It started with an ambient hum that grew in intensity. You could feel the anticipation build amongst the sold out crowd as they waited for the wonder that is Ela Minus (Gabriela Jimeno Caldas) to take the stage. Ready to awe her audience, she did not disappoint as she danced from start to finish to songs from both full length albums, DÍA (2025) and “Acts of Rebellion” (2020) with a joyous elegance that gave her a commanding presence. Songs like “Broken,” “Idols” “IDK”, and “I Want To Be Better” came off spectacularly well for being so new and Ela Minus showed a nice balance between being completely sincere yet playful throughout her set.
Another element of a strong stage presence was how she arranged her set up to feature a sort of altar of wondrous special effects to help her achieve her magical sound. Ambient wonders transform into catchy pop songs but still keep a sort of personal enchantment. All the while, that altar is front stage and center like a living being and she twirls around it as if it is a part of an intimate symbiotic relationship. You can just sense the energy between them, as if it were never an inanimate being in the first place.
Hailing from Colombia initially (Now based in NYC), Ela Minus at times sings in Spanish as well as English and her voice is always an incredible luscious feature of the songs, carrying them with a velvety weight that keeps the listener engaged. Live, her voice transformed the space as well as the overall sound set up for her melodies. These gems contain a complexity that elevate them from just mere catchy pop songs and into memorable treasures. What she ends up achieving in a mere hour is a space for her creative self to flourish and an invitation for others to witness and join in the experience.
