All posts by ryan

THE NATIONAL, Thurs, February 29, 1996

February 29, 1996 ryan Leave a comment

Music for the end of the millennium

By XAVIER QUIRARTE

Suzanne Perry and Ryan Lum are in music first and foremost for the pleasure of creating sounds, for the freedom to taste their art without any kind of commitment. Love Spirals Downwards, a joint project that began in the early nineties, has crystallized to date on two albums, Idylls and Ardor, published by the independent American company Projekt.

There have been some of the adjectives that his work has deserved: “Millennium”, “Angelical.”

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Band News, Interview

The News, Vol XLVI NO. 232, Feb 29. 1996

February 20, 1996 ryan Leave a comment

U.S. Avante Garde Duo To Play D.F.

By Jose Fernandez Ramos, The News Staff Reporter

Love Spirals Downwards is one of those alternative bands whose music tends to attract a cult following.

What has happened to this Los Angeles duo, featuring Suzanne Perry (vocals) and Ryan Lum (guitars, electronics), is interesting and sometimes funny.

“One time a magazine requested an interview thinking that we would have a lot to say about LSD, because of the band’s name.” Perry says. “When they found out we have never tried it they lost interest.”

Although many fans attribute the duo’s music with spiritual, mystic and even healing powers, and critics have labelled their work with adjectives as diverse as “dark ethereal,” “gothic,””dream pop,” “angelic,” “Avant Garde,” “ambient,” etc., this young duo put things very simply.

“We just compose music without any specific intention,”Lum says.

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Band News

Band news

January 9, 1996 ryan Leave a comment

We’ve had lots of things happening lately including a couple of shows in Mexico City and Guadalajara. And there is a new, still untitled, album that we are almost finished recording and mixing. It should have 10 new tracks and we hope to have it released in May or June depending on how soon we finish, as well as other record label factors. Also, we will most likely be contributing new songs to Hyperium Records’ upcoming compilations Heavenly Voices 4 and Heavenly Grooves.

We haven’t even begun to think about new tours yet, but some shows may happen later this year. One show that we are scheduled to perform is at the Projekt Records festival in Chicago. It is a two evening event that will include nearly all of Projekt’s current recording line-up. We will be closing the first night on June 25.

For more information on this, call the Projekt info-line at (312) 491-0108 or check out http://charlotte.acns.nwu.edu/arielr/projekt on the internet (the current site, but soon to be moving Projekt web site).

(taken from the band’s official mail list)

Band News

News Update

November 5, 1995 ryan Leave a comment

Sorry it’s been awhile since our last update. We’ve been very busy with many different things, one of which was our short ‘tour’. After a show in Seattle last Spring, we did a 3-show tour in August and September of Boston, Philadelphia, and New York, followed by a show in Los Angeles. Many thanks to Pat Ogle at Projekt for making that happen! Being a studio-band and not having played live before, much to our surprise we had a great time doing these shows. It was especially nice to be able to meet some of you who write us! We hope to do more next year. And, we are tentatively set for doing one last show this year in Los Angeles again at the Troubadour on December 16.

Also, we are in the middle of recording and mixing a new album (still untitled), which will hopefully be released in the Spring of ’96 depending on when we finish. In the meantime, we released a new track, a cover of ‘Welcome Christmas from Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas. on the new Projekt holiday CD called Excelsis.

‘Excelsis: A dark noel’ various artist compilation on Projekt Records

I also wanted to let you know that there’s a decent mailing list called ‘4AD-L’. In addition to bands on its namesake 4AD, other related music such as ourselves and a few other Projekt artists are often discussed and reviewed. To subscribe, send email to 4ad-l@listserv.american.edu, and type “subscribe 4AD-L” . We will try to post new information regarding our shows and releases in their News section.

(taken from the band’s official mail list)

Review

Muse Magazine Reviews Troubadour Show

October 2, 1995 ryan Leave a comment

The Troubadour, Los Angeles, CA September 21, 1995:

The L.A. based duo, Love Spirals Downwards, create soundscapes layered with soothingly airy keyboards, acoustic guitar arpeggios, and ethereal female vocals. In a rare appearance at the Troubadour, Ryan Lum and Suzanne Perry stripped their music to its essentials: an amplified Ovation acoustic guitar, a haunting voice, and one beautiful melody after another. The rapt Troubadour audience responded enthusiastically to the pair, who present their music with the seriousness it deserves, but who entertain with humorously casual banter and interplay with the crowd between songs.

— John Koenig, Muse Magazine

Review

Underscope Reviews Troubadour Show

September 27, 1995 ryan Leave a comment

The Troubadour, West Lost Angeles, September 21, 1995

“One of the darlings of the innovating Projekt label, Love Spirals Downwards consists of only 2 members. Given the swirling, multi-tracked ambience of their records, one might expect their live show to have difficulty living up to such studio magic, even with a requisite backing tape. But LSD took to the stage with only one instrument: Ryan Lum’s six-stringed acoustic guitar. As they began, Suzanne’s angelic voice floated out over the hushed audience. Trust me, no backing tape was needed. Stripped down to this bare essence of chiming guitar and dazzling voice, LSD’s songs burned with a raw, ethereal brilliance. Anyone who narrow-mindedly accuses them of being simply studio musicians needs to be taken out back and whupped good. The set’s highlights included the lovely “Will You Fade” and “Write in Water,” taken from their latest record Ardor. The audience showered them with wild acclaim after each songs, and left fashionably disappointed when LSD ran out of songs to play.”

