The Evolution from Ethereal Electronica to Jazz-Infused Elegance
By the early 2000s, Ryan Lum had spent a decade pushing the boundaries of ethereal and dream pop as the driving force behind Love Spirals Downwards. WithFlux (1998), the band had made a radical shift, moving away from the shoegaze atmospherics of Ardor and Ever toward a rhythm-driven, electronic soundscape inspired by Lum’s immersion in DJ culture.
As he continued exploring electronic music, Lum found a new creative partner in Anji Bee, a DJ and singer-songwriter whose more soulfully ethereal vocal style would help shape the next phase of his musical evolution. Their early collaborations —”Ecstatic” and “Hand in Hand”—were initially created for Lum’s DJ sets, pressed to acetate dubplates for club play before being compiled into the EcstaticEP in 2001. However, when Lum and Bee approached Projekt Records with the EP, the response was lukewarm. As Bee later recalled in Jive Magazine (2002):
“When we sent Projekt the Ecstatic EP, their advice was to ‘cut out all the crazy drums’ and then they’d be into it. I was like, ‘This is breakbeat music, it’s BASED on the drums, man!’”
Rather than conforming to label expectations, Lum and Bee pivoted in a different direction. They began writing new material that moved away from electronica, embracing organic instrumentation and traditional songwriting while still carrying the lush textures and atmospheric beauty that had always defined Lum’s work. The result was Windblown Kiss—a record that blended jazz, blues, folk, and dream pop into a timeless, evocative collection of songs.
Ryan Lum and Anji Bee, ‘Windblown Kiss’ PR portrait by Susan Jennings
Projekt Records fans were given their first taste of this new incarnation in late 2001 when the label included Lovespirals’ dream-pop-infused cover of John Denver’s “Aspenglow” on the holiday compilation Excelsis 3: A Prelude. Gothic-industrial website Chain D.L.K. took notice of Bee’s sensual yet refined vocal presence, comparing her to Cocteau Twins’ iconic frontwoman, Elizabeth Fraser:
“Lovespirals kicks in with their special brand of baby-making music. I can’t help it—everything this band sings and plays sounds so sensual, but still so classy! And it’s the first time I’ve heard someone sounding dead-on like Liz Fraser without being a knockoff.”
With Windblown Kiss, Lovespirals was no longer just an extension of Love Spirals Downwards—it was something entirely new.
Evolution of Lovespirals: From Breakbeats to Organic Songwriting
Lovespirals’ earliest recordings reflected Lum and Bee’s shared fascination with California’s drum ‘n’ bass and downtempo scene, blending jazz-step breakbeats with saxophone and Bee’s warm, enveloping vocals. This placed them in line with contemporary electronica artists like Everything But the Girl and Soulstice, both female fronted acts who were successfully fusing electronic production with jazz inflected songwriting.
By 2001, however, their creative process began to shift dramatically. Instead of building extended dance tracks around beats and samples, the duo embraced a more traditional songwriting approach, where melodies and harmonies took center stage. The turning point came with the song “Oh So Long”, which became the blueprint for the rest of the album, as Bee recalled in MacNetv2 (2001):
“We were listening to sax that Doron Orenstein had recorded for us to use as sample food, looking for a good starting point. We started noticing certain bluesy passages that we liked, cut and pasted a few together, then let that loop play in ProTools, while Ryan started working out some chords on guitar. I was inspired to sing along, so I found some lyrics I had written beforehand and joined in. The energy was fantastic!”
This hybrid process, combining looping and digital layering with live performance, gave Windblown Kiss a fluid, organic feel that blurred the lines between studio composition and spontaneous creation. The process proved so instinctual and energizing that the duo found themselves working at an unprecedented pace, as Bee continued:
“We did the bulk of the songwriting over the summer of 2001, then kinda slowed down a bit. Still, I guess it was all done in 6 months, which is amazing considering each of the four Love Spirals Downwards albums took Ryan about a year and a half to produce.”
Lum’s use of a variety of guitars played a major role in shaping the album’s sound. He used six- and twelve-string acoustic guitars, along with electric guitars processed through delay and reverb to create the signature dreamy, atmospheric textures that linked Windblown Kiss to his past work. However, where Flux, had relied heavily on synths and samplers with guitars added as an afterthought, Windblown Kiss was fundamentally guitar-driven, even though the production still incorporated digital layering, samples, and looping.
Projekt Records’ Influence: Shaping the Sound of Windblown Kiss
Although Windblown Kiss was a natural evolution from Lovespirals’ creative growth, the influence of Projekt Records also played a role in shaping the album’s final direction. The indie label had long been associated with ethereal, darkwave, and neoclassical music, and while Projekt had supported Lum’s electronic experiments on Flux, they encouraged him to return to an organic, atmospheric sound.
