DIY to D A: Ela Minus Breaks Through The electronic artist and producer tells Rolling Stone about her new album, D A, and how shes forged a career outside the mainstream.
By
Bryan Parys
February 3, 2025
Image courtesy of Olisiegen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Ela Minus (Gabriel Jimeno BM '13) released her debut album, acts of rebellion, during a global pandemic. The electronic artist, producer, and drummer was tasked with promoting an album released by an independent label in the middle of a music industry that was suddenly unable to rely on traditional promotional strategies.
Ela Minus
Image courtesy of Olisiegen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
In an interview at the time, she told us that pursuing your art requires total devotion, and that doesn't change because there's a pandemic going on. Her perseverance and wisdom guided her through an intense few years to the release of her new album, D A, which has been met with widespread critical acclaim. Pitchfork awarded the album a 7.9 (for context, Taylor Swifts The Tortured Poets Department got a 6.6), and she also sat for her first Rolling Stone interview.
The album can feel like a sweaty underground club at one moment and like an icy breath of winter air the next with its deft balance of ambient soundscapes and all-out four-on-the-floor beats. You can hear elements of early Bj rk as well as Swedish cult legends the Knife, but her influences run far beyond electronic music, as she cites fellow Berklee alumni Adrianne Lenker BM '12 (Big Thief) and Nick Hakim BM '13 as influences.
The Colombian native also told Rolling Stone about how her roots in punk, studying with jazz luminary Terri Lyne Carrington, and majoring in electronic production and design at Berklee combined to create a sound that was uniquely her own, and importantly, on her own terms. She knew that going in an independent direction came at the expense of resources, but thats actually something she embraced. I didn't have any budget [for my early work], but I also didn't want one. I was trying to make electronic music from a perspective of the life of a jazz or punk band, where each synthesizer was like its own band member, she said in the interview.
I've realized that the type of music I make isn't really mainstream, yet I still have a career.
- Ela Minus
Her uncompromising approach to making art is a case study in how going a more DIY route doesnt have to come at the expense of career sustainability. For one, she frequently built her own synthesizers using the skills she learned at Berklee. Earlier in her career this led to a job at Critter & Guitari, where she helped designed one of the companys flagship synths, the Organelle.
I've realized that the type of music I make isn't really mainstream, yet I still have a career, she said. I think people notice that, and it's inspiring a lot of young people, especially in Latin American countries.
Related Categories
News
Most Popular
Rihanna sings during the Concert for Valor in Washington, DC, November 11, 2014.
Image by EJ Hersom / CC-BY-2.0
This Rihanna Song Has Secret' '80s Easter Eggs The SOS songwriter revealed a nostalgic twist to the lyrics, and it's going viral on TikTok.
Latest
Berklee in Puerto Rico 2024
Image courtesy of Make Music Happen
Berklee in Puerto Rico Program to Celebrate 30th Anniversary A special concert event will be held on June 5 to commemorate the milestone.
Siblings Caitlin and Ryan Peter Murphy pose on the Boston Garden basketball court before Ryan performed the national anthem for a Celtics game.
Image by Dean Weaver
Berklee Student Sings the National Anthem at Boston Celtics Game Ryan Peter Murphy, a vocalist studying songwriting and performance at the college, performed the anthem at the December 12 game at TD Garden.
Left to right: Buck Meek, James Krivchenia, and Adrianne Lenker of Big Thief
Image by Noah Lenker
Big Thief Release Passional Relations EP to Benefit LA Wildfire Relief Proceeds from the alumni bands five-song EP will go to the PLUS1LA Fires Fund, and to LA musicians, artists, and community members in need.
Read All
Subscribe The latest sounds, stories, and ideas, sent to your inbox weekly.
North America Stories
13/01/2026
NHL Situation Room 2.0: How Sony Hawk-Eye Powers Centralized Officiating, Player...
13/01/2026
NBC Sports Ices the Audio for the 2026 Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championship...
13/01/2026
DMF and MXL in practice: Which vendors are adopting it, and how fast is the ecos...
13/01/2026
CES 2026: Five Important Sports-Tech BuzzwordsThe terms highlight innovations for sports production at the showBy Daniel Frankel, SVG Contributor
Tuesday, Jan...
