"We always know in the first minute or so if something's worth staying for", intones Ela Minus on 'They Told Us It Was Hard, But They Were Wrong', the first single from her debut album 'Acts Of Rebellion'. She finishes that line 51 seconds in, at which point you should be hooked on her warm and welcoming electronic music.
Minus studied jazz drumming and synthesiser design at Berklee College Of Music, but clearly the synths eventually won out. However, her training as a drummer is still apparent. Making her music exclusively on hardware synths, without a laptop in sight, there's a physicality to the way she plays and performs. Rhythm plays a strong role in the construction of her melodies, and there's a drummer's ability to pull together a collection of different sounds into a complete whole.
"I deeply identify with club culture, and want to make music to dance to", she says. "I also want to make songs in the more traditional sense, with melodies, lyrics, and singing. I want to make songs that stay with people through the years. I always start writing by improvising alone. Once I have some instrumentals I’m happy with, I intuitively grab the mic and sing a phrase with a melody in it. I always keep that initial phrase".
'Acts Of Rebellion' was released through Domino last week. She's also scheduled to play live at Electrowerkz in London on 2 Mar. From the album, this is previous single and standout track 'Megapunk':