ELA grew up in simple circumstances in Siegen, the southernmost point of North Rhine-Westphalia. Between the prefabricated buildings she found her love for music, especially hip-hop strongly influenced her. After school, she moved to the metropolis of Cologne, 100km away, to begin training as a dressmaker and to get to know herself better, far away from her family and small town. Besides school and training, ELA never lost sight of music, but wrote and sang lyrics in every free second.

What started out in the trap direction has changed over time into a modern hybrid of dark wave and pop. Stylistically, it is oriented to the 2000s as well as the New German Wave. Post-punk and other Soviet influences also play a big part in her music, as her parents emigrated from Russia to Germany just before she was born. Her songs are very introspective and deal not only with growing up in the big city, but also with uniting the two cultures she grew up in.