Description
#salamirosejoelouis #vinyl #vinylrecords
In 2019, the imaginative and versatile musical artist Salami Rose Joe Louis, whose real name is Lindsay Olsen, released an album titled “Zdenka 2080”. This album is a musical marvel that talks about a future dystopian Earth. It tells the story of a young girl left behind on Earth due to the mismanagement of unethical corporations and governments. The departure of a massive spaceship that siphons off the sun’s energy leaves the earth cold and slowly dying.
Lindsay Olsen’s musical opus was largely shaped by inspirations from literature, films, and art. It mirrors the elements of fantasy from the apocalyptic sci-fi novels of Octavia Butler and Gene Wolf. Not limited to written works, Lindsay’s tunes also echo themes from the movies Tekkonkinkreet and Embrace of the Serpent, insightful takes on capitalism, colonialism and greed. Lindsay’s storytelling power shines throughout the album, tying together the silly and the serious, the whimsical and meaningful.
While she was recuperating from a wrist injury, Olsen worked from the basement of her friend’s home. This solitary space was where she molded the conceptual music for “Zdenka 2080”. The young woman in the story stumbles upon an octagonal room with eight paintings. Each painting opens a gateway to a new dimension, and she embarks on a journey across these dimensions to save her dying planet. The creator of the paintings inside the octagonal room is an artist named Zdenka. Her paintings have the power to influence the thoughts and actions of the beings on earth.
Noteworthy musicians like Shuggie Otis and Herbie Hancock were part of Olsen’s soundtrack for this album. She also mentioned Oakland-based record label Hot Record Societe, where artists like Cheflee, Mejiwahn, Asonic Garcia, and Pacific Yew had a significant influence on her while composing this album.
Despite the success of “Zdenka 2080”, Olsen grapples with the fact that her mood is heavily influenced by her creative blocks. She explores the impact that art can have on an esteemed artist like herself, often throwing her into ego-centric spirals. Olsen explains how crucial it is for an artist to recognize the effects their artwork has on others. With the success of “Zdenka 2080”, this could be seen as a self-reminder for Olsen to be intentional in the art she creates.
After her first Brainfeeder release, Salami Rose Joe Louis kept expanding her musical horizons. She toured and supported renowned artists, including Flying Lotus, Cinematic Orchestra, Toro y Moi, TuneYards, Clairo, and MNDSGN. Her recent outings feature a collaboration with Toro y Moi on ‘Mahal’, and a remix for Hiatus Kaiyote’s Ninja Tune/Brainfeeder release. In 2023, she released a follow-up album to “Zdenka 2080”, titled “Akousmatikous”. This album continues to explore themes of climate change, depression, societal greed, isolation, and breaking free from societal conditioning. With her authentic storytelling and musical compositions, Salami Rose Joe Louis remains an artist worth following in the music world.