Bee later admitted that while Windblown Kiss was true to their artistic vision, the duo did consider their label’s expectations when selecting the final track list:
“At some point in the process we made certain choices to tailor the song list towards acoustic based material and away from dance tracks. There are other songs we recorded during this same time period, like ‘Love Survives,’ that we chose not to include on this album. ” – Jive Magazine (2002)
Critics took notice of this transformation, with The Collegian describing it as a watershed moment for gothic jazz:
“Slow, teary-eyed gothic jazz was an inevitability as darkwave, dream pop, and shoegazing became further and further intertwined. Lovespirals’ Windblown Kiss of 2002 was heralded as the style’s official birth and fulfilled the lifelong dreams of darkwave and lounge lovers like myself by blending the melancholy, ethereal vocals of the former with the breezy, slow sway of the latter.”— The Collegian (2003)
Windblown Kiss wasn’t just a shift in sound — it was a statement of artistic independence, proving that Lovespirals as no longer just as extension of Love Spirals Downwards, but its own distinct entity.
Track Highlights: A Journey Through Genre and Emotion
Where Flux was rhythm-driven and Ecstatic leaned further into jazz-step, Windblown Kiss took a more melodic, song-oriented approach, embracing a genre-fluid soundscape that wove elements of jazz, blues, folk, world music, and lounge-pop into a dreamy, intoxicating mix. While tracks like “Oh So Long” and “Windblown Kiss” leaned into smoky, late-night jazz aesthetics, “How the Thieves Ride” and “You Are the Gun”—co-written with guest artist, Sean Bowley—introduced a stark, Western-tinged contrast, adding a cinematic folk-noir feel to the album’s eclectic vibe.
“Oh So Long” – A Bluesy, Late-Night Opener
The album’s torch song-style opener features smoky saxophone lines by Doron Orenstein, evoking the slow-burning intimacy of Billie Holiday meets Pink Floyd. Bee’s melancholic lyrics and sultry delivery set the tone:
“As the days pass / From dusk to dawn / I count the minutes / And the hours / ‘Til you come home again”
“”Oh So Long” starts off with a sensual horn section and Anji Bee’s masterful ethereal vocals, which go for mood and emotion, not a high pitch like a lot of ethereal vocalists. She reminds me of the girl from Portishead a bit, but softer. As good as Suzanne Perry was, Anji Bee has her matched.” – Chain D.L.K.
“Dejame” – Spanish-Language Passion & Philosophy
Drawing from Latin pop and literature, this track combines nylon-string guitar flourishes and a haunting vocal melody, with lyrics Bee has said “began with a quote from Anais Nin’s journal, and then blossomed out from there.”
“Hay mas tiempo que vida (There is more time than life)”
That “blossoming” includes a reference to St. Teresa of Avila’s famous poem, “Nada Te Turbe”:
“Nada me turbe / Nada me espante / Todo se pasa (Nothing disturbs me /Nothing scares me / Everything passes)”
Bee also borrows the final lines from Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s, La vida es sueño, considered one of the greatest works of Spain’s Golden age:
“que toda la vida es sueño / y los sueños, sueños son (that all life is a dream /and dreams are just dreams)”
This song quickly became a favorite with Lovespirals’ Mexican fanbase, where the whole crowd sang along during concerts, and resonated with other listeners, as well:
“‘Dejame’ is my favorite from this work of art. The Spanish lyrics are pensive and Anji’s vocals are beautiful and thought-provoking.” — Jacob Bogehal, Gothic Paradise
Projekt featured “Dejame” on the Borders exclusive CD, The Arbitrary Width of Shadows, as well as several other promotional compilations between 2002 and 2003.
“Windblown Kiss” – A Poetic Dreamscape
The album’s title track is a multi-lingual ballad that drifts between English and German, evoking romantic longing and nostalgic beauty:
“EinenLuftkuss / Über die Meere / An einem Sonnenstrahl / Reizende Träume / Tanzen mir zu (A windblown kiss / Carried over the sea / On sunlight’s rays / Delightful dreams / Dance their way to me)”
In a 2003 interview with Reflektionen, Bee admitted:
“I suppose I was conscious of the fact that LSD had been known as a multi-lingual band. “Windblown Kiss” was the easiest, because I worked on that with a friend in Germany a year or more before.”
The wistful lyrics of love separated by the sea recall themes explored in Love Spirals Downwards works including “Write In Water,” “El Pedregal,” and “By Your Side,” further tying this song to Lum’s past music.
