I may be in the minority, but I like Cocteau Twins last album best. Big lush production, gorgeous arrangements. As to which is their “best” album artistically and/or technically, well, I’ll leave that to Robin and the crew to decide. I’m sure they each have their faves. As to why I love “Milk & Kisses” best, I can’t really say. Its not that my favorite twins song is on the album, I just like the flow of the whole thing together, the relative up-beatness of it, the way the vocals are really upfront in the mix, the clean production sound, and I suppose most of all, the attached memories. I think of sunny road trips and summer afternoons when I hear “Milk & Kisses” rather than dark night clubs and high-keyed goth kids. Heh!

Had to write a condensed bio for the upcoming remix collaboration with Damien.S on Loverush Digital. Compared to some of the other talents on the label we seem pretty small time! Folks like Kirsty Hawkshaw have such impressive bios, I am just in awe…

2008 marks the 10 year anniversary of the creative union of musician/producer, Ryan Lum, and vocalist/lyricist, Anji Bee — known to the world collectively as Lovespirals. What better way to celebrate than with a clutch of amazing remixes of their single, “This Truth,” about that decade long coupling? As eternal as Lovespirals may seem to their hardcore fanbase– those who faithfully follow the band’s podcast and blog, particularly those who fell in love with the music via Anji’s electronica and worldbeat podcast and vidcast, The Chillcast — they have a secret past… The band originally began in 1991 as the darlings of the darkwave scene on Projekt Records, under the extended name of Love Spirals Downwards. By 1998, Ryan had evolved his previously more acoustic based sound into a genre bending electronica one – and was rewarded by having popular prime time show, Dawson’s Creek, feature the track “Psyche” on a season premier episode that is still in worldwide rotation. Lovespirals have followed up on that success with numerous TV and cable placements on programs including Oprah, Martha, What Perez Sez, Mind of Mencia, Gastineau Girls, and many more for MTV, VH1, E!, Logo, and others. Lovespirals currently have 3 full length albums and several digital EPs plus numerous compilation appearances. Anji has also appeared on a number of collaborations including one with Machineries of Heaven for the Need For Speed game franchise. Recent work includes tracks with up and coming downtempo artists Moosefrog and The Grooveblaster, as well as a new track in development with Damien.S.

This new biography is more like a history lesson of Lovespirals! Might need to be cut down a bit for public consumption….

After nearly a decade of artistic collaboration between singer/songwriter, Anji Bee, and multi-instrumentalist/producer, Ryan Lum, it seems almost a moot point that Lovespirals evolved out of Projekt act, Love Spirals Downwards. Yet Lum’s former band incarnation remains popular within dream pop circles; popular enough that his first 2 early 90’s albums are currently being reissued. And Love Spirals Downwards have long held the reputation as Projekt’s best selling act. So though Lovespirals have been around as long as LSD, the two projects are still inextricably linked in many minds.

Lovespirals have made plenty of fans of their own over the years. Their earliest work was tied to the late 90’s California drum ‘n’ bass and downtempo scene they each DJ’d in; Lum as a club DJ and Bee as a college radio jockey. The duo’s fledgling jazzstep white labels became the first tracks Lum promoted in the burgeoning mp3 format – predating even the invention of iPods or iTunes. Appearances on various artist comps at the turn of the millennium, such as Chill Out Lounge Vol. 2, brought Lovespirals to the attention of chillout music listeners worldwide.

Perhaps confounding their newfound fanbase, Lovespirals sidestepped into a moody blend of jazz, blues, world, and folk styles for their 2002 Projekt debut, Windblown Kiss. Hailed as a “post shoegazer masterpiece,” and the “herald of gothic jazz,” Lum’s uniquely dreamy musical blend of genres and Bee’s sensually romantic vocals surprised and delighted listeners with its fresh approach to the dream pop sound. Bee’s mix of ethereal and jazzy harmonies endeared her to Lum’s longtime fans, who happily crowned her with the title of “sultry chanteuse.”