13/01/2026
For TGL Season 2, Unity 6 Boosts Virtual-Graphic Quality; COSM 360 Cameras Impro...
13/01/2026
Resetting Expectations? The State of the Sports Industry with Devoncroft's J...
13/01/2026
Top Row L-R: Ana Katz, Natalia Almada, Bao Nguyen, Tatiana Maslany, A.V. Rockwell, Dr. Heather Berlin
Second Row L-R: Sophie Barthes, Azazel Jacobs, Janicza Br...
13/01/2026
DoW to invest $1B in planned independently traded Missile Solutions business...
13/01/2026
L3Harris Chairman and CEO Christopher Kubasik and Under Secretary of War for Acq...
13/01/2026
Singapore - January 13, 2026 - Nielsen today announced the appointment of Matty Lin to its Commercial Organization as APAC regional sales leader.
Based in Sing...
13/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
13/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
13/01/2026
Nine-week performance series brings music, dance, theatre, and storytelling to downtown Durham, January - March 2026 (Durham, NC) The Chamber Orchestra of the T...
13/01/2026
Berklee Launches AIMS, an Artist-Centered Summit on Music and AI Hosted by the Berklee Emerging Artistic Technology Lab (BEATL), the event will focus on the i...
13/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
13/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
13/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
13/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
13/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
13/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
13/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
13/01/2026
viztrick AiDi, Provided by Nippon TV and FOR-A, Powers Automatic 9:16 Cropping with Auto-Tracking and Intuitive Operation for Dynamic Streaming Content
Targ...
12/01/2026
Sports and Music Unite: A Look Back at the Operationally Ambitious FIFA Club Wor...
12/01/2026
Nielsen Panel Discussion Highlights World Cup Impact for FOX, Telemundo, MetLife...
12/01/2026
FIFA President Infantino Highlights How AI Will Impact 2026 FIFA World Cup and B...
12/01/2026
Baltimore Ravens' Jack Dana on Telling a Better Story With Media Management ...
12/01/2026
FOX Sports' Brad Cheney on Spectrum Debate's Impact on the Sports-Produc...
12/01/2026
Australia and New Zealand VP Alan Clements shares L3Harris' leadership insig...
12/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
12/01/2026
Berklee International Folk Festival Celebrates 40 Years Featuring Grammy-winning alumna Arooj Aftab, the milestone concert and weeklong festival marks four de...
12/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
12/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
12/01/2026
Back to All News
Kento Nakajima To Star in Netflix Manga Adaptation S&X', ...
12/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Celebrates Partnership and Progress at Fort Monmouth Closing Ceremony
Governor Phil Murphy, Netflix co-CEO, and Governor-elect Mikie ...
12/01/2026
Back to All News
WWE By the Numbers: Celebrating One Year on Netflix
From left to right: Rey Mysterio, Intercontinental Champion John Cena and Sheamus celebr...
10/01/2026
By Bailey Pennick
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festi...
10/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
10/01/2026
Back to All News
Connection and Youth Defined: The Ramparts of Ice Brings a Hea...
09/01/2026
Rock-It Sports' Deron Brown & Laura Rowlands on Launching a New Brand, Suppl...
09/01/2026
Warner Bros. Discovery's Chris Brown on the Broadcaster's First French O...
09/01/2026
NFL Playoffs 2026: CBS Sports Travels to Jacksonville With Packed Arsenal of Pro...
09/01/2026
NFL Playoffs 2026: NBC Sports Is Set To Roll Out New Scorebar, Insert Graphics T...
09/01/2026
NFL Playoffs 2026: Prime Video Production Team Caps Historic Season With Iconic ...
09/01/2026
NFL Playoffs 2026: FOX Sports Kicks Off Postseason Slate With Two-Game Wild Card...
09/01/2026
NFL Playoffs 2026: ESPN's Run Brings Monday Night Football' Flagship Op...
09/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
09/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
09/01/2026
SMPTE , the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, today introduced the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning...
09/01/2026
Globecast, the leading provider of broadcast, media and entertainment managed services, today announced the appointment of Chris Pulis as Group Chief Technology...
DIY to D A: Ela Minus Breaks Through The electronic artist and producer tells Rolling Stone about her new album, D A, and how shes forged a career outside the mainstream.