“Swollen Sea” – A Medieval Lament
Based around hammered dulcimer and acoustic guitar, this completely beat-less song connects to “Lieberflusse,” from the 1996 album Ever, which also featured the medieval instrument. Bee’s lyrics evoke an image of olden time women waiting for sailors to return from sea:
“Will you return here / Engulfed by a bleak fear / Have you been swallowed / Be the swollen sea”
This song was created by completing a 1997 demo recording unearthed during the making of Windblown Kiss, selected for its compatibility with the “Projekt sound.” Indeed, it was featured on the Projekt: Gothic compilation sold exclusively through Hot Topic from Sept 2002 – March 2003 and then offered in Borders and other outlets. “Swollen Sea” was also featured on Dark Horizons – A Decade Of Darkness in 2003.
“Our Nights” – Latin Rock Meets Ethereal Groove
Perhaps the album’s biggest curveball, “Our Nights” delivers Santana-esque guitar licks over a conga-driven groove, making it one of the most rhythmically dynamic Lovespirals tracks.
“The conga-driven ‘Our Nights’ is frothy and light like a frozen daiquiri, with bluesy guitar fills.” — Ectophiles’ Guide, Craig Gidney
Beyond its playful, head-bobbing energy, the song foreshadows Lovespirals’ later embrace of blues, rock, and funk—influences that would take center stage on 2007’s Long Way From Home and 2010’s Future Past. This evolution saw Lum’s bluesy electric guitar work and Bee’s soulful vocals become even more prominent, making “Our Nights” an early glimpse of where the band was headed.
Collaborative Roots: Contributions From Bowley and Orenstein
Although Windblown Kiss was Lovespirals’ first full-length release, some of its key songs had origins years earlier. Ryan Lum’s collaborative spirit played a major role in shaping the album’s sound, with contributions from singer/songwriter, Sean Bowley, and saxophonist, Doron Orenstein, enriching its sonic palette.
Sean Bowley: A Longtime Creative Connection
Although Windblown Kiss was Lovespirals’ first full-length album, some of its key songs had origins years earlier—particularly “How the Thieves Ride” and “You Are the Gun,” co-written with Sean Bowley of Projekt Records band, Eden.
Bowley and Lum’s paths crossed in 1996, when both bands performed at the first-ever ProjektFest in Chicago. Alternative Press noted, “Eden, marked by Sean Bowley’s morbidly intense vocals, started slowly but reached apocalyptic power by the end of their set.” Following ProjektFest, Bowley traveled with Lum to Los Angeles, where he opened for Love Spirals Downwards at Dark’s Art Parlour in North Hollywood on August 9, 1996. The two guitarists also worked on new music during his stay, as Lum recounted in a 1997 interview on KUCI 88.9 FM:
“Sean Bowley came out from Australia this summer—partly for the Projekt Festival—and he came to Los Angeles afterward and stayed with us for about two weeks. We recorded about five or six songs.”
The sessions captured Bowley’s deep, baritone vocals (often compared to Brendan Perry of Dead Can Dance and Peter Murphy of Bauhaus) and his cryptic, introspective, poetic lyricism, as well as his 12 string acoustic guitar playing. Unlike the jazz and blues influences heard elsewhere on the album, Bowley’s contributions leaned toward a Western, folk-noir atmosphere, creating an eerie, cinematic contrast to Lovespirals’ more romantic tracks. Additionally, Bee added vocal harmonies to these unfinished tracks in 2001, softening their starkness and providing a richer, more layered contrast to Bowley’s solemn gothic-tinged delivery.
Doron Orenstein: The Saxophone That Changed Everything
The saxophone melodies on Windblown Kiss played a crucial role in its jazz-infused, late-night ambiance, and no one was more responsible for that than Doron Orenstein. His sultry, expressive playing helped define key tracks like “Oh So Long,” “Dejame,” and “I Can’t See You.”
Orenstein’s contributions dated back to 1999, when Lum was first experimenting with new sounds. In an Outburn Magazine interview, Lum described how these early recordings laid the foundation for the album’s jazzier direction:
“It’s just a big uncharted future out there. I can go anywhere… it’s hard to say. I just started making new songs a couple weeks ago… I got boatloads of new gear! I finally got it all going. I’m gonna have some jazz buddies come over tomorrow to lay down some stuff, too, so who knows what it will be.”
Some of these 1999 saxophone sessions later became the backbone of “Oh So Long”, with Lum and Bee rearranging and looping passages from Orenstein’s improvised takes to create the song’s seductive, bluesy atmosphere.
Unlike “Oh So Long,” which was crafted from previously recorded material, “I Can’t See You” was developed from scratch in 2001, with Orenstein joining Lovespirals in the studio to write and record his sax parts live. This approach gave the song a more intimate, organic feel, in contrast to the layered and looped sax on earlier tracks.
