Lovespirals will play the headlining slot of the 3-day festival’s opening night, as well as an intimate, stripped down performance the following evening for the Merchant’s Bazaar. Get more information from the ProjektFest site. This will be the live debut of the new lineup with guitarist, Ryan Lum, vocalist, Anji Bee, and guest saxist, Doron Orenstein.
Lovespirals are gearing up to release our first full length album this Summer on Projekt Records. Are you excited yet? You will be after you read our snappy new bio:
Lovespirals are musician/producer Ryan Lum and singer/songwriter Anji Bee. This duo’s lush, sensual collaborative songwriting embraces numerous styles and sounds, creating a unique blend which defies genre categories altogether. Beginning their collaboration in 1999 with Jazz Step Drum & Bass dubplates spun in Ryan’s DJ sets, then continuing on with a series of singles released on compilations for various labels (including Water Music and Metropolis Records), the band has traversed vast musical territory to arrive at their first full-length album for Projekt Records. Due out June 18, 2002, Windblown Kiss, is focused on beautiful melodies based around Ryan Lum’s dreamy acoustic and electric guitar playing and Anji Bee’s versatile vocal work. This first full-length album also features special guest musicians Sean Bowey, of Eden, and Doron Orenstein, of Frescoe, on several tracks. Slow-burning Blues, Bebop Jazz, Flamenco-spiced Folk Rock, Western-tinged Dream Pop – Lovespirals blend all these influences and more into heady, intoxicating mixture. Romantic, spiritual, and utterly heartfelt, Windblown Kiss envelopes one in a beautifully soothing dream-drenched world, timeless in quality and essence.
— Projekt Records
Projekt has released a new Excelsis Christmas/Winter themed compilation CD, Excelsis 3 ~ a Prelude, which kicks off with our cover of John Denver’s catchy folk-pop song, “Aspenglow.” This is actually the first song featuring Anji to appear on a Projekt release… Several sneak-peek tracks from the upcoming Lovespirals album are also available on MP3.com, so come take a listen!
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.)
Love Spirals Downwards’ 1998 Flux track, “Psyche” – featuring the vocals of Kristen Perry – will be used in an episode of Dawson’s Creek on October 10th, 2001. Dawson’s Creek airs Wednesdays at 8 PM, on the WB Network.
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…
We just dropped a 4 song MP3.com DAM CD of brand new post-Flux era atmospheric d’n’b tracks, called the Ecstatic EP, for those fans looking to pick up the full dance versions. Hope all you DJs out there have a CD turntable!
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
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 MacNETv2Digging 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!
