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OnesToWatch alum Sofia Valdés has played a vital role in shaping our DNA. Meeting soft pop with traditional Panamanian sounds, her offerings to the industry are both unique and profound. For over six years, we’ve followed her as she blooms into herself and integrates the wealth of her heritage into immersive projects like 2021’s Ventura and 2023’s Silvia.

The tables have now been turned as Valdés occupies the journalist’s seat, nominating Dominique Da Silva as her current artist to watch. A Brazilian songstress exploring love and languages through her music, songs like “Total Eclipse” and “Plum” help build her sprouting identity in the industry. 

As two genuine besties recognizing the beauty of themselves in one another, Valdés and Da Silva giggle through discussing studying English literature, their shared latin roots, and the role family plays in shaping oneself.

Sofia Valdés: Here we go, Dominique Da Silva, I decided that I wanted you to be my One To Watch, because I genuinely think you're THE artist to watch. We met, I would think like eight years ago, yeah, because we met in music school in Liverpool. And from far away, I saw you, and I ran up to you, and I knew you were a star, and I said to you “you don’t know me. I know this sounds crazy but we’re gonna be best friends,” and you were very freaked out.

Dominique Da Silv: Sofia has psychic abilities. 

I have psychic abilities, and one of the things I knew is that you're just a star and that we were gonna be besties and that's my introduction of Dominique. What brought you to LIPA (Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts), where we met?

Thank you Sofia. That’s really sweet…I was actually already studying music at Barnard/Columbia, but like opera and it was a classical education, it wasn't very creative. I always loved writing songs and I just decided to just fully commit to my own music and so I applied to LIPA and went for a year. The pandemic happened, we [Sofia and I] both left, and I ended up returning to Barnard and finishing a degree in literature and just writing songs on the side for fun. 

I stayed with your mom for a few days and I know she is a big part of your life and she's this fierce individual that just goes through life in a very fun and admirable way and raised you in a very artistic household. Your brother also writes… You guys are always doing bits and skits and are very theatrical, crazy, and loud together. How did your mom and family influence your creativity?

That’s funny… We are very crazy and theatrical. I grew up with all 5 of us in a tiny 1 bedroom apartment in New York and I still made my family move out the way so I could be dancing and singing. My family is very theatrical, especially my mom. She used to act, but she writes scripts and novels, and makes films and then her father was a writer, and then his father was a playwright and I think that kind of thing just runs in your blood.

They are all so animated as well, and they're all like characters. I feel like we can see that exaggerated big personality come through in your music videos too, like in ‘Signs.’

Well, it’s funny because yes I am very dramatic and crazy… and my whole family is like that. But I’ve always been known as the least risk taking one or the least funny one. With my friends, I’m the opposite, but at home they're always like, oh my god, Domi's jokes are so bad.

Your mom was telling me how you were the prude one, and I'm like… how is this even possible? [laughs] which is why I think we do well as friends. Like, I don't know, you’re not very phased by anything you're just like, yeah, I’m gonna do it anyway.

Live and let live. Life is so short so why not do the weird silly thing that’s the most fun?

Well even in your most serious songs, like, ‘Signs’— there’s some whack shit in there. It’s a good thing. You explore a range of feelings or emotions. Was writing the first thing in the arts that grabbed your attention the most?

I was always like, put the camera on me, move out the way I need to dance… before I could talk or walk… My brothers would make fun of me because they would put like a mirror under the door and laugh at me as I would play the same Shakira song over and over again, and I would choreograph, write down the moves, then force the girls in playground next day to learn the choreo for the school talent show… basically what I do now….Before I even knew how to write, I was performing in a sense. At 8 years old I became really obsessed with journaling and making up stories. And then at 9 and beyond we'd have an assignment, and I'd be like, Can I do a song instead? And they would let me… So every time I would like, try and write these songs, and perform, instead of writing an essay or presenting.

You're but you’re also like an actual smart girlina. You are educated. You're very well read. I think people forget a little bit about that. I know you’ve always cared most about poetry and writing. I feel like even your songs could be read as poems as well. And I think it comes from years of study. You are not like pulling lyrics out of your ass, like, you've studied words for a very long time.

