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Band News, Review

Star Vox Best of 2001 List

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Staffer Kevin’s Top Ten Picks for 2001

“2001: 10 Best From a Year of Blood and Fire”
The Chinese curse about interesting times comes to mind when reviewing 2001: so does the line about rough beasts slouching toward Bethlehem. For much of 2001 world events made it difficult to concentrate on silly things like music and entertainment. Still, there were some excellent releases this year, as Gothic and Industrial Music lurched into the 21st century.

10/9 Tie: Lovespirals Ecstatic (Projekt) & Claire Voyant  Time Again (Metropolis) 

As synthpop’s rise led inexoribly to its decline, some Gothic/Industrial artists have started looking toward other avenues of inspiration. On these releases, Lovespirals and Claire Voyant provide tasty Illbient and Trip Hop influenced grooves and give us a harbinger of Goth’s Next BigThing.

(Ed. note: it should be noted that “Time Again” includes a track remixed by Lovespirals.)

Band News

Lovespirals On New Compilation CDs

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Water Music Records just released 2 various artist compilations with Lovespirals tracks. We’re excited to be included on a comp with one of our favorite producers, LTJ Bukem! You can listen to RealAudio or Windows Media files at their site, as well as make an online purchase, so check it out…

  • Chill Out Lounge Vol. 2: 12 track mixed set of chill electronic grooves, including LTJ Bukem, Baby Mammoth, France & Dom, and more. The Lovespirals tune included is a special edit of our 1999 Jazz-Step song, “Hand in Hand”. Check out the Water Music Chill-Out Lounge v. 2 page for details.
  • Chill Out in the City: 12 track comp of Jazzy Down Tempo featuring Baby Mammoth, ORG Lounge, France & Dom and more. The Lovespirals tune included is the 1999 instrumental, “Beatitude,” featuring Doron Orenstein and Gabriel D. Vine of L.A. Deep House band, Toof!. Check out the Water Music Chill-Out in the City page for details.
Chillout in the City CD
Band News

NEW Mp3.com EXCLUSIVE track!

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Since everyone seemed to enjoy “Echoes” so much, we put up a second out-take track, this time from the Flux sessions. “Influx” has been holding on at #5 in Ambient Drum ‘n’ Bass the past two weeks, which is really cool. Once again, this track is ONLY available through MP3.com!

Speaking of charting, we’ve put the LSD Live DAM CD on sale this week, in celebration of “Liberflusse (Live Acoustic)” being the #1 Folk track. If you haven’t already picked up a copy, you may want to check that out now.

We really appreciate all the support you’ve shown us, through both the Lovespirals and Love Spirals Downwards pages on MP3.com.

Please take the time to subscribe to our mailing list. Simply email us at: lovespirals@mac.com or go to our email page.

Peace,
Ryan

Band News, Interview

Lovespirals Interview on MacNETv2

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MacNETv2, a fansite for Mac users, just posted an interview with Ryan and Anji discussing their use of Macs in music, design, and website creation. We’ll include some excerpts below:

April 2001, MacNETv2, Chris Volpe

Chris:: Do Macs enhance your creativity in any way?

Ryan: I don’t know if Macs make me more creative, but as far as computers go, they’re the least obtrusive in letting me get on with my creative work in the studio without being forced into thinking like a computer. You just point, click, drag, and don’t have to worry about anything else with regards to the computer. I see computers as a tool, a tool you use to get things done. I think Macs are by far the best platform for anyone who does music or graphics. Also for getting photos, mp3s, and video into and out of your computer, nothing can compete with Macs and all the new Apple software like iTunes, iMovie, and iPhoto. But if you’re a more nerdy C++ or ASP programmer, I’d say PCs are the way to go and a Mac wouldn’t be the right tool at all.

Chris:: Tell me some things about the new CD [Windblown Kiss] that you’d like the readers to know. How’s this recording different?

Ryan: This is the first time that I’ve had the recording quality that I’ve always wanted. The whole thing was recorded and mixed to 24 bit. In the past 4 or so years, the technology and cost have finally come together to allow truly great quality digital recordings. Still, you need to have the engineering and production skills, as well as good microphones and outboard gear, to take full advantage of it.

Continue reading Lovespirals Interview on MacNETv2 →
Band News

Mp3.com EXCLUSIVE track!

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Digging through the DAT archive, we came across a “lost” track from the Ever recording period! “Echoes” has a somewhat similar feel to “Madras” and “Sideways Forest (Quantum Remix),” with groovy loops and atmospheric textures, including a lovely ethereal vocal sample of Suzanne. This track is ONLY available through MP3.com.

Speaking of Mp3.com on LSD, our old tracks have been climbing the charts! “Delta” has been #1 on both the Shoegazer and Brit Pop charts all week; it even hit #31 on their Alternative charts for a day. “Sideways Forest (Quantum Remix)” has been flittering between #1 and #3 on the Trip Hop and Downtempo charts all week, too. Other tracks are also charting high, which is a very good thing, indeed. I plan to take our Pay4Play earnings and invest them right back into much needed studio gear. We really appreciate all the support of our loyal fans and new listeners alike!

Band News

Lovespirals in Oui Rocks

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Lovespirals were mentioned in a recent issue of Oui Magazine, for their Oui Rocks section. Devil Doll gives a brief update of the band in her “Oh My Goth” column, alongside The Empire Hideous and Virgin Black. A band portrait by Susan Jennings is included.

LOVESPIRALS (formerly Love Spirals Downwards) songwriter/producer, Ryan Lum and singer/songwriter, Anji Bee, are currently preparing for the release of their first full-length album, tentatively titled ‘Oh So Long,’ due out in May 2002. Ryan reports: “There’s lots of little surprises in our sound this time around, including a wonderful guest appearance by Sean Bowley (of Eden) on 2 tracks. As I have recently rediscovered my love of guitar, this album is really based around beautiful melodies on both acoustic and electric guitar, as well as Anji’s gorgeous, versatile vocals. We’ve had a lot of fun working on our first album together and hope that love shines through to our fans!”

— from Oui Magazine
Band News

Love Spirals Downwards Live CD

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Happy Valentines Day!

At your request, we’ve released that vintage LSD live material as a DAM CD on mp3.com. The 9 songs included are from the Idylls through Ever period, all performed acoustically by Suzanne and I. Just to let you know, a DAM CD is not the same quality as a regular CD, as they use MP3s for the audio files. DAM CDs include both the source mp3 (for play on your computer or mp3 player) and an audio file version (which can be played on your CD player), as well as text and graphic files which you can view on your computer. This is basically an LSD collector’s item, with better sound than a bootleg cassette and a few more fun extras! For more info, and to hear sample audio, visit the LSD page on mp3.com at mp3.com/lovespiralsdown

I’m still going to look into having Projekt release it officially, because I’d really rather the audio not be split up in between songs, and because real CD quality is far superior to the DAM technology. So I guess this DAM could be a limited time only offer, depending on what happens. We’ll keep you posted!

Band News

Happy New Millennium!

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Yes, it’s the REAL new Millennium and certainly a time for change. We’ll be updating our mp3.com page with many new songs — perhaps even the “Live Album” material. We plan to add a new audio page on this site with RealAudio and QuickTime files from every LSD album sometime in the near future. Later in the year, the whole site will be redesigned. Hopefully we’ll find a new way to host our e-store, which is closed for the time being. You might check for occasional sales of Love Spirals Downwards related merchanside on E-Bay, as Anji just auctioned off a copy of “50 Years of Sunshine,” and may be offering other such items from time to time.