My old iMac really bit the dust, so I had to get a new one. That’s actually a pretty cool thing, except that I can’t import my contacts into this new email program. So… getting the email list back together is going to be a real pain in the tush! I can’t tell you how many times I have recreated the Lovespirals mailing list since joining the band. Sheesh! Computers!
Man, being in a band is certainly not all glamour. Its more like non-stop work with a little bit of fun thrown in when you’re lucky.
You can listen to an excellent audio interview conducted by DJ Carolee of KPSU in streaming Hi-Fi or Lo-Fi mp3 format on Lovespirals’ mp3.com page . Ryan and Anji discuss their recent West Coast tour, the new album, and much more with the lovely hostess of “A Strange Choice of Favorites.”
It’s been a week since we got back for our week on the road, and it’s taken me this long to finally have a chance to write here about it. Anji and I had a great time and want to thank everybody that came out to see us. And also big thanks go out to Mira for getting us off our “we’re too busy to tour” butts and on the road. Mira rocked each night, and whether or not your familiar with them, I highly recommend seeing them. Plus they are nice and friendly people.
We’ll be doing at least one more show, and that’ll be in Los Angeles on October 2. Check our news page for more info on that.
A number of positive reviews have gone online at the following music sites:
JazzReview.com: “With a touch of soft blues and world music motifs, this entry into the smooth jazz category is a surefire hit and should appeal to a wide listening audience. The music is refreshingly original and likeable, enjoyable in all ways. 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, and filled with sensitivity and beautiful soft jazz sounds. Lovespirals is topnotch.”
AmbientTrance.org: “What’s in a name-change? Just by dropping the ballast of “downwards” from the previous moniker, Lovespirals drifts upward into the light (and surprisingly “straight”) musical forms which float like a Windblown Kiss. Rather than prior scenes of swirly guitartronic etherality, Ryan Lum with new vocalist, Anji Bee, spin up sweet, bouncy, loungey songs which shift between various flavors of exotica, often with nostalgic airs. Lovespirals soars on Darkwave’s lightest mists, arising with only a few shadows tainting the warmth and intimacy of Windblown Kiss. So nicely done I don’t much flinch at the “normalcy” as it’s obscured by lush artistry and sensuality. “
MusicReviewer.com: “Founder and long time force behind Projekt band LOVE SPIRALS DOWNWARDS, Ryan Lum has a new partner, a new band name and a new style. Leaving long time partner Suzanne Perry and quite a bit of the LOVE SPIRALS DOWNWARDS formula behind, Lum and Bee have come up with an album that grabs you from the first note. Anji Bee has an incredible voice that moves from sultry to sensual to surreal to earthy, that winds its way around the guitar work of Ryan Lum like smoke. Where Suzanne Perry always sounded sweet and ethereal no matter what she was singing, Anji Bee showcases a wide variety of vocal styling, which, in my opinion, gives the duo much greater latitude on this and future albums. I totally respect what Lum and Bee are trying to put across here and I think this partnership may go much farther than Love Spirals Downwards did – and that’s saying a lot!”
GothicVixen.net: “A strange blend of diverse cultural influences, Windblown Kiss is an eclectic collection of gothic-flavored world music, featuring vocals from Anji Bee and the songwriting and instrumentation of Ryan Lum… Overall, the album is engaging, and successful in creating a dark and dreamy mood. Anji Bee handles both lead and backing vocals with equal grace, displaying excellent range and control. Lum’s songwriting continues to improve, making this release perhaps his most impressive to date, and his guitar work is precise and crisp throughout. More importantly, the musical chemistry between the artists is obvious, more so than in Lum’s previous work with Suzanne Perry in Love Spirals Downwards. Spanning four languages, more than a dozen instruments, and too many cultures to count, Windblown Kiss is a definite must-have for fans of Love Spirals Downwards, other Projekt releases, and world music.”
