Words by Marisa Whitaker / Photos by Alvaro Arisó
Gabriela Jimeno Caldas, a.k.a. Ela Minus, is a singer-songwriter and producer born and bred in Bogotá and now based in Brooklyn. Ela garnered her reputation as a blistering, analog-only electronic performer playing clubs and festivals around the world since 2015.
I began my exploration into all things Ela Minus through listening and attempting to describe her latest album, DÍA, which was released on January 17 via Domino. She brought back her tag team – Marta Salogni and Heba Kadry, who helped with her debut, acts of rebellion – to mix and master the record.
I listened to DÍA front-to-back and took notes on the sounds I heard and the things I was reminded of.
DRONE
ETHEREAL
MACHINERY
SYNTH
GLITTERY
The LP’s opener, “Abrir Monte,” is a lengthy instrumental, yet telling of what inhabits Ela’s otherworldly soundscape. The crunchy and crisp production (consistent throughout the whole album) allows us to feel around her hellish ether, which is hoisted by heavy synths, dance beats, and electronic layerings. The track fades into “Broken,” and I got really excited on first listen that we got ourselves a concept album! In 2025! Yeah! Thx Ela!
Ela asks her mother dearest how she herself let darkness in: “I’ll keep writing melodies / to sing away the gloom / that we have succumbed to …” It’s one of those sad-lyric-filled songs over a dancey club beat.
Ela’s a church girl: we hear the questioning of her own faith in “Broken,” and in “Idols,” she admits to sinning by idolatry. I don’t think she feels that guilty about it, though. You could even consider “Idols” as a trilogy closer. It would fit deliciously in an American Horror Story: Asylum episode.
Ela’s use of autotune = chef’s kiss! I’ve come to appreciate autotune more often these days – Charli in Brat, Julian/The Voidz’s new album Like All Before You, and now Ela. She turns it darker, deeper, raspier…and it works.
ZIPPERS
ELECTRIC GUITAR
FUZZY PEDAL
SULTRY
BUT OF EXPERIENCE
I relate to “IDK” as I write this review: “I don’t know what I’m doing / I feel lost / listening to the voices / echo off the wall” How can you write an album “review” about someone who clearly knows what they’re doing! A very talented electronic artist! I couldn’t even do it if I tried, man!
After some more digging around the press releases and materials, “I Want To Be Better” makes even more sense as the album’s beating heart. This journey through unprecedented sceneries and landscapes reflects Ela’s reality while she was making this album: she toyed around with these songs in California’s Mojave Desert, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, Mexico City, and London.
When you travel, you feel different speeds, different thoughts, different experiences. You can participate in Ela’s travels via DÍA.
V NOISEY
LIKE A WAREHOUSE
A KETTLE WHISTLING READY TO POP
MY ROOMMATE WAS JUST LIKE WTF ARE YOU LISTENING TO
SHE AGREED W NOISEY WAREHOUSE
IN THE COOLEST WAY POSSIBLE
“Onwards” could probably pass on a playlist playing at an NYC trap-sleaze party at Old Flings (in the coolest way possible). “And” is the interlude I think every album needs. It’s nicely placed halfway through the second half. I wouldn’t say that I needed some relief while listening to this album, but I do think we all need a little relief sometimes. Every album needs an interlude.
“Upwards” has my favorite lyrics on the album. Read ‘em while you listen. The track is a furthering of Ela’s introspectiveness, which bleeds thick throughout the whole record. It’s a natural kind of self-reflection — she isn’t saying set-in-stone things that she’s “discovered” about herself, but rather, she’s still open for interpretation: “My mind keeps lying to me.” She’s found an open mind that she acknowledges can still be changed. She can always change: “I’d love to save you / but you’ve got to save yourself. / I’d love to save you / but I’ve got to save myself first.”
I interpret the simple, Spanish-sung closer “Combat” to be the age-old tale of a coddled individual–those (and more often than not, most of us can relate) who are kept so confined to an unfitting way of life that they must rebelliously jailbreak out, even if it’ll kill ’em just trying. Ela spearheaded the exploration she’d been craving, learned about herself and how her surroundings can elevate and inspire, and burned it all down behind her.
Thanks to Ela for expanding my mind. To keep people and music around that expand your mind is a great and important rule for life.
Some of my favorite YouTube comments from the “Upwards,” “Combat,” and “Broken” videos are:
“MY THERAPIST: COLOMBIAN BJÖRK DOESN’T EXIST, IT’S ALL IN YOUR HEAD. – COLOMBIAN BJÖRK:”
“SENSING A M83 VIBE WITH THE HEAVY ECHO AND THE TRANCEY KEYBOARD SOUND … BUT IT’S ONE TO JIG AROUND TO. AND I LIKE IT!”
“HOLY FVCK THIS SOUNDS AWESOME”
“THE ART OF FINDING THE PERFECT BPM”
“ESTA CANCIÓN ENCAPSULA COMO SE SIENTA DARSE CUENTA QUE HAY ALGO EN TU CABEZA QUE NO ESTÁ BIEN, QUE NO FUNCIONA Y QUE PASA UNA Y OTRA VEZ. QUE INCREÍBLE”
“WHO IS THIS DIVA?”