About Elenna Canlas

Elenna Canlas, based on Lenape and Canarsie lands in New York City, is a transformative force in music culture. With a career spanning over a decade, she has performed on renowned stages and recorded in celebrated studios worldwide, supporting a multitude of artists and bands as a keyboardist, synthesist, percussionist, vocalist, musical director, and producer. She is a facilitator for OneBeat, a cultural exchange fellowship run by Found Sound Nation, and is an alumna of their 2022 OneBeat Sahara cultural exchange fellowship alongside musician culture bearers from the USA and the Maghreb and Sahel regions of North Africa. Elenna was also a Steering Wheel member of the former Brooklyn-based grassroots organization Sound Mind Collective and the co-founder of Womxn Musicians Forum, both independent artist-driven circles that aimed to cultivate movement & growth through community. As an artist and collaborator, she channels her creative vision as Lupa. A testament to life through the portals of grief, joy, memory, and presence, Lupa draws influences from electro & psychedelic funk, global roots & folk, to alt-pop and R&B, and its atmosphere weaves layers of lush and quirky vocals over a deep heavy foundation, builds sonic altars and landscapes inspired by natural forces and kin, and centers its dynamic universe in the celebration of revolution and kapwa.

Work experience

  • Lupa
  • 2021-current
  • artist, songwriter, composer, producer
  • treya lam
  • 2024-current
  • producer
  • Allison Russell
  • 2022-2024
  • musical director, keys/synths, percussion, vocals
  • Lollise
  • 2021-current
  • keys/synths, vocals, producer
  • Cochemea
  • 2021-current
  • keys/synths, percussion, flute, vocals
  • Xenia Rubinos
  • 2022
  • keys/synths, percussion, vocals
  • Miles Francis
  • 2021
  • keys/synths
  • Kirsty Rock
  • 2021
  • keys/synths, percussion, vocals, composer, producer
  • Sinkane
  • 2016-2020
  • keys/synths, vocals, songwriter, composer
  • Portals
  • 2014-2020
  • artist, songwriter, composer, producer
  • Underground System
  • 2013-2016
  • keys/synths, vocals
  • Easy Star All-Stars
  • 2008-2016
  • keys/synths, vocals

Elenna's Skills

Business
  • Artist Relations
  • Music Curator
  • Project Manager
Engineering
  • DJ / Remixer
  • Music Editor
  • Post Production
  • Programmer
  • Sound Designer
Live
  • Artist
  • Creative Designer
  • Production Manager
  • Singer
  • Touring Musician
Venue Type Experience
  • Amphitheatre
  • Arena
  • Club
  • Festival
  • Stadium
  • Theatre/PAC
Musician
  • Artist
  • Instrumentalist
  • Performer
  • Singer
  • Studio Musician
  • Touring Musician
Producing
  • Music Supervisor
  • Producer
  • Production Assistant
  • Vocal Producer
Songwriting
  • Beat Maker
  • Co-Writer
  • Lyricist
  • Songwriter
  • Top Line

Elenna's Genres

  • Blues
  • Classical
  • Dub
  • Electronic
  • Experimental
  • Folk
  • Funk
  • Hip-Hop
  • House
  • Indie Rock
  • Latin
  • New Wave
  • Pop
  • Psychedelic
  • R&B
  • Reggae
  • Soul
  • World

Elenna's Experience

Cultivating a culture of care through music 🌱