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.

Chain DLK Webzine Interviews Anji Bee

August 2002, Chain DLK Webzine, Shaun Hamilton

SHAUN: How did you two meet and start working on music together?

ANJI: We met a few times at different places in Los Angeles. We first started talking at a little Projekt Records party that both our bands were invited to. Then we got to know each other more through a series of appearances he made on KUCI, for both my radio show and other DJs’ shows. One afternoon he had me come over to his studio and he showed me a few new songs he was working on. One of those became the instrumental, ‘Beatitude,’ and the other eventually turned into ‘Love Survives.’

The first song he had me do vocals on was the club track, ‘Ecstatic,’ which just has a little ‘oooh ahhh’ sample. Our first song that came out on CD was a remix of “Bittersweet” for Claire Voyant, in late 1999, early 2000, I forget exactly. 1999-2000 was a very transitional time’ We weren’t totally sure where we were headed yet. Ryan was still very immersed in the DJ scene then, so the tunes we were working on were all 10-minute dance tracks — pretty unsuitable as album material. It wasn’t really until 2001 that things clicked into place for us, as far as the album goes.

SHAUN: Have you or Ryan had jazz training, and what are your musical backgrounds?

ANJI: No, neither of us has had any Jazz schooling. Our sax player, Doron, actually does have a degree in Jazz, though! Ryan’s been reading up on Jazz the last year or so. He used to joke that he’d become a Jazz guitarist after he played a year in the NBA, but now he’s already accomplished the former without getting much closer to the latter goal’ (Ha ha!) Both Ryan and I had a few lessons when we were young, but we’re mostly self-taught. He’s been playing guitar for most of his life. I think listening to a wide range of good music, and studying it to find out what makes it work, has been our best training.

SHAUN: Your work seems to revolve around the subject of love. What is your opinion on the state of love in today’s world?

ANJI: I believe that love is the most important thing in the world. Certainly nothing great can be accomplished without love as a motivating factor. Everyone is searching for love, in one way or another, and many are finding unsatisfactory substitutes in our modern world. I don’t think we can ever feel truly whole until we surrender to love ‘ not only love for another person, but for ourselves, and for the world around us, as well.

SHAUN: Any words of advice?

ANJI: Never doubt your ability to grow and improve as a human being. Don’t let negative people get you down. Pursue your dreams and live your life with joy!

Excerpt from the full interview hosted at the ChainDLK site.

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.

Nightswan Charts

Sterben, of Reflektionen, has recently updated his Nightswan Music Charts with photos — at least for the “Dark Girls of Song” area. (Look under “Beautiful People” and click “women”…) Looks like Projekt Records has a corner of the market for beautiful girls, as the entire Top 5 is from their artist’s roster, including yours truly. Sure looks like a huge undertaking to tally up all the votes on so very, very many contestants! Seems to be a never-ending vote, too… What patience that man must have.

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]

Phantom Toolbooth Reviews Blisscent 1

Jason Morehead of tollbooth.org reviews the Blisscent 1 compilation featuring new Lovespirals:

However, there are no such complaints with Lovespirals’ “He Calls Me.” Formerly know as Love Spirals Downwards, Lovespirals features a new vocalist and a slightly different direction. Gone are the drum and bliss textures of Flux, instead hinting back the group’s earlier releases, such as Ardor. Spanish-tinged acoustic guitar work and light drums provide the perfect setting for Anji’s beautiful vocals. Even more interestingly, the lyrics point at the song’s more spiritual origins: “His voice is like a song/I hear the melodies/So I learn them, write them down/So I can play them/ Let them understand you are in everything we do/Show them your glory”.


Anji Bee featured on Mp3.com

Mp3.com is currently featuring Anji on their popular Women of Mp3.com station, as well as the Hot Artist of the Month Spotlight. Jianda Johnson recently interviewed Anji about her musical career, including both Lovespirals and side collaborations. Read — and hear — more at the following URLs:

From MP3.com Hot Artist Spotlight (July 2002):

Anji Bees one half of the lovely yin-yang equation named Lovespirals (mp3.com/lovespirals). Though her presence and electronic collaborations are quite prominent online, oftentimes people arent fully aware of her Lovespirals connection (to Ryan Lum , other music-half), or the depth of her project involvement. Anji’s soft, seductive voice comforts, rather than crushes you, hitting your consciousness in rolling waves. Hence, her popularity with collaborations in a myriad of other projects. If you love lounge, shoegazer, down tempo, ambient, or classical music (or its variations — from subtle to razor-sharp), visit Anji — it’s a damn good trip. Sugary sweet picks: “Perfect Boy (Bitstream Dream & Anji Bee)” & “Goodbye (Bitstream Dream & Anji Bee).”

– Jianda Johnson

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!

Ethereal Chillout Music