Lia Kohl – Ignition, Sneakers

Sound artist, composer, and cellist Lia Kohl returned today to share “Ignition, Sneakers,” the evocative second and final single from her forthcoming third album, Normal Sounds, due August 30 via Moon Glyph.

After introducing the album’s conceptual framework with the lead track “Car Alarm, Turn Signal”, “Ignition, Sneakers” offers another example of how the Chicago-based artist inventively engages with prosaic sounds to form extraordinarily poetic compositions.

The backbone of “Ignition, Sneakers” is a recording of a repetitive beep indicating keys in the ignition when you open the car door. On the track, Lia shares: “I took this recording in an old van in northern Wisconsin — it took me a while to find a car that had that old-style resonant sound; I don’t have a car myself so I had to ask several friends. It’s a pretty bizarre thing to ask ‘can I record your car?’. The van belongs to ACRE, an artist residency in Steuben, WI, where I was in residence last summer. You can hear the birds singing around the van at the end of the track. In making this record, I’m interested in the fact that a lot of these sounds are just synthesizer sounds, created for a specific purpose. In this case, it just plays one note. The tempo made me feel like it would make a good energetic, almost dance-y tune.”

Shows

8.9: Chicago, IL @ Hungry Brain (with James Wetzel)

8.17: Chicago, IL @ TUSK (with Jeff Kolar)

8.19: Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village (with Macie Stewart and Whitney Johnson)

8.24:  Albi, France @ Festival Baignade Sauvage

8.30: Antwerpen, Belgium @ Summer Bummer Festival

8.31: Antwerpen, Belgium @ Summer Bummer Festival (with Fire! Orchestra)

9.1: Cologne, Germany @ 674FM

9.3: Dijon, France @ Sabotage

9.5: Bordeaux, France @ Outrage

9.6: Düsseldorf, Germany @ André

9.7: Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Bimhuis

9.8: Darmstadt, Germany @ Gute Stube

9.14: Chicago, IL @ Constellation (album release show)

#liairenekohl