At long last, we are totally redesigning the band site! We figured it was high time we took advantage of current blog technology and joined WordPress. This has been the easiest site to build, ever. There still might be a few tweaks here and there, but take a look around and give us some feedback.
All posts by ryan
Gearwire Artist Feature Interview
“On Pro Tools, GarageBand, And Pitch Correction: Lovespirals’ Ryan Lum And Anji Bee”
by Patrick Ogle of Thanatos
Ryan Lum has been making electronic based music for a decade and a half. First working with Suzanne Perry in shoegazer/ambient/electronica band, Love Spirals Downwards, and now in the successor project, Lovespirals, with new vocalist Anji Bee.
Lum’s music has ranged from the beautiful, meandering, shoegazing of Love Spirals Downwards to the new project’s fusion of downtempo and electronic jazz. Between the two bands Lum has released 9 full length releases and one single. Yet despite this electronica pedigree, Lum and Bee often eschew the electronic cutting edge for what some might consider old-fashioned [musical values]. Lum especially eschews the over-use of plug-ins.
“Two big reasons I don’t go crazy with audio plug ins and all: first, my computer is a bit old and a bit too slow and outdated for going nuts with that stuff.” says Lum “Second, I don’t really need them beyond basic stuff like compressors. I’d rather use a good rackmount reverb than a plug-in. Plus, some plug-ins just sound horrible.”
Lum has used ProTools 24 TDM hardware since 1999 with his Apple Tower and a three year old copy of ProTools 6.
“It’d be nice to get a new TDM system, but you need around $10,000 to make it happen so that’s the main reason why I’ve kept what I have,” says Lum. “But honestly, there’s no real need to upgrade though they try to make you believe you need to. The only real thing I’m missing out on is that the newer systems have way more power and can run tons more plug-ins.”
Continue reading Gearwire Artist Feature Interview
LSD on iTunes Essentials Shoegaze Playlist
Our 1996 track “Madras,” from Ever, was selected as a “Deep Cut” for the iTunes Essentials Shoegaze & Beyond playlist alongside legendary bands Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Jesus and Mary Chain, Lush, and more. Here’s what iTunes has to say about the Deep Cuts selections:
All things must pass, intense musical movements included, but when the first-wave shoegazers finally looked up from their footwear, what they saw was a whole new scene that they themselves had begotten. The proof is in the Deep Cuts…
Pretty cool!
Suzanne Perry on New Falling You CD Human
Love Spirals Downwards’ singer, Suzanne Perry, appears on one song of the latest Falling You album, Human. “An Angel Ameliorate” is very ambient and sad with Suzy’s classic glossolalia style lyrics. To the best of my knowledge, this is her first released work since Melodyguild’s cover of “Sally’s Song” on the Projekt Holiday Single 2. You can check out the track for free from Magnatune here.
UPDATE: this won Best Vocal Album of 2006 from New Age Reporter. Congrats!
The album is now available on Bandcamp!
Atmosphere 69 Artist Profile on Lovespirals
During our last trip to Mexico City, we visited the Lounge King Radio Network studio to do an interview for their newly launched show, Atmosphere 69. A half hour “Music Therapy Artist Feature” on Lovespirals highlighting tracks from our new album, ‘Free and Easy,’ interspersed with interview clips will air on Mix96 FM Canada, as well as streaming internet radio stations Luxuria Music and Lounge Radio. Check it out at www.atmosphere69.com
EDIT: now added to our MixCloud archive!
Back from Mexico City
We just got back from a great weekend in Mexico City. As always, we were treated wonderfully by our lovely fans and the producer of the show, Joseph of Noise Kontrol, our distributor in Mexico. We played many songs from Free and Easy for the first time, debuted two brand new songs that we had just recently written, and did a version of “Avicenna” we put together for this show, but the hit of the night was definitely “Dejame.” We were so surprised to hear the entire crowd singing along! What an unforgettable experience!
Music Tap interview with Ryan & Anji of Lovespirals
March 13, 2006: Music Tap, Matt Rowe
“Honey and Cool Jazz ‘n’ Rock: An interview with Ryan Lum and Anji Bee of Lovespirals”
Matt: Ryan – Anji’s voice is hauntingly memorable; her voice sticks in my mind long after I heard the songs. Are you as hypnotized by her ability to mesh with your vision of how Lovespirals songs should be communicated as we are hearing it?
Ryan: Yeah, it’s surprising how her voice just fits perfectly. I’m very lucky. Her voice has been as important as anything in the evolution of our music together.
Matt: Anji, obviously you are an excellent fit with Lovespirals. The forward progression of the band incorporates you better than many bands undergoing a shift in style. How do you feel your involvement with Lovespirals changes the band? Have you brought your own influences into the structure of the band’s musical vision?
Anji: It would be impossible for me not to bring my own influences into the band, since we are a collaborative team. I think I bring an earthier element to the music. My vocals are very lyrically based, as opposed to Suzanne’s more non-verbal stylings, and my sound is more soulful compared to her purely ethereal sound.
Continue reading Music Tap interview with Ryan & Anji of Lovespirals
Mexico City Concert
Lovespirals will play on Saturday, March 25th, 2006 at Club Dada X in Mexico City, at 9 pm. The first show in support of their new album, Free & Easy – distributed in Mexico by Noise Kontrol – will also commemorate the club’s 7th anniversary. Ryan and Anji will perform a 1 hour set of songs from both Lovespirals albums, highlighting their soft, soulful, jazz and blues influenced material. The band will be available to autograph CDs after their set. CDs will be on sale at the event. (Show info via the above link)
Free and Easy Reviews
A few reviews of our new album have been coming in.
Matt Rowe of MusicTap wrote: “Lovespirals’ evolutionary path has brought it down the road from gothic shoegazer pop to hypnotically provocative jazz that is, at once, sexy, sultry, and dreamy. Anji Bee possesses a voice of honey, and a natural element that adds colour and flame to songs, exploring realms of intensities in varying degrees. With Ryan Lum adding stylish guitar and keyboards to permeate the silky fabric of the new album, the lover of jazz in all of its incarnations will be quite entranced.”
Ned Raggett of All Music Guide wrote: “Lovespirals here are much more in the creative vein of an act like the Thievery Corporation instead of the Cocteau Twins. Lum’s interest in DJing and techno can readily be heard throughout. Bee’s singing is a perfect counterpoint, a blend of classic mid-century jazz- pop flow and a bit of ’60s cool in a French or Brazilian sense — some low-key scatting here, some warm, playful crooning there.”
John Evanstan of “Pop Stops” for The Star wrote: “The Southern California duo of Ryan Lum and Anji Bee bring to mind the cool, sensual jazz of Sade [with] their downbeat, sultry late-night sound. Lum plays a sedate electric guitar and gently jazzy Rhodes piano to back up Bee as she croons and seduces at the microphone. It’s a deliciously soothing combination.”
Free and Easy Out Now
Lovespirals’ brand new album, Free & Easy, has an official release date of November 1st, but you can buy it online right now. The band will personally autograph all copies sold through their own webstore. The CD is also on sale at Projekt’s Darkwave distribution, CD Baby, and will soon be available through Amazon. Metropolis will be distributing the album in the US, Noise Kontrol will handle distribution in Mexico, and Monitor will be distributing the album in Hong Kong, so be sure to ask for the album in your local record stores!
