Ela Minus

A die-hard champion of analog technology, Colombian-born, Brooklyn-based musician Gabriela Jimeno, better known as Ela Minus, crafts haunting electro-pop pieces that recall the devil-may-care attitude of punk rock seen through the prism of early techno. Born in Bogotá, she became infatuated with punk as a teenager and took her first steps in music as a drummer for local hardcore band Ratón Pérez before moving to the US to study at the renowned Berklee College of Music. There, she majored in jazz drumming under the tutelage of former Herbie Hancock drummer Terri Lyne Carrington and became an assiduous clubgoer, which fueled her newfound passion for electronic music and led to an additional major in synth design. After relocating to Brooklyn, she landed a job at Critter & Guitari (creators of the iconic Organelle) and made her official debut with the single “Jamaica” in 2015. That same year, she dropped the EP First Words, the first instalment of a trilogy that continued with the EPs Grow (2016) and Adapt (2017). In the following years, she toured with Machinedrum and Chrome Sparks, and collaborated with like-minded artists such as Buscabulla, Helado Negro, and Populous prior to the advent of Acts of Rebellion (2020), her long-awaited first full-length. The album garnered critical praise from several media outlets and included the singles “They Told Us It Was Hard, but They Were Wrong,” “Megapunk,” and “Dominique.” Her next album DÍA turned up five years later, interrupted by a smattering of singles in between that included a collaborative effort with DJ Python in 2022, "Kiss U."