WATCH – Salami Rose Joe Louis – “Akousmatikous” Animated by Oscar-nominated director Carlos López Estrada

June 25th, 2023

Bay Area singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Lindsay Olsen is the brilliant mind behind the warped and magical project Salami Rose Joe Louis. Drawing from her studies in planetary sciences, she creates a unique experience: exploring ideas of multiverses and climate change through the lens of a fictional post-apocalyptic keyboard-toting earthling with a flashlight, a can of cashews and a hopeful optimism. Melding influences from jazz, rock and hip-hop – Shuggie Otis, Captain Beefheart, Stereolab, and R. Stevie Moore – she creates a unique blend of experimental galaxy sounds with jazz influenced vocals and keys. On her new album Akousmatikous (Ah-coooz-mat-e-koi), out now via Brainfeeder, she does just that and more.

On previous releases, Olsen primarily worked alone to write, record, produce and mix this record on her beloved Roland MV-8800 music workstation, but did venture out of her comfort zone to bring in some of her favorite musicians: Soccer96, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Juuwah, Brijean, Sergio Machado Plim, Danalogue, Jason Lindner, Dakim and Dan Nicholls. As for the title,Akousmatikous/Akousmatikoi (or acousmatic) translates to “sound where there is no identifiable source”. The Akousmatikoi were a sect of Pythagorean mystics from the 5th century BC that were called the “listeners” as opposed to the Mathematikoi sect that were called the “learners”. The Akousmatikoi focused on ritual, harmony, and ethical behavior.