A review of Temporal appeared in Outburn Magazine #12. Projekt sent along a clipping to share. It reads:
REMIXES AND SINGLES FROM INNOVATIVE SHOEGAZERS: I can’t think of any ethereal band more sonically enchanting or musically daring than Love Spirals Downwards. No group has pushed the boundaries of the shoegazer sound since the formative days of the 4AD label during the 1980’s. Over four albums, programmer, Ryan Lum, and vocalist, Suzanne Perry, have deftly weaved solemn soundscapes with intelligent, thoughtful poetry. Unafraid of emerging electronic styles, Lum embraced ideas from genres as disparate as drum & bass and goth to evolve Love Spirals Downwards’ unique sound. Temporal serves as a great introduction to their music, a thirteen track CD offering remixes of “Misunderstood” and “Alicia” from 1998’s Flux, as well as songs from their earlier albums. Hearing early songs like the tenebrous “Ladonna Dissima” from 1992’s Idylls illustrates how versatile and adventurous the duo is. Fans will also appreciate “Amarillo” and “Mediterranea,” previously only available as singles or on compilations. This release reminds me of how much I anxiously await Love Spirals Downwards’ next album. ~ David Slatton
URB Issue No. 75 June 2000 features a review of our retrospective album released by Projekt earlier this year:
Temporal (Projekt) A few years ago, a couple of phenomena exploded out of the UK and into the American consciousness: the post-Portishead wave of trip-hop groups (basically. anything with beats and a female singer), plus the smooth drum & bass most prominently showcased stateside via LTJ Bukem. Both of those models have found a happy hybrid in the recent music of Love Spirals Downwards. But LSD’s existence predates either of those styles. The electronic washes and gentle tug of implied beats carried along their early, ethereal pop. It was a perfect platform for Ryan Lum’s compositional evolution toward the quiet but emphatic breakbeats heard on LSD’s 1998 CD, Flux. Temporal is a collection which looks back through the haze, opening with three tracks that have their genesis in the Flux sessions: two unreleased remixes and an album cut. The music then drifts backward in time, showcasing an increasingly ambient sensibility in tracks that date all the way to 1992. Whether or not these numbers have appeared on the group’s full-lengths, they show consistency in one key respect the crystal-clear voice of Suzanne Perry. It’s all very lovely, a nice sound to chill to after a hard night of pounding kick drums.
Still spinning on a regular basis, I have upcoming slots where you can catch me, dropping atmospheric drum ‘n’ bass and downtempo tunes…
La Belle Epoque: May 13th, San Francisco at The Top DJ Bar, 424 Haight St. (between Webster and Fillmore, 21 and over, $5). I’ll be on from 10pm to midnight. This club is the West Coast mecca for atmospheric drum and bass. I had a most incredible time DJ’ing there last year, and this time will be even better as I look forward to playing some acetates of new unreleased Lovespirals material.
Caffeinated: May 20th, Santa Barbara. Held by the Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts forum, 653 Paseo Nuevo, Santa Barbara, CA. This multi-media party and art opening goes from 8pm – 2 am, is $10 admission, and open to all ages. Call (805) 966-5373 for more info or visit their site.
On Friday April 14, I’ll be spinning on the very unique “Dinner With a DJ” online music show, at the infamous Love Cat House. The show goes on at 9pm PST, and continues well into the early morning hours. I believe they archive their shows, so you might check for that later.
For those who’ve never caught one of my sets and are curious as to what they sound like, I’ve put up my mix set from last year, entitled “Atmopshere ’99,” on Live 365.com, under the Jungle and Dance categories. You’ll need a connection faster than a 56k modem to listen to it.
Launch.com just did a feature story, taken from an interview with Suzanne and I, at their site.
A sassy review of Temporal appears in Magnet MagazineIssue 44 for April/May 2000. Projekt send over a press clipping to share. It reads:
As one of the most consistent ethereal bands of the last decade, Love Spirals Downwards has absolutely nowhere to go but … down. This retrospective collection of unreleased and hard-to-find synthetic dreamscapes succeeds on a variety of cosmic levels. With Ryan Lum writing and performing the music and Suzanne Perry providing the words and vocals, LSD is an exotically insular sound machine. While Lum’s grasp of technology isn’t always distinctive and Perry’s warble can feel overly familiar, the pair still generates a dramatic wall of sound that stands proudly alongside the works of Dead Can Dance and the Cocteau Twins. Using slight touches of acoustic guitar, saxophone and percussion on top of their ambient/goth electronics and windswept vocals, Perry and Lum are able to create and sustain a mood that’s nearly alien and wholly atmospheric. Still, if you don’t enjoy working your way through a vast abyss of chiming guitars, swirling synthesizers and haunting female croons, Temporal may not be the ideal purchase. Achromatically packaged and containing moodist masterworks like “Asleep,” “Depression Glass” and “This Endris Night,” this album certainly has the icy sound required to keep things properly evocative. Anyone else feel like having an absinthe?
