All posts by Anji

In Music We Trust Portland Show Review

A brief, but largely positive review of our performance at Portland’s Paris Theatre on August 23rd has appeared on the In Music We Trust site:

Next came the technical difficulties but delicious music of Lovespirals. While guitarist Ryan Lum and singer Anji Bee clearly seemed displeased with how their show was going, it did not stop them from presenting a lovely display of some obvious hard work. Closing out the set with a few jazz numbers, the audience weaved back and forth with Bee as she appeared as a nightclub chanteuse a little out of her element. Bee acknowledged this by remarking, “We don’t know how Mira does it. They’ve got like twelve shows left. This is only our third, and we’re like, ‘O, we want to go home.'” Nevertheless, Lovespirals presented their new material, which is absolutely marvelous, and sparked some interest.

You can read the full piece, which is mostly about the headlining band, Mira, at the In Music We Trust SHOW REVIEW: Mira, Lovespirals and Summerland page. Very happy to have them call this “the sexiest concert bill of 2002, btw.”

Anji Bee performing with Lovespirals at the Paris Theatre in Portland, OR

Ring (Lovespirals Version)

Come away, oh human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery hand in hand

You cannot stay another day
Come away, at once, I say
The world’s more full of weeping than you understand

It’s in my hands to find you to find you
Reason after reason to find you
Come away
(x2)

Where the wave of moonlight glosses
Gray sands with light, far off by furthest Rosses
Tis there that we shall foot it all the night

We’ll be weaving olden dances
Mingling hands and mingling glances
Till the moon has taken flight

It’s in my hands to find you

It’s in my hands to find you to find you
Reason after reason to find you
Oh Child, come away
(x3)

Adapted by Anji Bee from the poem, “The Stolen Child,” by William Butler Yeats which was the inspiration for Kristen Perry’s lyrics on the original version of “Ring” released on ‘Flux’ in 1998

When Lovespirals first toured in 2002 to support the release of their debut album, ‘Windblown Kiss,’ they needed more music for their set, so Anji worked up her own version of the LSD song, “Ring.” This version was performed perhaps only a handful of times and never recorded except in a fan video.

Anji Bee Online

Mp3.com continues their strange love affair with Anji this week, as they’ve added a link to her on their front page, along side Eve and Alicia Keyes.

A Real Audio file of the recent interview with Anji for the Outsight Radio Hours is now online at Music Sojourn . She and Tom Shulte discuss Windblown Kiss, jazz, vinyl collecting, and more.

West Coast Tour

A rare message from me, Ryan! We leave in one week for our west coast tour. If you’re nearby, I hope you’ll make it out to see us. It’s pretty rare that we do shows, and there’s no telling when we’ll be back. These shows will be a little different from our projekt show in Philadelphia that we did a few months back. Doron, our tenor sax player won’t be there, so I’ll be stepping it up at the guitar.

Also, we’re playing with fellow projekt band Mira, who we met in Philadelphia. Cool cats and even cooler music. So it should be a fun few days on the road.

Cool Terrasse comp Released

The Swiss chill-out comp, Cool Terrasse, was just released by CH Musiq this month. It features a special radio edit of Lovespirals’ atmo Drum n Bass song, “Ecstatic,” as well as 11 other jazzy or ethnic flavored down tempo electronica tracks by various international artists. It is available for sale online for $15 USD.

Quirky WK Reviews

Two new online reviews, both quirkier than the average review, have gone online. Sterben, of Reflektionen, writes “Together they create an erotic alchemy, turning music into great works of passion and sensuality.” Dave, of Nefarious Entertainment Magazine says, “If you’re out of the habit of defying gravity and free-floating around in the sky, try slipping Windblown Kiss into your CD player and laying back with your eyes closed.” [click links for full review]

The long pale arm of Goth

Ryan has said that no matter what he does muscially, “the long pale arm of Goth” reaches out to touch him. He doesn’t understand the phenomenon. He thought that making a Jazz/Flamenco/Folk/Rock album would clear him, just as he thought making a Drum n Bass/Trip Hop/Ambient Electronica album would, but it seems he would have to do something much more radical than he’s done so far to duck that association.

Who knows, maybe “Ryan Lum” will be forever associated with Goth?

HNIA & Violet Indiana

Just picked up a couple new CDs; Violet Indiana’s “Casino,” and His Name is Alive’s “Someday My Blues Will Cover the Earth.” I’m happy to have “Purr la Perla” now, as well as another song or two that I really enjoyed at V.A.’s live show. I guess this album is actually just a compilation of EP and single material, but I didn’t have any of it yet.

The HNIA album is a really nice surpise. I fell in love with “Nothing Special” when I downloaded it off of epitonic.com the other day, but now that I’ve heard the whole album, I think the title track might be even better! I swear, it gave me shivers when I heard it. Ryan noted that our most recent song is reminiscent of this album. I am amazed that Warn should be moving in a similar direction as us! I used to practically worship the ground he walked on, and have enjoyed the many twists and turns HNIA has taken, though I kind of fell out of touch with his work the past few years. Lovetta has a really great voice, and I have to admit that I have a special weakness for soul singers!