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
01/01/2026
Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation Announces 2026 Noel Schajris Scholarship The scholarship will cover tuition and housing for one Berklee College of Music stud...
01/01/2026
New year, new games, all with RTX 5080-powered cloud energy. GeForce NOW is kicking off 2026 by looking back at an unforgettable year of wins and wildly high fr...
30/12/2025
As the College Football Playoff Enters the Quarterfinals, ESPN Blows Out Its Meg...
30/12/2025
SVG's Best of 2025: Original ArticlesTake a look back at all our coverage of big-time productions, game-changing technologies, and state-of-the-art new faci...
30/12/2025
MELBOURNE, Fla., Dec. 30, 2025 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) will release its fourth quarter 2025 financial results before the market opens on Thursday, J...
30/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
29/12/2025
San Francisco 49ers Strike Gold With Halftime Laser SpectacularStunning display caps $200 million renovation of Levi's Stadium techBy Dan Daley, Audio Edito...
29/12/2025
The Cup's Around the Corner: An Inside Look at Broadcast Preparations for th...
29/12/2025
SVG's Best of 2025: Longform VideoWatch the standout keynote conversations, deep dives, and panel discussions from the year for free on SVG PLAY!By Brandon ...
29/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
27/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
25/12/2025
Holiday lights are twinkling, hot cocoa's on the stove and gamers are settling in for a well-earned break.
Whether staying in or heading on a winter getawa...
24/12/2025
What is AI good for? Posted by MTI Film on December 24, 2025
What is AI good for?
What is AI good for?
It's been three years since ChatGPT first cap...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
The Boyfriend' Season 2 Unveils Heartwarming Trailer, Key...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
Love, Fights, and Everything in Between: Badly in Love' Returns for Season 2
Entertainment
24 December 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied t...
24/12/2025
Scripps Research study links sleep variability with sleep apnea and hypertension How consumers' digital activity trackers could enable personalized health s...
23/12/2025
How guilas Cibae as Dominican Winter League Games Are Locally Produced for Glob...
23/12/2025
BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on Supplying Scalability and Customization in the Clo...
23/12/2025
CAMB.AI Enables European Athletics to Offer Multi-Language SupportPlan is to eventually offer translation into all languages spoken in EuropeBy Ken Kerschbaumer...
23/12/2025
Analysis: As sports media values trend negative, scarcity and quality are king By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Monday, December 22, 2025 - 14:08
Print ...
23/12/2025
ESPN, Disney, and NBA Return to the Animated Altcast Fray With Second Edition of...
23/12/2025
End the Year on a High Note and Donate to the Sports Broadcasting Fund Today!By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, December 23, 2025 - 12:25 pm
P...
23/12/2025
A Zeus motor is hot fire tested at L3Harris' Camden, Arkansas, solid rocket ...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Lightware will exhibit several major product innovations at ISE 2026, including the new USB-C BOOSTER-V1, Google Meet. integration for various Taurus UCX models...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Taking the Stage at Carnegie Hall-On a Global Scale Boston Conservatory Orchestra students reflect on their epic concert marking the 80th session of the UN Gene...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's The Great Flood and Culinary Class Wars 2 Top Gl...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things By the Numbers: How the Global Phenomenon Shap...
23/12/2025
Experience the power of WO Automation for Radio's newest service, the System Effectiveness Review. Designed to help you achieve more, a System Effectiveness...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
How Steamy Can It Get? Single's Inferno' Season 5 Pre...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
33 Million Global Viewers on Netflix Watched Jake Paul vs. Ant...
23/12/2025
New technique lights up where drugs go in the body, cell by cell Scripps Research scientists developed a technique that maps drug binding in individual cells th...
22/12/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Presidio's Neerav Shah on the Role of Its Captiva...
22/12/2025
Hitting the bullseye: Sky Sports readies itself for the biggest PDC World Darts ...
22/12/2025
Unique skillset: Bringing new directors to the world of darts at The Worlds with...
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.
