ela minus dia

Ela Minus – DÍA (Domino Recording Company)

The current mindset of a musician can be read into the way tracks are spelt on an album. On predecessor acts of rebellion Bogotá-born Ela Minus, with the exception of the postcode-pertaining opener ‘N19 5NF’, used all lower case text. This was despite the fact that the D-I-Y electronic musician’s introduction in the LP world showed big strength in being about battling against obstacles. Yet on the Colombian’s second release DÍA everything is enlisted in capital letters. Why? One might wonder. Even though musically the two albums both thankfully display the New York-based artist’s masterful and passionate skill at experimenting with analog synths, this change in caps could signify the mentality shift between the two albums.

On acts of rebellion, Ela Minus hid, although stylishly, behind black and white photography, gothic makeup, an album cover that obscured half of her face, a voice effectively cloaked by echo and lyrics pronounced as if they were written in bullet points rather than sung freely. Furthermore, the fact that the album was recorded in bedroom-based solitude, gave the music-tech enthusiast a comfort bubble to express her thoughts. DIÁ – which is Spanish for the word day – has an album cover that shows the whole of the 34-year-old’s face without obvious makeup. Perhaps Minus is ready to express herself lyrically in a more vulnerable way, with the addition of the overlapped time counts (which also appear on the current record’s music videos) indicating that she hasn’t compromised her meticulous methodology.

DÍA is bookended by two tracks that’s tranquil pace denotes that Ela Minus isn’t ready to sell her soul to commercial radio just yet. As opening tracks go, ‘ABRIR MONTE’ is quite the slow builder. Completely instrumental, the first half of its soundsphere unites what sounds like distant campfire sparks, drone and a muffled loop of a train approaching. Although patience-testing, its ambiguity makes it intriguing and the title is a significant introduction to Ela Minus’ self-discovery mindset and enforced situation. Abrir Monte is a phrase used in Colombia to encourage those to break through a path that is seemingly uncrossable. Colombia’s mountains (“monte”) needs to be opened (“abrir”) by a tool such as machete when walking through them because they are so densely-packed with leaves. DÍA was produced at a haphazard time when Ela Minus was forced to leave Brooklyn due to the Covid pandemic and just kept hopping to different studios in different parts of the United States. By keeping the phrase abrir monte in the back of her mind, it allowed her to bravely continue on a path of visual and mental discovery.

On the other end of the bookend is ‘COMBAT’. It’s Woodkid fanfare marks the first time that Ela Minus has used acoustic instruments – in this case woodwind – in a piece of music. It doesn’t have a dramatic conclusion musically but it uses another proverb – birds being stuck in cages for a long time are afraid of flying – but instead twists it to say that birds or people in metaphorical context can be fearless. A structure of close proximity can make the captured more determined to knock their wall down. “Los pájaros nacidos en jaula. No le tenemos miedo a nada.” Perhaps that’s why Minus embraced the chance to explore more of her adopted country, after spending so much time in a studio enclosure when making her last record.

Another interesting aspect to DÍA‘s tracklisting is how it almost reads like a cryptic sentence: ‘BROKEN ‘ ‘IDOLS’ ‘IDK’ (I don’t know) ‘I WANT TO BE BETTER’ ‘ONWARDS’ ‘AND’ ‘UPWARDS’. The joined words encompass the flowing continuity between many of the tracks, especially the triptych of ‘ONWARDS’ AND’ ‘UPWARDS’, the album’s experimental apex. ‘ONWARDS’ is chiptune with the gloom of Dlina Volny, Oberheim DMX drum machine of New Order and the defiant vocal strength of Emily Haines. It’s lyrics of destruction pair with the apocalyptic nature of the pulsating techno ‘QQQQ’ but the former also shows a human side when singing: “Now I am not afraid to say ‘I’m terrified I’ll fail’ .

The second track in the aforementioned trio is ‘AND’. A haunting interlude of intense industrial distortion, random clattering of sounds and mysterious Spanish-language uttering. While the last in the trilogy ‘UPWARDS’ is a multi-lingual lazer-filled experience with a constructive refrain of “I’d love to save you / but you’ve got to save yourself.” The multiple cameras and rapid editing used in its music promo helps bring out the heartbeat of the song even more.

Like ‘QQQQ’ and ‘ONWARDS‘, ‘IDOLS’ also has a destructive nature in its lyrics but more importantly it is a link to a track on Ela Minus’ previous album (the London hospital postcode of ‘N19 5NF’) and a significant moment in her past. She had an accident and describes the incident: “I took a blow. Straight to the face. There was blood everywhere. When I opened my eyes. All I saw was people laughing Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.” Before indicating that the survival of this moment, as well as the observation of the insensitive reactions of the passerbys made her realize that life is down to the decisions we make. “It’s a shame. That it takes pain. To know who we are“. Perhaps Ela’s new psychological adventure, as well as the track’s capital letters, show a musician that is braver, bolder and well, Ela Positive.

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