LIA KOHL
Too Small to be a Plain LP

available for purchase on LP and digital here

originally mastered by Matt Mehlan
remastered for vinyl and digital by Taylor Deupree
limited to 200 LPs
comes with a double-sided color insert

Florabelle welcomes its first reissue--the debut album of cellist, composer, and sound artist Lia Kohl, Too Small to be a Plain. Originally released on cassette last year by Shinkoyo/Artist Pool, this vinyl edition features completely remastered audio by Taylor Deupree and expanded artwork courtesy of the artist herself. The exceptional approach Lia exhibits so confidently on The Ceiling Reposes, her acclaimed LP from earlier this year, was already in sharp focus here; it's a privilege to collaborate with her on this rerelease.

What makes Too Small to be a Plain so successful are its inviting juxtapositions. Here is a series of compositions grounded in improvisations, thoughtfully culled and layered with an openhearted embrace of happy accidents. Just as her dexterity as a cellist is evident on "'Join me, everybody'," equally so is her interest in the din outside her window. Elsewhere, on "Second Picture of the Same Weather Pattern," richly resonant acoustic figures share space with the sparkler static of radio transmissions. The playfulness of the title of "Moon Bean," the album's glowing centerpiece, suggests that very glow could be coming from something beyond our skies or, conversely, held within our hands. Despite Lia having performed and recorded all of the work herself, the album is guided by her years of collaboration with dozens of others and the final product is clearly the work of someone who listens with curiosity and empathy. Listen closely and those same qualities may arise in you, too, reframing the space you occupy.

If you're new to Lia's work, Too Small to be a Plain is an ideal starting point. (And you might be more aware of her than you realize--in addition to releasing collaborations as part of ZRL and with Macie Stewart, she's also a contributor to albums by Makaya McCraven, claire rousay, Circuit des Yeux, and Steve Hauschildt, among others.) If you're familiar with The Ceiling Reposes, the cabinet of curiosities on display there grounds this music, too-- here with an arguably more modest or tender sensibility. Regardless of how you come to this album--you're here! That's the important thing. Do stay awhile and listen.

PRESS:

“The updated version of the record was remastered by Taylor Deupree, who paints her sparse playing in a crisp sheen…this music leaves ample room for off-kilter grace.” - The Best Ambient on Bandcamp: August 2023

“I love her mixture of cello and electronics, and her use of snippets of radio adds another level of incidental meaning and uncanny pathos…The music is a mix of seesawing cello, limpid electronics, muted overtones, and ripples of static.” - Futurism Restated

“Kohl is alone here, though i guess you could argue that the choice to leave in 'happy' accidents might constitute a collaboration with herself, responding to her own human limits, then bending into the unknown. Somehow, the cello, with its arcing, enveloping sonority, feels well suited to exploring such spaces.” - World of Echo

“An absolutely stellar solo debut from Kohl here…nothing feels hidden in Kohl's music. Sounds may combine, but their individuality remains strong, as though they are embedded with a sense of purpose that has no trouble integrating with the community of sound. Everything feels as if it was meant to exist together…simply glorious.” - Endaural

"On 2022's Too Small to Be a Plain, [Kohl] weaves field recordings (birdsong, burbling water, people's voices, crickets, etc.) into spare, methodical improvisations and introspective, sonorous drones that nibble at the peripheries of your consciousness like playful rodents." - The Stranger

“Using synthesizers, cello, field recordings, and radio transmissions, Kohl created Too Small to Be a Plain at home in 2020 and 2021, stretching the limits of these components. The cello can be used to create a drone or can be plucked melodically while the erratic static of the radio bursts out randomly. Kohl’s love of field recordings adds even more texture.” - PopMatters

“Too Small to Be a Plain has the meticulous structure of an artist with a vision, while still showing all the surprises of someone who’s not afraid to play it by ear.” - Bandcamp Album of the Day, (March 10, 2022)

LIA KOHLToo Small to be a Plain LP

LIA KOHL
Too Small to be a Plain LP