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.)
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!
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 MacNETv2Lovespirals 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
March 17, 2000 RadioSpy Interview by Sean Flinn:
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.
Continue reading RadioSpy Interview on Choler