Beyond his studio contributions, Orenstein was also an integral part of Lovespirals’ live performances, joining Lum and Bee on stage at ProjektFest 2002 and the Knitting Factory Los Angeles show to bring the album’s jazzier side to life.
Lovespirals Live: The Windblown Kiss Tour
To promote Windblown Kiss, Lovespirals embarked on their first major tour, with live performances blending electronic-backed sets with intimate acoustic shows across the U.S. and Mexico.
Their debut came at ProjektFest 2002, held May 24-26 at The Trocadero Theatre in Philadelphia. Lovespirals headlined the first night, performing with backing tracks on an Apple laptop, Ryan Lum on electric guitar, Doron Orenstein on saxophone, and Anji Bee on vocals. Their set featured a mix of album tracks—including “Oh So Long,” “Dejame,” “Windblown Kiss,” and “Swollen Sea”—as well as “Sandcastles,” an upbeat song that was left off the album but later reworked for Free & Easy (2005). The next day, the duo returned for a stripped-down acoustic performance at the ProjektFest Merchants’ Bazaar, where Bee surprised and delighted the audience with a kazoo solo on the album’s hidden track “Old Kazoo Blues.”
That summer, Lovespirals joined Projekt labelmates Mira for a West Coast mini-tour, playing The Pound in San Francisco, The Paris Theatre in Portland, and The Paradox Theatre in Seattle. DJ Victoria Star of KZSC (Santa Cruz) reviewed the first night:
“San Francisco Projekt fans were given a spectacular treat last night when artists Mira and Lovespirals joined together for an evening of musical bliss at The Pound. Once again changing musical directions, Anji Bee and Ryan Lum presented their lush new sound as a taunting and swanky invitation to sing along. Taking the stage with a smile that never left her face, Anji’s vocal mastery was particularly poignant on new tracks ‘Oh So Long’ and ‘Swollen Sea.’“
Lovespirals joined Projekt label mates, Audra, for an acoustic in-store performance at Fullerton gothic boutique, Ipso Facto, in September. In October, Lovespirals played their first full-length solo show at The Knitting Factory in Los Angeles, where Orenstein once again joined on sax. The band worked up a live version of “Ring” from Flux, marking the first time the song had ever been performed in concert.
The tour concluded in December with a three-city run in León, Morelia, and Puebla, Mexico, that included in-store meet and greets, radio and newspaper interviews, and even a TV appearance. Love Spirals Downwards had already built a strong fanbase in Mexico, having performed at Museo Universitario del Chopo in 1996 and Projekt Festival at Cine Bella Epoca in 1997. Despite the transition from Suzanne Perry to Anji Bee, fans fully embraced Lovespirals, with audiences singing along passionately to “Dejame.”
Critical Reception: Praise from Jazz, Gothic, and Indie Circles
Despite its departure from goth and dream pop conventions, Windblown Kiss was widely praised for its sophisticated songwriting and lush production.
“Ryan Lum is a master of guitar, his techniques fresh and pleasant, and the sensual vocals of Anji Bee perfectly reflect the high quality of the musical compositions. Windblown Kiss is a magical listening experience.” — Jazz Review, Lee Prosser
“Windblown Kiss is a languid, shimmering pop album—yes, pop—that’s far better suited to breezy beach houses and billowing white linen curtains than introspective poetry and gothic architecture.” — Splendid Magazine, George Zehora
“Having flitted in and out of several styles without losing its base sound, Lovespirals comes to an extravagant and pleasing approach in their newest offering. Anji Bee’s vocals and Ryan Lum’s jazzed-up and sexy instruments create an irresistible combination.” — MusicTap, Matt Rowe
“Indeed, much of the album feels like a performance at a very classy (but not dull) late-night establishment, with subtle grooves and the sense of passionate love suffusing the air.” – All Music Guide, Ned Raggett (2002)
Even gothic music circles embraced the album, despite its departure from ethereal wave aesthetics:
“Gone are Suzanne Perry’s wafting vocal glossolalia and the Robin Guthrie guitar atmospherics. In their place are Bee’s smooth, jazz-influenced vocals, dashes of flamenco, lounge, and Brazilian pop. This is Lovespirals at their most sophisticated.” — Ectophiles’ Guide, Craig Gidney
Conclusion: A Lasting Impression
With its timeless blend of jazz, blues, folk, and dream pop, Windblown Kiss remains a captivating listen—a romantic, windswept journey that continues to resonate decades later.
“It’s best to play this one alone at night, windows open, with candles flickering, and let your spirit drift aimlessly into the darkness.” – Sea of Tranquility (2002)
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