le  destroy

In these uncertain times, there’s no manual for how to proceed into the future—but where words might fail, Le Destroy is intent on at least creating a forward-thinking soundtrack for the road that lies ahead. 

 

Under her nom de plume, Kristina Olson, an Austin-based singer-songwriter and resolutely global citizen, will release her debut album, Trashumanism on May 31. The title is a riff off the sociological idea of transhumanism, or the evolution of people as they become integrated with increasingly intelligent forms of technology. 

 

“‘Trashumanism’ is about our regression and the negative impact of technology and media on our society, and the turn we’ve taken towards the divisive side,” says Le Destroy. “You’d think with all this technology and social awareness we’d be growing and evolving and be able to have complex solutions to these complex problems, but it seems like we just can’t find common ground in our way forward.”

 

In ten gritty tracks that run the gamut from aggressively haunting industrial to passionate punk anthems to dance-inducing electronic rock, Le Destroy hammers in her thoughts on consumerism, feminism, body autonomy, sexuality and technology’s overthrow, bound together in a futuristic sheen that even Stanley Kubrick could appreciate. 

 

“I want to be disruptive and make people think,” adds Le Destroy, who was previously courted by Interscope and Warner Bros., and whose perspectives are highly informed by a post collegiate degree in Earth Science from the University of California San Diego. “The scientist and artist in me want people to be curious and want them to be excited about discovering new things and challenging themselves to think outside the box.”

 

Working with producer extraordinaire and former Nine Inch Nails collaborator Danny Lohner on the release with Josh Freese on drums, Le Destroy produces a soundscape that is both crunchy and ethereal, moving to the heartbeat of the club scene with cerebral ebb and flow. Her futuristic-leaning music and visuals play off society’s transgressions as she manipulates her vision into an amalgamation of sonic fury, highly inspired by The Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy, Prince, Madonna and Garbage. 

 

Instead of focusing on political differences, “Me vs. You” highlights the negative aspects of judgment and shame while finding strength in our similarities, “Breed” embraces and explores different forms of pleasure and consensual play,  including elements of power exchange and the role of pain with respect to pleasure, while “Autonomy” opposes violations of human rights and those with the power to oppress and exploit others for their own gains. “It’s not just about fertility issues or women’s choice, but the freedom to literally decide what happens with your biology,” says Le Destroy, referencing historical figure Henrietta Lacks and relating it to modern DNA catch-alls like 23 and Me. The title track is perhaps her most polarizing, analyzing a throwaway society obsessed with instant gratification, from goods to media. “It’s a satirical piece that’s meant to sting a bit. As a species, it’s important for us to evaluate our behavior, especially as consumers, and learn more about how it’s impacting our future on this planet,” she concludes.

 

Although Le Destroy is relatively new, Olson’s history in music is not. She cut her teeth moving to Los Angeles fresh out of high school and honed her chops banging on her acoustic in true grunge fashion. She played for anyone who would listen and eventually managed to play her way into The Enterprise, a now defunct recording studio in Burbank, CA. There she found herself alongside the likes of P!NK, Linda Perry, and Dave Pensado. Both P!NK and Pensado were early supporters of Olson’s.

 

Olson continued developing her skills working on film music with industry powerhouses like Forest Whitaker, writing songs for Lakeshore Records movie soundtracks, and singing the theme song to an animated Barbie film by Mattel. Olson’s songwriting skills eventually earned her an invitation to speak on a Grammy Panel at USC and perform at the Producers and Engineers Party for the Recording Academy.

 

More recently, Olson’s work was commissioned by the makers of the Cyberpunk 2077 video game for their Radio Volume soundtracks and in-game music alongside Run The Jewels, HEALTH and SOPHIE – “Sleek and futuristic, dirty and aggressive,” said Charlie Clouser (NIN, Saw, American Horror Story). “Le Destroy really captures the feel of a scary future where anything might happen, and gets me pumped to do bad things in the world of Cyberpunk 2077.”

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