Brother-and-sister Pretorian artists Louis and Magdalene Minnaar, who comprise Minaar, which writes dance-inspired operatic ballads, have today released their first EP, "Volcano", which can be downloaded for free.

Not being governed by any specific genre, Minaar's music weaves an electronic beat tapestry with various styles of vocals, creating a fusion of dance-inspired operatic ballads.

"We used to do these theatrical Christmas concerts for the family, rehearsing the entire December holiday - a musical production of impressive scale for eight-year olds. And we always made a 'recording' (on tape!). I suppose now we're just taking that further," said Magdalene Minnaar.

The recording of the EP took place over a period of six months and it was written in two cities, as Magdalene lives in Cape Town and Louis in Pretoria. Louis wrote the music, and Magdalene the melodies and lyrics. The vocals are quite operatic at times, and although Minaar were initially scared to use a non-pop voice, in the end they embraced it and stayed away from a specific style and genre.