Elijah Minnelli

As the ongoing artist-in-residence and de facto Night Czar of Breadminster, Elijah Minnelli has done much to broaden the district's cultural-standing with an ever-growing stable of sonic exports. Born of an equal love of outsider folk, and the interwoven musical lineages of both South America and the West Indies, Minnelli’s output stands out by balancing its influences with a unique irreverence.

The physical fruits of his labour first appeared as a successful run of self-released 7 inch singles, each handmade and ferried across the record shops of London. The releases honour the Jamaican tradition of featuring a dub on the b-side, stripping away the myriad theatrics of the a-side in favour of a focus on bass, space and rhythm. Across the tracks, you’ll find a blend of rickety, ragtag percussion and radiator-warm bass, topped with melodies that hark back to the forlorn folk of bygone eras; a wheezy melancholia that elevates the tracks beyond pure sound system functionality. The series gradually gained traction, pricking ears internationally, with the first edition ‘Bebé Durmiendo Cumbia’ even attracted the ever-goodwilled attention of the Discogs sharks. Following on from this, Minnelli has recently released the ‘Blue Top’ EP with Bristol-based label Accidental Meetings, further aligning his productions with the underground dance scene. Beyond the plastic, his tracks have amassed streams numbering in the millions, reaching ears globally. These varied avenues of release have found his tracks played across an eclectic range of radio mixes and dance floors, most notably the likes of Andrew Weatherall, Batu and Optimo.

Looking forward, there’s the forthcoming album; a project seeking to further fuse dub reggae with traditional folk, reimagining classic standards with a cast of renowned vocalists. Alongside this, Minnelli is crafting a live set, reconfiguring his tracks on a mixing desk in true dub fashion, with more gigs to follow his initial debut shows in Bristol, London and Munich.