Ela Minus has shared her blissed-out new single ‘COMBAT’, marking her first release in four years.
READ MORE: Ela Minus – ‘Acts of Rebellion’ review: protest-techno with a DIY punk spirit
The four-minute and 21 second track starts off low and soft and builds up to a cacophony of techno-aligned production and new-age synths. The track also features a quartet of woodwinds, marking the first time the Colombian producer and singer has written and recorded with acoustic instruments.
‘COMBAT’ is very spacey until Minus’s soft vocals come in towards the end of the track. She pairs the soft, ambient music with intense lyrics: “We are the birds that only know life inside a cage / And nothing scares us / They thought we would forget how to fly / They thought we wouldn’t dare to take a leap…hahaha,” singing in Spanish.
Speaking about the song in a press release, Minus said: “The foundation of ‘COMBAT’ comes from a recorded performance I did a few years ago. It was then that I improvised the chord progression that became the soul of the song.”
She continued: “Jesse Scheinin did a beautiful performance of the woodwinds I wrote for it. It’s about the intensity of feelings and emotions that it hopefully evokes. You come out the other end of the struggle stronger. I hope the music speaks for itself.”
Directed by Losmose, ‘COMBAT’s accompanying music video features Minus in a white room with walls of foam spikes. There closeups of an open chest and heart while coding languages scroll on the screen.
Minus’ last release was 2020’s ‘Acts of Rebellion’. In a four-star review of the LP, NME shared: “Her music-with-a-mission bangers is particularly timeless, but as Ela put it to NME back in April: ‘There’s so much shit happening in the world and we all need to act on it’. This debut harnesses the spirit and will to overcome forcefully and with inclusivity.”
She has a string of live coming up in the UK, Europe and Canada. Check out a full list below and visit here for tickets.
Ela Minus 2024 live dates
JUNE
8 – Bude, Cornwall, UK @ The Wyldes *
14 – Barcelona, ES @ Sónar
28 – Halifax, UK @ The Piece Hall *
AUGUST
10 – Finsbury Park, UK – Four Tet All Dayer (DJ Set)
22 – Montreal, QC @ MUTEK Montreal
* supporting Underworld
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