Ela Minus shares thumping new single el cielo no es de nadie, announces debut album

Header image by Teddy Fitzhugh.

If you're yet to be acquainted with Ela Minus, then you're in for a real treat. The Colombian musician has been an emerging international name since the release of her 2017 debut EP Adapt., but over the last eight months or so, she's blossomed into a face of the future; one that isn't afraid to confront the experimentation needed to stand out from the crowd, particularly in a growing electronic-centred pop space which has proved so commercially successful over the course of 2020.

Throughout the year thus far, she's already released two singles that sit in different sub-sections of this bright, left-field future. The first, they told us it was hard but they were wrong, is shimmering and down-tempo, carrying the grace of someone like Björk - except distinctly unique, of course - as her airy vocals move amongst a subtle production that paces with this kind-of lo-fi house touch. The second, megapunk, picked up the energy slightly; the production becoming a little more pronounced as it crescendoed underneath her growing vocals; the final, climactic moment being a snapshot of Ela Minus at her most free and club-ready.

Now, with a third single el cielo no es de nadie, she's jumping head-first into this club euphoria, and the results are really something quite incredible. It's a single that really grapples with the club backbone of her work, focusing on that rich, hardware-backed electronic pulse that's held everything together in the past, but has really yet to step out and be the star focus of one of her tracks, at least in a similar way to el cielo no es de nadie. The end result, is somewhat hedonistic; thrilling like the peak moment of a pill kicking in, but without the come down that juxtaposes it – el cielo no es de nadie is something that will want you constantly coming back for more.

"el cielo no es de nadie is about all the love I see in small, everyday acts. It’s an invitation to appreciate unheroic, but constant and meaningful actions," she says on the track, which arrives with an official video co-directed by Ela and Pepi Ginsberg, filmed in the empty New York institution Elsewhere Club. "The song’s title, el cielo no es de nadie, refers to the phrase ‘I’ll give you the sky,’ a common expression used in Spanish when in love. In the song, I defy it: 'you can't give me the sky' / it isn’t yours to give.'"

The single also arrives with news of her forthcoming debut album, a ten-track release - largely solo, bar a collaborative end track – that gives the opportunity for Ela Minus to really hone in on her craft, and focus on creating something special that encapsulates who she is as such an incredible new addition to the international, inclusive electronic world. It's an album said to be firmly rooted in the dance floor and the emotions associated with that, but I guess we'll just have to wait until it arrives on October 23rd – via Domino – to see.

In the meantime, however, take a dive into el cielo no es de nadie below, and strap in – it's quite the adventure.

Ela Minus – acts of rebellion Tracklisting: 

1. N19 5NF
2. they told us it was hard, but they were wrong.
3. el cielo no es de nadie
4. megapunk
5. pocket piano
6. dominique
7. let them have the internet
8. tony
9. do whatever you want, all the time.
10. Close (ft. Helado Negro)

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