We just created a 4 song MP3.com DAM CD of our 1999-2000 atmospheric d’n’b tracks, called the Ecstatic EP, for those fans looking to pick up the full dance versions. Hope all you DJs out there have a CD turntable!
Star Vox Best of 2001
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.)
LSD song on TV!
Love Spirals Downwards’ 1998 Flux track, “Psyche” – featuring the vocals of Kristen Perry – will be used in an episode of Dawson’s Creek on October 10th, 2001. Dawson’s creek airs Wednesdays at 8 PM, on the WB Network.
New Lovespirals Releases!
Water Music Records just released 2 various artist compilations with Lovespirals tracks. We’re excited to be included on a comp with one of our favorite producers, LTJ Bukem! You can listen to RealAudio or Windows Media files at their site, as well as make an online purchase, so check it out…
- Chill Out Lounge Vol. 2: 12 track mixed set of chill electronic grooves, including LTJ Bukem, Baby Mammoth, France & Dom, and more. The Lovespirals tune included is a special edit of our 1999 Jazz-Step song, “Hand in Hand”. Check out the Water Music Chill-Out Lounge v. 2 page for details.
- Chill Out in the City: 12 track comp of Jazzy Down Tempo featuring Baby Mammoth, ORG Lounge, France & Dom and more. The Lovespirals tune included is the 1999 instrumental, “Beatitude,” featuring Doron Orenstein and Gabriel D. Vine of L.A. Deep House band, Toof!. Check out the Water Music Chill-Out in the City page for details.
Several new interviews
iMuse wrote a nice little feature story on the band, past and present, for the May issue of the Women of Mp3.com. It’s still up this month, so check it out! A new Lovespirals-related online interview with Anji just went up on the DAXX site. There’s a slightly older online interview with her on the Violet Collection site, as well.
New Lovespirals song
Anji and I are on the verge of completing a new track, called “Love Survives,” which has a bit of a Morcheeba feel. It’s good to get back into the studio again! We look forward to picking up some much needed software with the proceeds from the sales of the Love Spirals Downwards Live DAM and Payback earnings. We really appreciate all the support you’ve shown us on MP3.com!
MacNETv2 Interviews Lovespirals
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
Happy New "New Millenium"
Yes, it’s the REAL new Millenium and certainaly a time for change. Anji and I will be busy this year writing and recording our first album as Lovespirals (hear a sneak preview at mp3.com/Lovespirals). We also plan to add a new audio page on this site with RealAudio and QuickTime files from every LSD album sometime in the near future. Later in the year, the whole site will be redesigned with the new lineup and album in mind. Hopefully we’ll find a new way to host our e-store, which is closed for the time being.
Ryan DJs at Dervish
I’ll be DJ’ing in Long Beach, California on Thursday September 16th from 9 to 10:30 pm at the mellow coffeehouse club, Dervish. Dervish runs 7 PM to midnight at Portfolio, 2300 E. 4th St., 562-434-2486. Resident DJs Glenn Bach and Chowderhead, along with guest DJs and musicians, perform a wide variety of electronic and analog music, including ambient, dub, drone, downtempo, IDM, drum-and-bass, and free jazz. Visual artists provide a spatial environment of video, projections, and loops.
Vote for "Hand in Hand" on mp3.com!
“Hand in Hand,” featuring the jazzy vocals of Anji, is included in this week’s “vote for your favorite song of the week” contest on the official MP3.com station, Women of MP3.com. So please come vote for us now!
Ryan DJ Set and dubplate
Saturday, August 12th: DJ Ryan Lum spins a late-night/early-morning set in the chillout room of the Family 6th Year Anniversary Party in Los Angeles. For more info, please call (213) 891-4756 or (818) 503-7535.
We just added another unreleased new track, called “Hand in Hand,” to our mp3.com page. This is the flip side of the “Ecstatic” duplate that I’ve been including in my recent DJ sets. Once again, it features the sax of Doron and vocals of Anji, and is even more jazzy than “Ecstatic.” If you enjoyed “Misunderstood,” from Temporal, you’re bound to dig this track, too!
New music site and compilation
We just launched a band page on MP3.com! Included is a new unreleased song, “Ecstatic,” which features recent collaborators Doron Orenstein (saxophone) and Anji Bee (vocals). Go to mp3.com/lovepirals to listen to our FREE streaming and downloadable MP3s on MP3.com.
In other news, Love Spirals Downwards have been included on another new compilation CD, the Side-Line Magazine presentation of Diva X Machina 3, on Cop International — along with Diamanda Galas, Danielle Dax, Gitane Demone and many other female fronted bands. The song included is my remix of “Alicia” from Temporal.