Merging their two musical sides, in 2005 Lovespirals followed up with a collection of jazzy yet rock-infused chillout music — aptly named Free & Easy — on their own label, Chillcuts. The band resumed their interest in dance music, producing several deep house and downtempo numbers that have been licensed fairly extensively on TV and cable such as MTV, VH1, E!, and many others, including The Oprah Winfrey Show. Overall, Lum explored more funky musical territory, replete with Rhodes piano, wah-wah guitar, and extended electric guitar solos, while Bee dug deep to discover a soulful vocal sound verging at times on rhythm and blues.

As part of the promotions for Free & Easy, the band founded a podcast called Chillin’ with Lovespirals. This brought not only the band, but Bee specifically, to the attention of Adam Curry, through his newly launched Podsafe Music Network. In late 2005, Curry signed Bee to his brand new media company, PodShow, calling her “the sexiest voice in podcasting.”  The resultant show, The Chillcast with Anji Bee, has gone on to become a popular staple of the podsafe music podcast world, with listenership increasing by the thousands monthly. The Chillcast also enjoyed a stint on Sirius Satellite Radio. Bee is also a co-host of an all-female PodShow podcaster collabocast called, ShowGirls, which recently won a People’s Choice Podcast Award.

Picking back up in 2007 with the more 70’s-inspired sounds of Free & Easy, Lovespirals have truly hit their stride on their third album, Long Way From Home. Melding the dreamy folk and rock of Windblown Kiss, with the soulful jazz and blues of Free & Easy, the duo seamlessly blend prior influences with new sounds and styles. Bee confidently spins seductive tales of beautiful sadness and spiritual longing set to Lum’s masterfully melancholic music. Bluesy electric guitar abounds, with touches of wistful slide guitar, tinkling piano, and haunting harmonica to evoke a lush, organic, Americana feel. Renowned music podcaster, C.C. Chapman, has said this is Lovespirals best work to date, and the band agree. In fact, Lum believes this is his finest work, bar none.

Lovespirals have another remix competition launching on Peace Love Productions’ site, so it’s time to update our band bio once again! Always fun to spin our life story to fit a particular project… not! If only these things wrote themselves.

Lovespirals return to Peace Love Productions for their 2nd remix competition with “This Truth” from their upcoming 3rd album, Long Way From Home.  A mellow mid-tempo Rhodes-driven number with warm, soulful vocals, bluesy guitar  licks, and an upbeat vibe, this 96 bpm track is ripe for remixing in any number of genres.

Indeed, genre-bending is Lovespirals forte. The duo of musician, Ryan Lum, and vocalist, Anji Bee, began collaborating during the height of the atmospheric jazz-step drum ‘n’ bass scene of the late 90’s, creating white label dubplates. Surprisingly, their debut full length CD, Windblown Kiss (Projekt 2002), was a collection of dream pop and alt folk with jazzy overtones. Their 2005 follow up, Free & Easy (on the band’s own label, Chillcuts) was more electronica oriented, featuring jazzy downtempo and deep house tracks alongside jazz and blues influenced pop. Long Way From Home (Chillcuts Oct. 2007), finds Lovespirals adding classic Americana to their colorful sound palette to create some of their most beautiful and melancholic music to date.

Melancholic beauty is Ryan’s musical trademark. His prior work as Love Spirals Downwards explored the same ethereal depths as the Cocteau Twins and Slowdive, who appear alongside LSD on the iTunes Essentials: Shoegaze & Beyond playlist. The top selling act of preeminent darkwave label, Projekt, Love Spirals Downwards’ 1992 debut, Idylls, and 1994 followup, Ardor – which have sold aprox. 30,000 combined to date – are being reissued in an expanded and remastered digipac format in late 2007.

Lending a grounding energy to the music is the sensual voice of Anji, who’s known as “the sexiest voice in podcasting.” Anji began her podcasting career in mid 2005 by creating Chillin’ with Lovespirals to promote the band’s music and stay in touch with their fans. She caught the attention of PodShow founder, Adam Curry, who is a staunch supporter of Lovespirals on his infamous Daily Source Code. Her weekly music show, The Chillcast with Anji Bee draws in several thousand loyal listeners and ShowGirls – featuring Miss Bee – just won a People’s Choice Podcast Award.

Lovespirals’ music has been featured on MTV, VH1, E!TV, ABC, WB Network, and many other television and cable channels internationally. Their albums are available digitally via iTunes, Rhapsody, and Emusic as well as in CD format through Amazon, CDBaby, and other online retailers.