Projekt is releasing another new budget priced compilation! The Arbitrary Width of Shadows features Lovespirals’ song “Dejame,” alongside tracks from black tape for a blue girl, Audra, Mira, Voltaire, Unto Ashes, More Syphilitica, and more. This 13-tracks CD retails exclusively at Borders, with over 380 locations nationwide.
The Arbitrary Width of Shadows is our second budget-priced compilation cd created exclusively for the Borders Chain. 2001’s within this infinite ocean was a huge success, selling through its limited edition pressing within five months. Borders was so pleased, that they asked us to create a follow-up compilation, intended to introduce the music of the Projekt label to their customers. Of course, it’s also a great CD for the hardcore Projekt fans, capturing some of our best music together on one disc.
Projekt just released a new budget priced compilation for Hot Topic. Called Projekt:Gothic, it features Lovespirals’ song, “Swollen Sea,” as well as tracks from Audra, Mira, Voltaire, Attrition, This Ascension, Lycia, and more.
Through March 11, 2003, Projekt: Gothic will sell exclusively at Hot Topic, with over 425 locations nationwide. It’s available on the counter at all of their stores across the nation. After March 11th, Hot Topic will be joined by Borders and all other cool stores large and small with this title.
Lovespirals will join fellow Projekt artists, Mira, this summer for several shows along the West Coast! These shows will be a little different from our ProjekFest show as our tenor sax player, Doron, won’t be joining Anji and I. I hope you’ll make it out to see us if you live near any of these stops. It’s pretty rare that we do shows, and there’s no telling when we’ll be back.
If you weren’t able to pick up a pre-release copy of our latest album at ProjektFest, you can now purchase Windblown Kiss for just $11.98 online from Projekt Records, including first class shipping!
Windblown Kiss is the first full-length album by Lovespirals, the beautiful, and beautifully surprising collaboration of Ryan Lum (the driving force behind legendary Love Spirals Downwards) and avant-garde singer/songwriter Anji Bee.
Renown multi-instrumentalist Lum once again creates musical landscapes of breathtaking beauty – and with vocal styles ranging from ethereal to earthy, sweet to sensual, Bee shows off her remarkable vocal range, and allows the full force of her voice to soar into the sublime.
Drawing inspiration from Flamenco, Bebop, soul, folk and the stacks of early vinyl they each grew up loving, Lovespirals has created a timeless world of romance and intrigue. Leaving behind the conventional restraints of dance-floor tracks, this latest endeavor is at once a dreamscape of nostalgia, and a kiss blown to the future.
Using half a dozen different guitars, and featuring the extraordinary talents of Doron Orenstein (of Toof) on saxophone, and Sean Bowley (of Eden) on acoustic guitar and vocals, Windblown Kiss is a celebration of creative anachronism: the past and the future negotiate a gorgeous balance.
Got back from Philly last night. We enjoyed ProjektFest more than we anticipated. It was nice to hang with Audra and Mira at the after parties, and to see old pals like Roachie, Johnny, Lisa etc… There’s some talk of us doing a West Coast tour with Mira this Summer, which would be really cool! We especially hope to hit Portland and San Francisco, where we have friends and family. Keep posted to our news section for updates!
Here’s some photos from Lovespirals whirlwind weekend. From the top left, Lovespirals doing soundcheck at The Trocodero Theatre, Ryan playing his new semi-hollow body guitar during our set, Ryan, Anji, and Doron performing at The Trocodero Theatre, Ryan and Anji doing a stripped down set at the Bizarre Bazaar, meeting fans at the Bazaar.Special thanks to Tome Wilson for photographing us — and for picking us up at the airport in a limo — and thank you to everyone who came out to see us!
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.
Our 50 Years of Sunshine exclusive mix of “Kykeon” is featured on Projekt100, a new various artist compilation created to celebrats the early era of the label from 1985 to 1995.
Projekt100: The Early Years (1985-1995)
Reaching the milestone of its 100th release, Projekt celebrated in a special way. Harkening back to the time when catalog number “PRO-100” seemed a hundred years away, Rosenthal explains his motivation for this compilation: “In planning Projekt100, I tried to recreate an era. A time gone by. A time when Projekt was young and our artists were widely unknown. Rather than put together a predictable ‘best of’ to commemorate Projekt’s 100th release, I created The Great Lost Projekt Compilation. A reflection upon an era gone by, for those fans who have been with Projekt since the early days . . . or an introduction to bands perhaps missed, if a new-comer.”
Included are never before heard tracks from Projekt’s first two acts: Lycia and black tape for a blue girl; as well as unreleased mixes from Attrition, Eden, Lovesliescrushing, and SoulWhirlingSomewhere; early mixes from Thanatos and Terrace of Memories; an unreleased track from O Yuki Conjugate; and a rare mix from Love Spirals Downwards.
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.
We’re starting out 2000 with the release of Temporal, a collection of songs spanning the 8 year history of the band. From the acoustic beginnings to the present electronica/drum ‘n’ bass sound, this compilation covers the entirety of LSD’s career with 13 tracks selected from our master tapes for your enjoyment. The official Projekt Records release date is January 11th, 2000 — but we are offering Temporal for sale NOW at our webstore for just $13!
I had the opportunity to spin a little at a great B-Sides New Year’s Eve party, which got me excited to get back into DJing. Hopefully I’ll have some new bookings to list here for you real soon, so be sure to check back later.
HAPPY NEW MILLENIUM to everyone! Hope you had a great holiday season!
Ethereal Shoegaze and Electronica from Projekt Records
