Category Archives: Press

Blog, Press

Lovespirals Biography

Leave a comment

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.

News, Press, Reviews

Mp3.com Hot Artist Spotlight

Leave a comment

mp3logo MP3.com is currently running a feature on our DAM CD, Ecstatic EP on their Hot Artist Spotlight station for Jan/2002. The Ecstatic EP was created specifically for MP3.com to compile the Jazz-Step Drum ‘n’ Bass material we created from 1999 – 2000, all of which was lost during a computer meltdown. For those fans of our Jazzy Electronica sound — fear not — we will definitely return to creating Dance tracks in the future. The upcoming album, however, is a totally different sound — more akin to Ryan’s older work, but with a Lovespirals twist. Check out their review:

Perhaps most notably known in the Goth community under the moniker Love Spirals Downwards, with their Cocteau Twins sound. Frontman Ryan Lum has changed their sound, and shortened the name to just Lovespirals. Together with vocalist Anji Bee, Lovespirals has embraced the sound of Drum ‘n’ Bass and created a masterful relationship. Their release, Ecstatic EP, is a combination of sexy Jazz riffs, mellow breaks, and Bee’s seductive vocals. For those fans of Good Looking Records, Lovespirals could easily be found amongst their ranks in talent, and sound.


Reviews

Star Vox Best of 2001

Leave a comment

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 by Lovespirals.)

Interviews

MacNETv2 Interviews Lovespirals

Leave a comment

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:

Interview by Chris Volpe

Chris: Why the Mac platform and not Windows?

Ryan: Actually, we do have one Windows machine, a Compaq, that we use as the server for the studio and house. I’m interested in getting Mac OSX server one day, but I don’t have a spare Mac that I can use as a server right now. But back to your question, there are many reasons why we use Macs. The biggest one is that I enjoy working on them. When there is a problem, I can most often figure out what’s wrong and fix it myself, while PCs seem more complicated in that regard. I like the plug and play ease of use that Macs have. There’s nothing worse than trying for hours and days to get hardware working. Plus, Apple continues to create the most innovative products. If I had enough money, I’d go out today and buy the new flat panel G4 iMac for the office, an iBook for lighter work and playing games, a Titanium PowerBook for doing live shows, and a 1 ghz G4 to run a ton of audio plug ins in my studio. I can’t say that I want to rush out there and buy a copy of Windows XP.

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.

Continue reading MacNETv2 Interviews Lovespirals →
Audio, Interviews

LSD RadioSpy Interview Feature

Leave a comment

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 LSD RadioSpy Interview Feature →