A new review of Temporal has appeared in Lexicon Magazine #15, and Projekt sent along a clipping to share. I appreciate L’Ange Noir’s Huxley reference in this quirky review, and find myself wondering which record store they work at.
Smooth and relaxing as if on holiday, this new album by Love Spirals Downwards is like dropping “three (grammes) for a dark eternity on the moon” in reference to Huxley’s soma holiday. For the novice this is the definitive starting point for an acquaintance with LSD and most definitely a great way to get to know the Darkwave/Ethereal genre that predominates Sam Rosenthal’s Projekt label.
This new album, Temporal, is a retrospective collection of their best and yet unreleased material. LSD, which formed 1991 in Los Angeles, is an experiment in dark ambiance that can be somewhat akin to early Cocteau Twins. Music masterfully crafted by Ryan Lum and the haunting vocals of Suzanne Perry, this album has laid down a basic framework of this duo’s history. The inclusion of material from past albums, Flux, Ardor, Ever, and Idylls, plus newly released tracks makes this the LSD retrospective. “At both ends and in between, “Temporal” is a sumptuous sound of layered guitars and lilting female vocals, rich in mood and melody.”(— Projekt PR)
I give this album a B for its relaxation factor. I think fans of Cocteau Twins, Sarah McLachlan, or the Jazz /Trip Hop group Portishead, will be able to find appreciation in this album. It has received quite the positive response in the music store where I work. I expect that the beautiful ambiance of this LA duo calms the savage spirit induced by everyday life. I highly recommend turning the lights down low, slipping in the tub, and relaxing to this new title from Projekt Records.
A short but sweet review appears in Side-Line Magazine, Issue 31 April/June 2000. Projekt sent over a press clipping, which reads:
I love anything this band puts out. This collection of works is no exception. They always give the listener a treat with their beautiful music. Their songs are made up of Ryan Lum’s smooth guitar work and Suzanne Perry’s lovely, yet haunting voice. They have also utilized the talents of some special guests over the years including guitar, saxophone, and even vocals. The tracks on “Temporal” are a varied selection of Love Spirals Downwards’ songs ranging from their first release, “Idylls,” in 1992 through to “Flux” in 1998. The best part about this release is the addition of 5 tracks previously unavailable on any of their past albums. A must-have for any Love Spirals Downwards fan; of which I’m sure there are many!
Indie goths gone electronic, LSD’s sound now sketches its past while tracing its future.
“We’re the first and only for a lot of things on Projekt,” says Ryan Lum, the multi-instrumentalist and driving force behind Love Spirals Downwards, darkwave label Projekt Record’s top-selling act. Lum is sipping on a soda in a RadioSpy conference room and choosing his words carefully. He’s speaking of his band’s use of saxophone riffs on a song from its latest release, Temporal, a career retrospective that includes a number of unreleased tracks. Lum was concerned that Sam Rosenthal, Projekt Record’s sometimes finicky founder, might be less than enthusiastic about the sax track.
“[Rosenthal] actually made a positive comment about the saxophone. He said, ‘You know, it fits somehow,” recounts Anji Bee, Ryan’s self-described “partner-in-crime” and recent collaborator on everything from album art to vocals. Lum’s experimentation — with his sound and with the band’s direction — initially met with grudging acceptance from Rosenthal, who eventually warmed to the band’s new sound.
“It’s not his cup of tea,” Lum says of Rosenthal’s reaction to the band’s shift in sound from “shoegazer,” the ethereal style of feedback- and synth-drenched pop defined by British bands like My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive and the Cocteau Twins, to drum ‘n’ bass. “But we more or less have artistic freedom to do as we please. I guess being the top seller on the label doesn’t hurt us in that,” Lum says with a chuckle.
Beginning Friday March 17, and continuing through the weekend, Radio Spy will run a Love Spirals Downwards feature interview and music broadcast. The program includes a number of songs I consider influential to our music, as well as a number of our songs selected by interviewer, Sean Flinn. After the weekend, the radio show/interview will go into their permanent archive, but try to catch the premier, as they’ll have a special flash animation on their main page. Radio Spy has also made my mix set, “Atmosphere 99” available for listening in their Jungle section, so check that out as well.
A very cool review and feature on the band just went up on a new website, The Stranger Next Door.
And for kicks, you might want to check out my guitar/music set up on the fanatical new site, Guitar Geek.
More articles in both web and print format are coming out soon, so check back here often!
Peace- Ryan
UPDATE: You can now stream DJ Ryan Lum’s ‘Atmosphere 99 Mix Set via Mixcloud:
Joined DJ Membraneous B. Sausage last night for a “sneak attack” DJ set and interview on the Ryders of the Plastic Groove show at KUCI FM. Anji was on hand to snap some pix.
DJ Ryan at KUCI FMDJ Membraneous
Ethereal Shoegaze and Electronica from Projekt Records
