Some time ago, I felt tired of listening to Heavy Metal. I tried to figure out what else I could listen to. I clicked through the jazz and indie records on Bandcamp, but that wasn't successful.

Furthermore, I switched to Qobuz and read the magazine that they have online. Under fresh records I saw the musician “Ela Minus”. Her record DÍA was published recently. I listened in briefly and found Electro Music. Usually, this is not my preferred music. But I give every record I start listening to one chance, sometimes also two. Mostly I listen to a record once complete. That is because several musicians have a concept, a common thread, within their records. I know this from so-called concept-albums in Heavy Metal or Rock Music.

As the first song evolves from silence to a big humming sound accompanied by the crackling and creaking of vinyl records, I realized that this is nothing like mainstream. At the end, there are more different and lighter tones as the song passes into the next. At this point, I gave myself relaxed but with curiosity to the album.

Ela Minus is a Columbian artist and musician, living in Brooklyn, New York, where she creates her music. Before the album DÍA there was another long player called “acts of rebellion”.  That one is definitively a great dance music album. This was already checked by our teenage daughter, and so it is truth.  

Of course, I have tried to reflect on why there is so much fun for me to listen to those albums in special. The simple answer is: dance. Yes, depending on that I am a head banger and air guitar player, it is difficult to understand. If you swear not to make this public, I will explain why. In my teenage years, there was a show on the TV about ballet dancing. I was deep in love right away with that kind of dancing. I wanted to be a ballet dancer. But it never happened. The truth is, that I feel much fun in movement and dancing, until today. And that is something you can find in the music of Ela Minus. 

She is playing around with sounds and rhythm. With a great understanding, she combines her vocals with the music that you can catch the mood she transports with it. As an example, I will give you the song “IDK” from the album “DÍA”. This is simply superbly done.

The vinyl record is already on my shelf and I play it regularly. It is a fantastic show of finesse and skill. You can feel the fun Ela Minus must have got while creating this music, but also it is serious. Now I feel ready for a dance-night at the disco. (Yes, I know, disco is from the last millennium, but I better use words I know not to use modern ones wrong.)

If you feel ready to dance where you are, here are the links to ultimate fun, sound and leg-activity:

Ela Minus (on Bandcamp)

DÍA (on Bandcamp)

acts of rebellion (on Bandcamp)

Tags: Dance, Electro, Women