Imagine Dragons, Dan Reynolds, on March 5, 2011.[5] They have three daughters and a son. Their oldest daughter was born August 2012, fraternal twin girls born in March of 2017, and their son was born in October of 2019.[6][7][8] On April 26, 2018, Reynolds announced that he and Volkman would divorce after 7 years of marriage.[9] Volkman confirmed the pending divorce the following day.[10] However, on November 6, 2018, along with the release of the Imagine Dragons song "Bad Liar", Reynolds announced that he and Volkman were dating once again and that she helped co-write the song with him earlier in the year.

Career

Nico Vega (2005–present)
Aja Volkman with Nico Vega

Volkman was approached by Michael Peña after a solo performance in 2005.[11] Although Peña later left the band to pursue acting, Dan Epand (drummer) joined and this formed the basic structure of Nico Vega in 2007.[11] 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).[12] 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.[13] During this time the band signed to Five Seven Music. Their single "Beast" gained popularity in 2013 through BioShock Infinite advertisements, resulting in more than five million combined downloads and streams.[14]

Their 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).[14] Their single "I Believe (Get Over Yourself)" was co-written by Volkman's husband, Reynolds.[14][15] Track "Lightning" was co-written with Adam Bravin and Justin Warfield of rock group She Wants Revenge.

Aja Volkman and Dan Epand created a new band, named TWO, and put out an EP, "Pull The Knife Out", in July 2020.

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.[3][16] The two began a collaborative process which they titled Egyptian.[3] They recorded and released independently a four track eponymous EP digitally.[17]

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.[18] Album Sandy was released on May 19, 2017 and featured lead single "My Man".[19] The album features production by Joshua James and producer Tim Edgar (Nico Vega, Imagine Dragons).

Discography

Nico Vega

Egyptian

Two
  • Pull the Knife Out EP (2020)[22]

Solo

Other appearances

References
  1. "Aja Volkman on Instagram: "Today I am 40 years. 7 years older than my husband."". Instagram. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  2. Rolling Stone (2013-01-30). "Nico Vega Unleash Heavy Hooks on 'Fury Oh Fury' – EP Premiere". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  3. Darby, Heidi. "Imagine Dragons' Dan Reynolds and Nico Vega's Aja Volkman-Reynolds' Weirdly Perfect Romance". LA Weekly. Archived from the original on 2013-10-02. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  4. "Nico Vega singer finds her calling on a different stage".
  5. "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.
  6. "Celebrity Baby Scoop Interviews Nico Vega's Lead Singer, Aja Volkman". To the Motherhood. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  7. Juneau, Jen. "Imagine Dragons' Dan Reynolds Welcomes Twin Daughters Gia James and Coco Rae". People.com. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  8. Dan Reynolds [@DanReynolds] (October 1, 2019). "As today marks the 2nd anniversary of our most tragic day in Vegas, it now also represents the day that we celebrate the birth of new life. We are truly feeling #VegasStrong today" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. 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" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. "Aja Volkman on Instagram: "🕊"". Instagram. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
  11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-02-24. Retrieved 2014-05-14.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. "Nico Vega - Nico Vega | Credits". AllMusic. 2009-02-03. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  13. "indierockreviews.com". indierockreviews.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-16. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  14. 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.
  15. Ray Rahman (2014-02-14). "Hear Nico Vega's new single 'I Believe (Get Over Yourself)'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  16. "I'll Wait For You by Egyptian @ Rock N Roll Wine in Las Vegas". YouTube. 2011-07-03. Retrieved 2012-07-26.
  17. "iTunes - Music - Egyptian - EP by Egyptian". Itunes.apple.com. 2011-04-18. Retrieved 2012-07-26.
  18. "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.
  19. Volkman, Aja (2017-05-04). "Single Review: "My Man"". HuffPost. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  20. "Nico Vega by Nico Vega on Apple Music". Itunes.apple.com. 2009-02-03. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  21. "Lead To Light by Nico Vega on Apple Music". Itunes.apple.com. 2014-07-22. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  22. https://americansongwriter.com/pull-the-knife-out-two-track-by-track-album-interview/
  23. "Instagram". Instagram. 2017-04-17. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  24. "Love Death Immortality by The Glitch Mob on Apple Music". Itunes.apple.com. 2014-02-11. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  25. "Nico Vega singer finds her calling on a different stage. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com.
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