All posts by Anji

“Heartstrings” Single & Music Video Out Now

Part Dream Pop, part Americana, the new single from Lovespirals is considerably more upbeat than “Brother Against Brother,” the first single. Ryan juxtaposes driving blues riffs and dreamy shoegazer guitar, finding a delicious balance between his earlier Love Spirals Downwards work and more recent Lovespirals work. Anji’s vocals exude the confidence born from years of familiarity with the material, with a lovely harmony of her natural earthy tone and haunting upper register.

“Heartstrings” is a lovely high point in the tracklisting for Lovespirals’ upcoming 5th album. The song is a celebration of the duo’s creative connection and the love that goes into Ryan and Anji’s music. The music video, created by the band themselves, is a beautiful representation of the song, shot during the height of California wildflower season. With 3 years of experience shooting, editing and producing videos for their YouTube channel, Happy Healthy Vegan, this creative couple have created what is surely their best and most professional looking music video to date.

Buy the new single & music video on Lovespirals’ Bandcamp to help fund the band’s upcoming 5th album

“Sandcastles” Official Music Video

Enjoy this new video for “Sandcastles,” the epic closing track to Lovespirals’ album, ‘Free and Easy.’ Enjoy two gorgeous sunsets over the Pacific Ocean, shot at the pristine So Cal beach, Crystal Cove. The first sunset was shot from down on the beach, while the second one was filmed from up on the bluff. The second sunset is the most amazing technicolor sky Anji and Ryan have ever experienced, and it really brings the gospel like chorus and electric guitar solo of the end 3rd of this song to life!

MUSIC: “Sandcastles” by Lovespirals From the album, ‘Free & Easy’ (2005) Available at http://lovespirals.bandcamp.com Or iTunes, Amazon, Google Play or Spotify

“Breath Of Life” Official Music Video

The B-side to Lovespirals’ new single, “Brother Against Brother,” is a dreamy, mystical, ambient guitar and vocal piece that was originally written for the opening sequence of a documentary film of the same name about the Mauli Ola Foundation by Michael Squier. The version of the song offered here has been slightly updated with additional vocals, guitar, and new production. The amazing time lapse video sequences were all shot by Michael Squier, some of which appeared in his film of the same name.

Buy the ‘Brother Against Brother’ 2-song single or the full album, ‘Life Goes On,’ featuring this song on CD or as a digital download on the Lovespirals Bandcamp page.

Ryan Lum DJs at Club Violane

Club Violane, “LA’s only shoegazer & dream pop party,” recently returned after a 2 year hiatus to celebrate a visit from one of its beloved founders, DJ Wednesday. Everyone came out, including Ryan’s old Love Spirals Downwards bandmate, Suzanne Perry (currently of of Melodyguild), as well as local musician friends, Drew Pluta (formerly of Arcanta) and Rodney Rodriguez (formerly of The Von Trapps), both of whom performed with LSD during their final live tour.

The event was so successful that Club Violane opened again the following month for a Saint Marie Records night to launch their new release by local band, Broaddaylight. Ryan was one of several DJs that night, along with James of Broaddaylight and Mo of The Flir, plus house DJs Doomie and JuaNN. Local bands Sway, The Bixby Knolls, and Ancient Arms also performed. Check out Ryan’s DJ set on the band’s MixCloud account:

YouTube feature on the reopening of Club Violane

Lovespirals Remix Karmacoda + Beth Hirsch + Anji Bee

Currently a semi-finalist for Best Dance/Electronica Song in the 2012 International Songwriting Competition, “Love Will Turn Your Head Around ” – the collaborative effort of San Francisco band, Karmacoda, Parisian singer/songwriter, Beth Hirsch, and Lovespirals’ own Anji Bee – has just been re-released in a series of re-imagined versions by a diverse and talented group of musicians, producers and DJs from around the world. This collection of 8 remixes by DJ Puzzle, Mr. Alfa, Synapsis, Return To Mono, Den Jones, and Lovespirals – which features newly recorded vocals by Anji Bee, plus an all-new version by Karmacoda highlighting Heather Pierce on vocals, satisfies with its mix of genres and moods. ‘Love Will Turn Your Head Around – The Remixes‘ is available in your choice of digital format on Bandcamp, or more traditionally through iTunes, CDBaby, and soon on Amazon Mp3.


Lovespirals Remix On New Epicentre Album

UK artist, Epicentre, included an previously unreleased remix of Lovespirals on his debut full-length album, Supernova.  This new remix of “This Truth” was first put together by Matt Barker, of Epicentre, and Canadian producer, Joel North, for a remix contest held by Peace Love Productions. The 2008 mix was fully revamped for its album release in November 2012.
 

 
In addition to the Lovespirals remix, this album has a number of other collaborations with artists including PHIL URRY, Canadian producer JOEL NORTH, Taipei artist VIBA and SEISMIC WAVES material with DJ ALI RUMBA. There are also a series of guest vocalists involved with the project, including urban artist MC RICKO, MARTIN FINNIGAN of acclaimed Manchester group The Rainband, Defender guitarist DANNY MALONE, JULIE E. GORDON of The Caulberers and Happy Mondays, and legendary Bizarre Inc diva ANGIE BROWN.

