Ela Minus & DJ Python Release New Song “Kiss U”

Today Ela Minus and DJ Python (Brian Piñyero) share “Kiss U,” the opening track of their collaborative EP ♡ (referred to as “corazón”), ahead of the record’s release this Friday, September 16 on Smugglers Way. “Kiss U” stitches stuttering breakbeats and cosmic synth debris under Ela’s echoed chants about open, interdependent love: “I’m not holding on / and I’m not letting go.

♡ is the fruit of a budding friendship. After Ela Minus commissioned DJ Python to create an official remix for acts of rebellion, they began texting each other book excerpts, film recommendations, and song links. “We always have philosophical conversations about love, living, or places to live,” says Python. Some of the music they exchanged included Tricky’s debut album, the pop-new wave sounds of Belgian band Bernthøler, and the English electronic musician Leila. But it wasn’t until Python introduced Minus to Witch, a 1993 album by the cult trip-hop experimentalist and poet Leslie Winer, that the spark for musical collaboration flared.  

♡ is an avowal of love as a radical, everlasting practice. Minus and Python imagine love as an act of affirmation and generosity, a pursuit of reciprocity free of control. Python created the instrumentals primarily with an Octatrack sampler and a Virus TI Snow digital synth, and Minus wrote all of the lyrics and vocal melodies. Minus explains that focusing exclusively on lyrics and vocals was refreshing, since she’s accustomed to producing her own songs. “It’s way more intimate and vulnerable,” she says. “I want people to listen to the songs and feel like I’m holding onto them. I’m giving people a place in this EP where they can feel like they belong.”