Layla Benitez

New York neon, Space pulse

Between the nocturnal heritage of New York and the open energy of Miami, Layla Benitez has built a recognizable booth identity: deep groove, melodic tension, soul-infused vocals, and an 80s sensibility that connects the classic club with the contemporary global circuit. Born and raised in New York, with Puerto Rican and British roots, she grew up close to booth culture thanks to John "Jellybean" Benitez, a key figure in the 1980s New York scene. She is also a classically trained pianist and studied photography at Parsons School of Design, a visual foundation that can be perceived in the narrative and aesthetic form of her sessions.

From Manhattan after-hours to a residency in Miami

Her professional journey was first consolidated in New York, where she was a resident of Dreamland at Good Behavior, inside the Made Hotel, between 2017 and 2019. That period coexisted with performances at Tribeca Film Festival galas, Miami Music Week, Art Basel, and underground parties in Mykonos and Ibiza. In 2019, she spent the summer as a resident at Sommer Klein, in Alacati, Turkey, while expanding her circuit through Europe and the Middle East. The decisive turn came with her move to Miami, where her relationship with Club Space forced her to broaden her musical approach: from initial afro house and deep house, she moved on to integrate indie dance, dark disco, breakbeat, and melodic techno with a more flexible reading of the dancefloor.

A language between melody, percussion, and shadow

Benitez moves in a zone where melodic techno and melodic house coexist with deep basslines, organic percussion, synthesizer textures, and emotive vocals. That mix has allowed her to fit into both long-duration clubs and festival stages. DJ Mag chose her as a Future Star in the Top 100 DJs 2022, and since then her schedule has extended to spaces and brands such as Coachella, EXIT, Afterlife, Circoloco, EDC, The Warehouse Project, Tomorrowland, Mayan Warrior, DC10, Red Rocks, and Warung. Her sets for EXIT, Hï Ibiza, Creamfields, IMS Dalt Vila, and platforms like Beatport or DJ Mag have reinforced her international profile.

Sheep At Night and an expanding discography

In the studio, her catalog combines her own releases, collaborations, and remixes on reference labels. She has signed Fides on Crosstown Rebels, Fizzy Pop on All Day I Dream, Easy and Broken Love on Zamna, No Place to Go and Memory Leak on Interstellar, a remix of Holding On for Anjunadeep, Nirvana alongside Vintage Culture on Knee Deep In Sound, All The Time with 19:26 on Afterlife, and Parallax with Jono Stephenson and Henri Bergmann on Mahool. Furthermore, she promotes her own label, Sheep At Night, from which she articulates a more personal phase with tracks like What Is Love?, Toxic Trip, and Coming Up.