While in Portland, we hooked up with Carolee, a new DJ at Portland State University’s college radio station. She was nice enough to burn us a CD of the interview and acoustic set. I edited the interview down from a half hour to 14 minutes, and added in backing music, to put up on Mp3.com for everyone to hear. That should go up pretty quickly, so keep your eye out at http://www.mp3.com/lovespirals. Maybe later I’ll try to put up one of the acoustic songs we did, too.
Poor Carolee was so nervous having us up! I guess we were the first band she’s had to the station, so it was all new for her. I’m used to college radio from my 3 years at KUCI. Ryan’s been at quite a number of college stations (including KUCI) that it’s old hat for him, as well. So it was probably good that we were the band to break her in. : ) Oh yeah, she mentioned on air that she’d read our journal, so if you’re reading right now, Carolee — HI!
There was one downer moment in the tour I forgot to mention… In Oregon, the Willamette Weekly printed the most preposterous preview of our show possible! We were stunned to read this guy’s outrageously incorrect summation of our sound:
Lovespirals evolved from it’s former incarnation — Love Spirals Downward[sic], a perfectly listenable Cocteau Twins clone — into a shimmery, soft-focus New Age monster who think Kenny G saxophone and smooth-jazz piano are signifers of a newfound maturity. No dice.
What???? We don’t even use piano in our music – unless you count the one song with funky Rhodes electric piano, which hardly qualifies as “smooth-jazz” or “new age”!!! Doron is certainly not like Kenny G., and he wasn’t on the tour, anyway… Gads! Even the promoter of the Portland show was expecting the worst after reading that review; he came up to us right after we finished playing to say that we were much, much better than he expected, and we “didn’t sound jazz at all!” Haha!
Man, you drive all the way out from L.A. to do a special performance, and get totally panned before you even arrive. Thanks a lot, John Graham, you jerk!!!
Lovespirals have returned from their West Coast mini tour with Mira, and are busy scheduling additional dates for this year. So far, Los Angeles has been added for October 2nd, at the Knitting Factory. The band plans to include saxist, Doron Orenstein, for this date.
DJ Victoria Star, of KZSC in Santa Cruz, CA wrote the following review of the first show date:
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.”
The mini tour is over, and boy, are we exhausted. So much driving! The shows all went well, as did the radio interview and show. We saw a lot of friends and family along the way, and made a few new friends. Some CDs were sold, fans made, sights seen, and the like.
Sadly, when we returned home, my beloved iMac would not power up. I do all the band work from my iMac, so this is very bad news. We took it to the local Apple store, and we’re praying that the Geniuses there can mend it back to health. If not, we’ll have to have the data transferred out onto another computer… But let’s keep our fingers crossed that it doesn’t come to that! Send my iMac your prayers!
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.”
DJ Victoria Star of Dark Circles on KZSC Radio reviews Lovespirals’ August 21, 2002 show @ The Pound, San Francisco, CA:
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.”
Michael Popke of seaoftranquilty.org reviewed Windblown Kiss:
Like its title, Windblown Kiss — the debut CD from the California duo Lovespirals — wafts from your speakers and caresses your ears with ethereal melodies, sexy voices and a timeless concoction of flamenco, bebop, soul, jazz, folk and rock.
The brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Ryan Lum, the driving force behind the now-defunct ethereal folk band Love Spirals Downward, Lovespirals takes flight with the voice of singer/ songwriter Anji Bee. Her delicately sensual and sometimes breathy vocals combine with Doron Orenstein’s saxophone on opener “Oh So Long,” which sets the tone for slowly smoldering romance. Other tracks feature acoustic guitarist Sean Bowley on lead vocals, who creates a much different soundcape than Bee with his Gordon Lightfoot-meets-Bono voice. In fact, the two songs he sings often make Lovespirals sound like another band entirely.
Lovespirals is not a progressive rock band, but Lum’s proficiency on instruments ranging from six- and 12-string guitars to congas and hammered dulcimer is greater than that of many of his counterparts in so-called “progressive” bands. Windblown Kiss takes some time to sink in, its subtle genius initially getting lost in the ambience. It’s best to play this one alone at night, windows open, with candles flickering, and let your spirit drift aimlessly into the darkness.
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.