They come from Brazil and have already performed several times in France. This summer 2025, they're invited to the Dub Camp festival, in early July, near Nantes. If you're interested in sound system culture, you're probably familiar with Dani and Laylah, founders of Feminine Feminine Hi-Fi. Dani has been digging wax for over 15 years and she is the selectress behind the decks. Laylah started singing in a choir during the 90s, discovered sound system culture in 2011, and she is the sing-jay. For the past 10 years, they've been bringing freshness to a male-dominated movement. The duo launched Feminine Hi-Fi Records, a home for reggae, dub, and the unique sound of Brazilian bass culture. An interview with Dani and Laylah, which we hope will inspire vocations.

Hello, a glass of?

Dani: Caldo de cana, a non-alcoholic drink typical in Brazil, made from sugar cane.

Laylah: Caipirinha for me.

To dress, a pair of?

Dani: glasses, to read the stories on the back of records I don't know yet (40+ and screen time things).

Laylah: Havaianas sandals, sitting down under the sun, songwriting while get tan.

DJ Dani Pimenta could you tell me about your first experience with DJing? 

It was in 2011. I already collected reggae and Brazilian music discs, but I had never played in public. Even if I had no experience, I decided to create a party to start playing, before waiting for an invitation to come along. And it worked: the party was packed and here I am, 14 years later.

Laylah Arruda could you tell me about your first experience as MC-singjay?

In the 90’s there was a choir built by some leaders of different ethnic and religious groups. Around 300 kids together, from several “minorities” (I never liked these word for this), singing against racism, xenophobia, discrimination. It was already a big experience, concerts in great and known places. And I was one of the soloists, I was 12 years old. Since that I never stop singing, few bands, then I met sound system in 2002. My first experience was in Dubversão Sound system session, in their weekly party called Susi in Dub, an important highlight of our sound system history here, not as official MC of the night, but in the open mic vibes culture we have. At that times, everytime singing the same song (laugh).

Could you tell me about your first experience with music production-beat making? 

Dani: I don't produce yet and I don't know if I ever will, my mind is focused on being a selectress and researcher. We have a label, but it's a partnership for releases by guest producers with Feminine Hi-Fi co-production.

Laylah: Beatmaking I’ve been pretty more active co-producing with my partners lately, many are part of our sound session. But Voice arrangement in musical production is my thing, it’s something I’ve been working more and more, and increasingly, not only for me, also for other singers looking for my job. And I love to be part of the construction, to make other voices reach the best I can orientate.

What was the trigger for launching Feminine Hi-Fi?

Dani: The almost total lack of gender-balanced spaces within our field. If we weren't given any or very few opportunities, we decided it was time to create our own.

Laylah: signing underneath what Dani said.

Can you explain the artistic direction of Feminine Hi-Fi, do you have a message for the public or is your music only to entertain? 

Dani: As women, Latinas, Brazilians, from what is known as the ‘third world’, I believe that this is a strong enough message, especially considering the music market, which is still mostly male. We've been active for almost 10 years and even today it's not uncommon for us to be the only or one of few women in line-ups, either in our country or abroad. Even if we aim to entertain, to party, our presence and our music will always have a message.

Laylah: We came from a people, from a culture that was built - still are - facing a gun point. First the traditional people, I mean indigenous, then africans forced to cross the atlantic to be slaves. The traffic of raw materials, exploration of the nature that builds the first world. We are the people stoled. It has been 388 years under this system since the portuguese and other european ships reached here, and only 137 years since the end of slavery, when people from other nations came, running away from wars and the oppression from the first world. Nowadays, similar logic with cops and the government over us.  We are an exclusive mix of survivors. Our culture reflects it. So, the music we play sings our struggle and sings our happiness, because we people have the spirit to live each day as it was the last, it’s in our blood.

There's a video where you play salsa, don't you only play dub?

Dani: (laugh) yes! I always try to present an open-minded set at our gigs, always with dub and reggae as the backbone, but bringing what we call ‘tropical dub’ or ‘tropical bass’, including the rich sounds of Brazil, Latin America, the Caribbean and, of course, maintaining the strong bass line that is our main characteristic as part of the sound system culture.

Laylah: (laugh) I love that, supah on. Yes, our basis.

What comes to your mind if I say Zen?  

Dani: Beach. Seeing the sea is the most Zen thing I can think of. It reorganises my mind.

Laylah: A view of a great and beautiful skyline.

What are your favorite record stores? 

Dani: I like the places we call ‘sebos’ here in Brazil, which are second hands of various things, books, objects, and they also have records. In these places it's not uncommon to find precious things for great prices! I recently came across a record shop in Bogotá, Colombia, which is also a very traditional leather shoes shop, so the display cases have hundreds of pairs of shoes and in the centre of the shop, boxes and boxes of records. A peculiar paradise, it's on my list of favorites.

Your top 3 venues in Sao Paulo? 

Dani: To listen to vinyl DJs: Boteco Pratododia. To spend an afternoon in a place that has several vinyl stores: Galeria Nova Barão, and to learn more about our language history and origins: Museu da Língua Portuguesa.
Laylah: I’ll tell about nights, cause São Paulo there’’ so many parks, museum. So, getting the music way: Java and the Dubversão Sound System montlhy session, Boteco PratodoDia, Bourbon Street Jazz. 

What comes to your mind if I say Dub Camp? 

Dani: My heart beats faster just listening to it! A true temple for those who love sound system culture.