Oh god, but I’m still making pop so I wouldn’t say my lyrics are quite prolific. I just don’t like writing songs to make a bland product to sell— especially in sessions. I just have always loved poetry I think I got that from my grandfather. He would have me like, go learn a poem, and then like, recite it from memory to him in his garden. It’s honestly a lost art. I’d always try to shock him and find a vulgar poem in one of his books like Philip Larkin, “they fuck you up your mum and dad…” and make him laugh… I don’t know, I just love the drama of poetry.

You then studied literature and specifically Shakespeare … you were quite obsessed do you feel like that changed your songs?

Yes I think most of my degree focused on poetry and theatre. My thesis was on Shakespeare’s Othello. And if I think about my whole time there, I mostly wrote about women and class and freedom and spirituality and love. And so I feel like that is still the same stuff that I write and think about now…

Who are your creative influences?

Truly, I am inspired by poets. If I'm reading poetry and novels then I'm writing well and if I'm not, then the writing doesn’t come as easy. You have to fill the well in order to pull from it. You know? I love Yeats, Louise Glück, Lucille Clifton, Anne Sexton.. Oh! I mean that famous William Carlos Williams poem inspired me to write my love song ‘Plum.’ I also love Elizabeth Bishop. She's one of my favorites. I actually just got yesterday like a book of Brazilian poetry that she's translated.

I really agree with the idea that reading well creates better writing. Speaking of Brazil… let's talk about your dad and your other side of the family. You are a Brazilian girl from New York City. That's actually who you really are. I feel like we grew up in a similar ways in— Latin households. I grew up in Panama and you grew up in Brooklyn but your dad barely speaks English, and he's from Brazil, where in Brazil is he from? Do you feel like your family on that side is musical or artistic in any way?

He grew up on a farm in Paraná, but my family all live in São Paulo. My dad played a lot of samba and bossa nova growing up. Even though it's all I would dance and sing along to as a child, I wasn't aware that, oh, this is Jorge Ben Jor or Beth Carvalho until later in life going back to that music and recognizing it. My family loves music but I'm the first in my family on both sides to be creating and putting out music. I don’t know where it came from.

But Brazilian culture is part of your roots… Speaking of .. you put a song in French because of your grandmother, would you write in Portuguese? 

Of course. Why not?

What are you working on right now?

I'm working on my first EP. I'm as independent as you can get, so you know, things just take a little bit longer, but I am creating a fun world for it. I’m very excited for every single part of the process. 

I want to add, though, that the indie part is not an exaggeration, like you yourself, like, gotten everyone's outfit sourced and styled, production for your own stuff, editing your own videos, coming up with ideas, and being incredibly involved in every step. and I don't think people know how much of it you've done, even in the production of your music and like so many things…it actually came from you. I just want to make clear you're not this thing that someone behind a curtain is crafting and putting out. This is you. Your hands are getting very dirty while—

They're filthy.

Filthy!

Thank you for recognizing that. It's hard to start putting yourself out in the world. There are so many steps and there still is so much to learn still. I think I've gotten really lucky that I've been able to work with my incredibly talented and hardworking friends for my videos. And with my music too, all my collaborators have become such good friends. I met Richard Pichura, coincidentally he asked to play in my band and I asked him to make me some demos instead. Come to find out— he is actually an incredible producer and he immediately understood my vision. And I was like wait let's just go for it and keep at it and we just had so much fun making all this music. I'm so grateful for his creativity, hard work and belief in me. Also his girlfriend, Nicole Castañeda, happens to be an incredible designer, and she’s always loaning me fabulous pieces she has handmade. I am truly blessed by this insane coincidence of two wonderful creative friends under the same roof that I get to create with.

Your project and your songs and your videos and everything are really like an act of love from all your friends because we all believe in you so much.

Awww I love you. I feel that love so much. Thank you boo.

What's next? World domination?

World DOMination 

Period. Last question. How do you want people to feel when you hear your music? 

Free.

Listen to "La Rochelle" below: