Music Artists You Should Know: Ela Minus

With her latest album, DÍA, released in January and setting the tone for 2025 right, Colombian singer-songwriter and producer Ela Minus is one of the many artists taking electronic music to the next level. To celebrate her sophomore effort, she is on tour and will be performing in Los Angeles at Zebulon on March 15.

Although Ela is best known for her brand of avant-garde electronic music, she got her start as a teenager playing the drums in hardcore bands, a far cry from her usual production. After leaving Columbia for the United States at 19, she found herself drawn to the sort of music she would hear at nightclubs. Drumming was still a focus, with Ela playing in and out of several bands, but synths shook her world up in unexpected ways.

For the first few years of operating as Ela Minus, she gradually embraced synths and computers while at the same time focusing on live shows. Years of performing and refusing to DJ culminated in her debut album, acts of rebellion, a shape-shifting project marked by highlights such as “megapunk” and “dominique.”

What’s most remarkable about Ela is how she, as an artist, is the missing link between generations’ worth of electronic artists, something heard on several tracks off DÍA. “I WANT TO BE BETTER” shares similarities with peers like Saya Gray and FKA twigs. However, the unorthodox production and jittery hi-hats show a deep appreciation for the dance songs that bring people out to make a scene at the club.

On the lush single “BROKEN,” the song’s natural build-up evokes an eclectic yet vulnerable sentimentality. Ela’s vocals, reminiscent of an early Björk if she had Arca from the very beginning, make it seem as though she’s on the verge of collapse before the beat drops at light-speed and transitions into a flurry of synths that would make Kraftwerk proud. Compared to acts of rebellion, in itself an impressive debut with its fair share of homages, DÍA takes many of those influences and then some into a blender, concocting a futuristic sound amped up.

The five years after acts of rebellion were her most transformative, touring across the U.S. and landing big festival slots. Most notably, she performed at Coachella in 2022 and Cruel World in 2023, returning to the former the same year. Now, with her headlining show at Zebulon, she’s come a long way since becoming enamored by Boston nightclubs in college and has quickly risen among those pushing the limits for electronic music.

Words: David Sosa

DÍA by Ela Minus is out on streaming services. For more on new music and tickets to her shows, including an LA date at Zebulon on March 16, follow her on Instagram and her website.