Yea Big

Yea Big is Stefen Robinson, sometimes solo, sometimes in collaboration. He’s a father, partner, teacher, multi-instrumentalist music-maker, Buddhist pacifist-anarchist, living in Bloomington, IL. His music runs the gamut from hip-hop to electro-acoustic compositions to free-improvisation. Other projects include Disorganizer and Shoshin Trio. Take it away, Stefen…

I’m way into cultivating bonsai trees. I love to read. I’m a low-key anime nerd. I’m somewhat obsessed with the bass clarinet. I have a wonderful partner, an amazing son, two cool dogs, and a hip cat.

My longest collaborative project has been as part of the duo Yea Big + Kid Static. We used to put out records on Jib Door and Metal Postcard. We’ve toured all over the US. Those days were fun. Also, the music business kind of sucks and touring is exhausting and I just want to make music and perform, not think about money. So now I make all the music I want and get paid to teach high school sociology and history, where I’m hopefully doing some good. I’ve also put out a record I’m proud of on the label Illegal Art.

I’m stoked to now be working with FPE Records. It feels like home.

An Emptiness Supreme

An Emptiness Supreme, Yea Big’s debut for FPE Records, is the third in a series of three improvised compositions, all meditations on a common theme, performed by three different ensembles, the first two in the series being The Shape of Emptiness Now and Spiritual Emptiness (both released in 2020). This one is a collaborative project with Bloomington, IL-based quartet Disorganizer… read more

An Emptiness Supreme Reimagined

A digital collection of remixes and reimaginings spawned from the sounds of Yea Big‘s An Emptiness Supreme. Created by Yea Big, Disorganizer, and producers including Moses Harris Jr. (Kid Static), Will Butler (The Arcade Fire), Rick Valentin (Poster Children), Syrhea Conaway (Syna So Pro), and others… read more