Laylah: O-RI-GI-NAL Dub and Sound System meeting.

What is your favorite Brazilian adage?

Dani: In Brazil, we call them “ditado” or “dito popular”. I have several favourites, as they are very much part of our culture. But my current favourite is “o peixe não vê a água”, or ‘‘the fish doesn't see the water’. It means that when we're immersed in a situation, good or bad, sometimes we don't even realise we're in it.

Laylah: I love these two:

1. “Quem canta seus males espanta” ,it’s an adage and rhymes (laugh), literally “Who sings scares away their troubles”, the meaning is if you sing you feel better, feel calmer.

2. “Uma andorinha só não faz verão”, for me match so bad with us (laugh), literally “Only one bird can’t make a summer be itself”. Andorinha it’s a common species of brazilian bird, and they only fly an immigrate at the winter in a bunch of them, really a lot. So the meaning is, alone, you can’t make nothing, build nothing, so be together, the collective it’s primordial.

One of your favorite tracks or top 3 tracks of Feminine Hi-Fi and why?  

Dani: For me it's always been almost impossible to rank top 3 or top 5 or any other kind of top, because I discover new things all the time, then I remember and rediscover things I already knew, and this ranking keeps changing. But I would say that my all-time favourites include the following 3 tracks: The Heptones "Book of Rules" (the melodic is so spiritual); Milton Nascimento "Tudo o que você podia ser" because I've been listening to it since I was a child and it always makes me cry; and Leci Brandão "Deixa Pra Lá" because ot is a powerful and resilient message about the concerns of life.
Laylah: I’m touched by our last sessions so that’s from I’m gonna choose for now. 1. An getting back of “World a music”, how universal theses riddim are, and I sing a lyric very toasting, people connect in a special way; 2. “Não me engana” it’’ from my new album, have being a highlight, I love this moment to sing this. 3. “Etiópia Mundo Negro”, this brazilian afro-reggae promotes a spiritual conexion and is a track I feel people can understand and real dive into the conexion we propose of reggae-dub-brasil.

The sound system that puts you crazy systematically?!

Dani: Another difficult thing to choose (laugh). As a lover of sound system culture, I always get emotional and give in to the bass at every session. But in Brazil, I believe that Dubversão Sound System, in addition to it’s impeccable sound quality, has a particular reason: it was the first sound system I saw in my life, and it was through it that I fell in love with the culture.

Laylah: For me, in Brasil: Dubversão sound system, Ministéreo Público sound system, Terremoto. And out of Brasil: Channel One sound system, OBF sound system and an Iration Steppas session makes me crazy as well.

7 or 12inch? 

Dani: each format is special in it's own way, I love them both and 10’ also.

Laylah: I love to release 7”, but I dream to release a 12 inch - only singles collab.

Your top 5 new releases?

Dani:

- Criola Beat "Dancehall Style Vol. 2"

- Pachyman "Hard to Part"

- Groundation and Clive Hunt "Spirits in The Material World (Sting remake) "

- The version of the classic “Negro Gato” by Frente Cumbiero; and I leave the fifth spot open because probably by the time this article comes out, I will have changed my mind about which release would occupy that spot.

Laylah: Mmmm hard for me. My daily life is studying music I need to and songwriting, so it depends what I’m doing. Generally I’ve been listening to many of the new afrobeats and also boombap from nowadays.

Your top 5 oldies?

Dani: OK, I think I've never had to choose so much, this is so difficult for me hahaha! I can't say, because I love old music, I am completely and deeply enchanted by old music - if we're talking about Jamaican and Brazilian music, then everything gets even more difficult! - and this source of enchantment is infinite.

Laylah:

- Nine Simone, all of

- Curtis Mayfield, the "Superfly"

- Bob Marley “All day, all night”

- Gilberto Gil “Extra” because I never feel tired

- Max Romeo songs cause I feel touched his recently passed away. I was his backing vocal in his Ultimate tour (latin), was so important to me, so that’s it.  

What comes to your mind if I say graffiti?  

Dani: Pixo, or pichação, a style of street writing that was born in 1970’s in São Paulo and is very unique here.

Laylah: same of Dani, I think: Yes Graffiti, but, do you know Pixo? (laugh and starts a nice conversation around this São paulo’s street art).

What makes you proud today? 

Dani: Knowing that I can work on something that, as well as being fun and enabling me to reach places I never imagined I would, also contributes to a more equal space. I feel helpful and happy. 

Laylah: When I receive this beautiful recognition from people as an important and significant person in the basis of the brazilian sound system scene. I never looked for that, actually never could imagine. I always did cause I love to sing in this format and all the movements around it. But at this point of my life, 23 years in sound system culture, I feel good and proud to listen to things like that from people.

If you could teleport yourself for a few days…

Dani: I would like to go to Japan.

Laylah: I wanna go to Cuba.

What job would you like to do if you weren’t a DJ-MC-label owner?  

Dani: I have the happiness of being able to work with another thing I've loved since I was child, which is writing. I am a journalist, so I've fulfilled my dream of working with everything I love in this life.
Laylah: Ganja farmer in a legalized country.

Your future projects? 
Release the track ‘Fuego’ by the label Feminine Hi-Fi, collab between Laylah and Micronomade from Argentina. Make an another one beautiful Euro tour, build our Latin tour, and makes possible the next edition of our Festival Feminine Hi-Fi. (video below).

Interviewed by Dj coshmar / Photo by Adriana Yuki