— H. Aaron Ripes, UnderScope Magazine

Review

Dewdrops Issue #14 Reviews Ardor

August 16, 1995 ryan Leave a comment

Love Spirals Downwards
PROJEKT
Ardor

There is really nothing NOT to like here, I but if this album suffers form anything it’s that it has too much of a good thing (re: the For Against album, but to a lesser degree here). Ryan Lum’s scintillating guitar effects seamlessly blend with Suzanne Perry’s high pitched vocals. Each song taken separately, or in twos, reaches for the top of the genre, begging comparisons to Victorialand-era Cocteau Twins (believe me, I’d do away with this tired comparison if I could come up with a better one!). And considered in this way, the album is pretty wonderful. But when taken all at once, it approaches an overdose; a pleasant one, but one that leaves me a little uneasy nonetheless. A little more variety might have helped, but as is, Ardor still succeeds.

8 lilies – Brant

What more can be said about a band which consistently creates some of the most beautiful music out there? With breathtaking, shimmering, hallucinogenic instrumentation and vocals that issue straight from the heart, Ryan Lum and Suzanne Perry create equal numbers of textural, nigh-ambient tracks, and stand-alone ether-bliss monuments (the closest they get to singles!). One could very easily list all the powerful similarities to the Cocteau Twins’ Treasure, Echoes in a Shallow Bay, and (most of all) Victorialand — even the mesmerizing, voiceless moments of Dead Can Dance. But make no mistake, Love Spirals Downwards stand alone as a landmark to ethereal and madrigal greatness.

9 lilies — Pat

Band News

LSD News & Tour Dates

July 30, 1995 ryan Leave a comment

There’s been a lot happening with Love Spirals Downwards this year. There’s a nice article on us in the July/August issue of B-Side magazine, as well as a smaller article in the latest issue of Fond Affexxions. And, we are currently recording and mixing new material, hopefully releasing a new full length next Spring. Also, we have just finished a track that will be on the upcoming Christmas/Winter Holidays CD from Projekt.

And, we have some upcoming acoustic shows (finally we’ve been persuaded to leave the safety of our studio). For the East Coast, we are confirmed for the following:

• Boston: Thursday, August 31 at TT The Bear, 10 Brookline Street, Central Sq., (617)-492-BEAR

• Philadelphia: Friday, September 1 at Asylum, 1517 N. Delaware Ave, (215) 427-1087

• New York: Saturday, September 2 at Batcave, 251 W. 30’th between 7’th and 8’th. (212)-695-2747

For the West Coast, we recently played a fun show in Seattle with Faith & Disease and Trance to the Sun. In California, we are tentatively set to play in Los Angeles on September 21, and San Diego in late August. Be sure to call the Projekt info/tour line at (818) 395-7698 for the latest info on these and the other shows.

Interview

The Ninth Wave: A Journal of Nocturnal Culture #5 Spring/Summer 1995

June 6, 1995 ryan Leave a comment

While the beautiful sounds of California’s Projekt Records have almost become a genre of their own, it was back in 1992 that I first discovered the label, through a compilation entitled From Across This Gray Land 3. The album’s opener was a lush combination of dreamy, swirling guitar and blissful vocals, and I was instantly hooked. That song was “Mediterranea” by Love Spirals Downwards.

The duo of Ryan Lum and Suzanne Perry have since released two successful albums on Projekt, 1992’s Idylls and, most recently, Ardor. LSD is perhaps one of the few bands linked to the ’80s 4AD sound that are actually worth discovering. Knowing how painfully quiet and difficult some ether-celebs are to interview (Mazzy Star, Cranes) I worried a bit about these two. A quick call proved my fears unfounded; they were both delightful and eager to discuss their band. In fact, Suzanne put me at ease instantly with the simple phrase: “Wow, a female interviewer, how nice.” She then went on to recount her memories of beach harassment. But that’s another story.

I began my probe with the most obvious queries about their background, musical and romantic.

“We grew up in the same area of California,” explained Suzanne. “But we didn’t know each other until we started dating. We were both doing music, but I never thought I would make a career out of singing. We decided to try doing a couple of songs together, so we went into the studio and recorded a three-song demo.”

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Interview

Dusk Memories Interview with Love Spirals Downwards

April 14, 1995 ryan Leave a comment

Ryan Lum, who plays all the instruments in Love Spirals Downwards, a new group from the Californian label Projekt, answered some of our questions.

DM: Which groups have influenced you the most?

Ryan: I was influenced by many artists of different styles, including Harold Budd, Brian Eno, classical music of India, Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, Slowdive, the other Projekt groups, the Orb, the Primal Scream, the Grateful Dead, the Pink Floyd, the Beatles. I recently discovered the Ordo Equitum Solis, and I like them a lot. A long time ago (1986-88) I was very passionate about 4AD artists, especially the Cocteau, but then my subsequent evolution led me to more ‘psychedelic’ bands like the Popul Vuh of the early 70s. I still like Cocteaus, though: the first song of the new album is incredible!

DM: What does the name of the band mean?

Ryan: We didn’t have any particular meaning in mind, we just liked the sound of the name.

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Ethereal Shoegaze and Electronica from Projekt Records and Chillcuts