 

New Video for Lovespirals' "Aspenglow"

Lovespirals “Aspenglow” from Excelsis Vol. 3

Brand new video for Lovespirals’ cover of the wintry John Denver song, “Aspen Glow,”  recorded for the 2001 Projekt holiday comp, ‘Excelsis Vol. 3: A Prelude.’ It was also included on the 2002 Hot Topic Holiday comp, ‘A Dark Noel: The Very Best of Excelsis.’

MusicTap writes: “Lovespirals gives us “Aspen Glow”, a song borrowed from John Denver and sweetly sung in as good a version as you’ll ever hear by the beautiful Anji Bee, who’s voice is as charming as a winter scene that you become lost in. Ryan and Anji’s respect for the season is deeply felt. This track has become one of my favorite seasonal songs.”

Purchase this CD or hear more tracks from the series at: http://www.projekt.com/excelsis

Lovespirals See Duran Duran

Ryan and I picked up last minute tickets to see Duran Duran at the OC Fair’s Pacific Amphitheater last weekend. Back in the 80’s I actually created and distributed a popular fanzine called, Duranies Unite, so you could definitely say they’re one of my favorite bands. They fell off my radar for most of the past decade or so, but a friend got us pit passes for their sold-out show at The Fox Theatre in Pomona last year and we were both impressed by how on top of their game they are (see my video of “Ordinary World” on YouTube). This year’s show focused more on the hits than last years, which is always a let down for the more hard core fans, but pleases the masses – especially at an event like a county fair. Still, they played a few of my faves from the new album, All You Need Is Now, including “Before the Rain,” and “The Man Who Stole A Leopard,” the later of which I caught on my iPhone. Check out the video on Lovespirals Official YouTube account, below:

Anji and Ryan of Lovespirals watch Duran Duran at the 2012 OC Fair

Download Ryan's Atmosphere 99 DJ Set FREE

Ryan Lum of Lovespirals (and formerly, Love Spirals Downwards) put together this mix set during his atmospheric drum & bass DJ heydey between promotions for his 1998 album, Flux, and his 1999 retrospective comp, Temporal, in 2000. Funnily enough, it does not include ANY of his own music. 😉 The Atmosphere ’99 set was first released via Live365 in April 2000 and featured in the Jungle section of the short lived RadioSpy site run by GameSpy in March 2000. After more than a decade, it is now available as a free download on Lovespirals’ SoundCloud page, limited to 200 downloads. Go download your copy of the nearly hour-long Atmosphere 99 Mix by Ryan Lum now! Stream the DJ set from the widget below, and be sure to share it with your friends.

If you’d like to hear Ryan spin some tunes live, you’re in luck, as he will be DJing at the intimate chillout event, Savasana Relaxative, on March 31st. Also DJing is local legend, sid&molly, and our own, Anji Bee of The Chillcast. Additionally there will be an aphrodisiac elixir bar, traditional Gong Fu Cha tea ceremony, and raw chocolate confections being served. No alcohol, just good vibes. Come chillout with Lovespirals!

Gothic Paradise Reviews Future Past

Internet radio station, Gothic Paradise, published a review of our 2010 album, Future Past, on their website. After a decade, Lovespirals have reconnected with this active source of music and information for the Gothic/Industrial/EBM/Ethereal communities, leading to the band being reinstated on their webzine, as well as having songs added into their show playlist.

Check out the Lovespirals band page on Gothic Paradise which includes a general bio and commentary on the band, plus reviews of both our first album, Windblown Kiss, and our most recent album, Future Past.

Below is the full review of Future Past by site founder, Jacob Bogedahl:

It has been ten years since we reviewed Windlbown Kiss here on Gothic Paradise.  Though this latest album was released a couple of years ago at the time of this writing, it’s good to go back and review it as we reintroduce this band to the pages of Gothic Paradise. It comes with eleven dreamy, downtempo pop pieces, exploring some diverse genres and hearkening back to the jazz sounds of years past.

As I’ve listened to this album over and over again to come up with a good description, one word keeps popping into my head and it’s one I’ve overused with the description of this duo and that’s “Jazzy”. Though there is a lot at play here, the prominent instruments are definitely a jazz guitar and/or electric piano coupled with Anji’s smooth vocals. The result is a very chilled out jazzy, downtempo pop sound. This is portrayed across all the smooth tracks starting with “Home” which comes out as a sentimental piece that any of us can relate to after being away from home for a while. The sultry, soft vocals take on deeper feeling across various pieces including the moodier tracks “Rain” and “One of Those Days”.

As we get about halfway through the album, a vibrant electronica style comes out on “Love” which actually brings back feelings of the early styles from this duo as well as just a touch of ethereal that fans should really love. Another dreamy highlight comes a bit later with “Meanwhile, Irreplaceable Time Flees”. This heavily ambient instrumental piece drifts along with some excellent guitar work keeping it grounded in the jazz style and dreamy moods. The regular tracks on the album wrap up with “Sinking” and “Believe” remaining on par with the rest of the album, as you listen to each track you can detect the common instruments and tempo which creates a homogenous style and mood that slowly drifts along with a soft groove. There are a couple of demos and a live piece as bonus material that die-hard fans will enjoy and with that it comes to a close.

There you have it, overall the band has really rooted themselves in a solid jazz-infused chillout pop style. We’ve seen the music transform slightly over the years as they’ve grown and explored their own styles and tastes. One thing seems sure, they seem to really be enjoying themselves over the years and with their music and that is the one thing I can highly recommend to any artist.
Rating: 4/5