Slim Soledad: From São Paulo’s Underground to the Global Dancefloor

IN CONVERSATION WITH SÃO PAULO DJ, PRODUCER, AND PERFORMER SLIM SOLEDAD, WE DISCUSS HER DEBUT ALBUM NOCHES CALIENTES DE LA SOLEDAD, A RECORD THAT MOVES BETWEEN THE BODY ON THE DANCEFLOOR AND SOMETHING FAR MORE PERSONAL.

ROOTED IN BRAZIL’S UNDERGROUND, SLIM REFLECTS ON CHAOS, FUNK, AND THE SOUND OF THE CITY SHAPING HER MUSIC, ALONGSIDE COLLABORATIONS WITH SOME OF BRAZIL’S MOST VITAL CULTURAL VOICES. WE ALSO TALK ABOUT COMMUNITY, TRANS-LED PARTIES THROUGH THE CHERNOBYL COLLECTIVE, AND WHY THE DANCEFLOOR CAN STILL BE A SPACE OF RESISTANCE.

SLIM SOLEDAD

ANOMIE: Hi Slim! Your debut album Noches Calientes de la Soledad feels intensely physical. When you were making it, were you thinking more about the body on the dance floor or about storytelling through sound?

SLIM: It’s both. I was thinking about both of them. This time, I didn’t want to just make club music; I felt the need to express myself in other ways, so I considered both approaches. 

ANOMIE: Many of the collaborators on the album are important cultural voices in Brazil. How did those collaborations shape the direction of the record? 

SLIM: The collaborations were really about me going back to my roots, and they’re with people whose work I really admire. Once the concept for the album was clear, it was easier for me to choose who to collaborate with, keeping in mind exactly the kind of sound I wanted to create and of course, the entire shape of the album stems from these collaborations. Laercio was the producer who helped me clarify this the most.

From our very first collaboration, which was “NO DOOR” ft. Jota Mombaça, I was able to see the entire direction of the album, and from there I refined the other songs so they would have sonic coherence.

ANOMIE: Compared to your previous releases like your EP Space Manual for Those Who Cannot Swim or past singles, how do you feel your sound has evolved on this album?

SLIM: Maturity, I feel my sound is much more mature than before, and I’m happy I gave myself this opportunity to explore and share with others, because I’m also proud of the work I’ve built, and obviously I didn’t do it alone, so I’m very grateful to see my sound evolving, and I can’t wait to create more.

ANOMIE: “Mapoas Only” was our first window into the world of the album, and the video is gorgeous, there’s something very striking and different about its aesthetic. We loved it. How important are visuals to the way you build the world around your music?

SLIM: I think that when visuals are paired with music, it creates such a powerful combination that, in some cases, it allows you to delve even deeper into the meaning of the work. I’m not generalizing, but I believe visuals are very important in an artistic work because they bring another sensory dimension to the experience. Whether it’s the way you dress, your likes, or your dislikes, I believe this fosters connections and builds a community.

ANOMIE: You trained in contemporary dance and vogue before DJing, does that background shape the way you structure a DJ set or build a track?

SLIM: It used to have a bigger influence, but whenever I’m putting together a set or creating music, I always end up leaning toward a more sentimental side. I think dance has moved into a different realm at this point, which is something I obviously want to explore again.

ANOMIE: You came up through São Paulo’s underground scene. What aspects of that environment still live within your music today? 

SLIM: The chaos, the noise of São Paulo funk, the city’s noise, the movement, the shouting, the excess. These are good examples of how all of this is very much present in my music and DJ sets today; there are so many other examples, but I think these do the job.

ANOMIE Brazilian club culture has historically been incredibly political. Do you see the dancefloor as a space of resistance, or something more ambiguous than that?

SLIM: The dance floor is definitely a political space and a space of resistance. Given everything that’s happening in the world right now, fighting for these spaces takes a lot of resilience, and whether we like it or not, this keeps the cultural scene alive in various spaces. In other words, it’s both political and art.

ANOMIE Through the Chernobyl Collective you helped organise some of São Paulo’s first trans-led parties. What did those early spaces feel like, and what made them powerful to You?

SLIM: It’s always been about creating a space for people like us, where we can take a break, even if just for a few hours. And one of the things I’ve always found most powerful is how much willpower we have, how we were able to put into practice what was on our minds, see the collective grow, the parties, people mingling and having fun, and certainly, community is the power itself in these situations; on our own, we never could have done it.

ANOMIE: You’ve spoken about the art world sometimes commodifying queer and racialised bodies.How do you protect your artistic autonomy while working in global club culture? What

does a truly safe and fun dance floor look like to you today?

SLIM: I’m very true to myself when it comes to my decisions and my principles; the way I protect my art is by remaining true to myself and my loved ones until the very end. A safe dance floor would be one where people are having fun, dancing, chatting, enjoying the music and their friends, and looking out for one another.

ANOMIE: Your Instagram is full of striking makeup and fashion looks, it feels like an extension of the music. How do you think about visual identity as part of your artistic language?

SLIM: My visual identity often intertwines with my artistic side. And precisely by bringing the two together, sometimes through repeated patterns, it ends up becoming a visual identity. When I talk about my art, I describe it as if it were “eras” or “little worlds” that you can sometimes click on to dive into a whole new universe, which then opens up even more possibilities,

making all these eras more tangible

ANOMIE: When you’re creating a look, whether makeup, clothing, or stage presence, is it connected to the sound you’re working with at that moment?

SLIM: Not necessarily, I like having my creative freedom and not feeling pressured to do what everyone else is doing; I like to explore based on my mood. Sometimes I do think things through and create with a specific goal in mind, but not always.

ANOMIE: Your work touches music, dance, fashion, activism and community building. Do you see yourself primarily as a DJ, or something broader?

SLIM: I see myself as a DJ, music producer, and performer. I think all those other things fit in, of course, but these three are at the core.

ANOMIE: If someone steps onto the dancefloor while one of your tracks is playing, what do you hope they feel in that moment?

SLIM: Happiness, spontaneity, connection, reflection, self-acceptance, unashamed, powerful, magical, bold, unique

SLIMS DEBUT ALBUM 'NOCHES CALIENTES DE LA SOLEDAD' IS OUT NOW