The Weekly Coos

Although I felt lukewarm about DIA, I ultimately enjoyed the melancholic symphony Ela Minus created on her 2025 album. The same goes for her new collaborative EP with Nick León. Like DIA, qué les pasó a mis amigos? carries emotional gravitas. Her thematic writing parallels the production, with the cadence and tone of her vocals reinforcing the emotions on display. Ela Minus’ “IDK,” from DIA, focuses on the experience of being lost on a personal journey, and its production is filled with glitchy melancholia rather than polished pop sensibilities. Nick León’s production brings melancholic nostalgia to modern club music. It isn’t trying to ignite the floor with uproariously fun synths or percussion like Carly Wilford and Anelisa Lamola’s “We Rise;” instead, he sets a tempered mood with songs like “Ocean Apart” and “Entropy,” from his 2025 album A Tropical Entropy. On the latter, he collaborated with Ela Minus on a track that blends a danceable groove and emotionally subdued breaks with the synths. That same balance immediately hooked me on Ela Minus and Nick León’s new EP, qué les pasó a mis amigos? They take melancholic introspection and a tempered approach to club music and evolve both into something new.

Ela Minus and Nick León bring a honed-in, tempered, melancholic symphony of emotions that never depletes the battery. It’s pensive and spacey. It’s lost in the world, yet grounded in reality by the production. Ela Minus and frequent collaborator Katie O’Neill go the extra mile with the personal writing, making you kick back and listen to the lyrics, even if it’s in Spanish. Ela Minus reflects on heartbreak, fractured friendships, disillusionment, and perseverance throughout these songs, and it’s earnest. “Lose my cool” is my favorite of the bunch. Its minimalist production serves as an antithesis to the other two tracks. It creates a lyrical and musical meditation on overcoming personal obstacles. When Ela Minus sings these lines, “Picking at old wounds/Speeding like a fool,” she sounds caught between reflection and anxiety, allowing these thoughts to race in her head and possibly convincing herself of the worst. Unlike it, the track “Espiral” brings synths that take you to the stars while the drums create a groove that elevates your self-worth in this track about disillusionment. Ela Minus and Nick León create a connection with music to reflect and dance to alone, rather than dancing your emotions away with others to earwormy beats and choruses. 

Electronic music is more than just what you listen to at raves or experience through events like Boiler Room or Cercle mixes. The music Ela Minus and Nick León create is an example of that. Their music isn’t confined to that environment, but they can find a presence there. However, their sound on the EP doesn’t fully read that vibe to me. That’s part of what makes their music feel as unique as I’m making it sound here. Ironically, the EP includes remixes by Guedra Guedra, Brenda, and techno producer Loidis reconfigured. The three original tracks deliver something profound on their own, and the remixes feel like dessert to the meal. They don’t need a dance floor to validate what they’re doing when everything is embedded in the production, melodies, and writing. I really dug this EP, and hope you will too. Check it out below.