A resident of Brooklyn via Bogotá, Ela Minus cut her musical teeth playing drums in a Colombian hardcore band before moving to Boston to attend the Berklee College of Music, double-majoring in Drum Set and Music Synthesis. Today she’s an analogue electronics auteur whose musical horizons are seemingly endless. On her debut full-length Acts of Rebellion (Domino Recording Company) Ela alternates between propulsive grooves and floating ambient soundscapes–the latter Eno-esque instrumentals given evocative names like “pocket piano,” “let them have the internet” and “do whatever you want, all the time.” These titles reflect Ela Minus’s lyrical approach elsewhere where she advocates for self-determination, empowerment and the search for one’s own natural rhythms. Speaking of which Acts of Rebellion makes for ideal late-night listening (“I never feel more myself than when it’s dark” she sings at the end of “dominique”) projecting a womb-like warmth onto the listener. (Jason Lee)
