Band News
Saturday, December 10th, 2011
“Little Drummer Boy” Single Now Available
Its been a dozen years since Love Spirals Downwards founder, Ryan Lum, recorded his ambient drum & bass rendition of the classic Christmas song, “The Little Drummer Boy,” and at long last, it is finally available for sale! Originally conceived and recorded in 1999 for the Projekt Records holiday music series, Excelsis, this recording has never been properly released. This was the last song that Love Spirals Downwards’ vocalist, Suzanne Perry, contributed vocals to, and it’s sound is very reminiscent of the band’s final album, ‘Flux.’ Like the 1999 Lovespirals song, “Beatitude,” it features jazzy Rhodes piano by guest musician, Gabriel D. Vine, of Monkey Bars. Over the last decade, 2 versions of this cover song have been floating around the internet under different titles; there’s the polished aforementioned vocal version and also an earlier demo mix which features vocal samples from a classic old-school Christmas record. This demo mix is stripped down and funky, with more emphasis on Ryan’s funky live bassline, and less use of synth pads. Both versions are very catchy and a fun addition to anyone’s holiday music library. Pick up the 2 track single for just $2 in the high quality digital audio format of your choice from the newly launched Lovespirals Bandcamp Store. If you use discount code HOLIDAY by 12/31/2012 you’ll get an additional 25% off — not only this single, but any Cd or digital download on the store!
Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011
New Falling You Album Features Suzanne & Anji
The 2-time NAR Lifestyle Music Award winning musical project, Falling You, just released a new album entitled, Adore. Enigmatic band founder and producer, John Michael Zorko, has long worked with a revolving cast of talented and varied female vocalists including Lovespirals Downwards own Suzanne Perry, Victoria Lloyd (of Claire Voyant and Mono Chrome), Dru Allen (of Mirabilis and This Ascension), Erica Mulkey (AKA Unwoman), and Shikhee (of Android Lust) — just to name a few.
Suzanne contributed lyrics and vocals to the album’s second track, “Champagne.” With its summery dream pop feel, this collaboration brings to mind her work with Melodyguild. Suzanne’s vocals were engineered and recorded by Melodyguild bandmate, Cris Miller (of Silver Screen). Suzanne had previously been featured on Falling You’s 2006 album, Human, and 2008 album, Faith.
In her first appearance with Falling You, Lovespirals’ vocalist, Anji Bee, contributes lyrics and vocals to the ambient opening track, “Blessed,” penned about her relationship with bandmate, Ryan Lum, who engineered and recorded her vocal tracks in their Chillcuts studio.
Long time friend of Love Spirals Downwards, Lovespirals, Anji Bee, and Falling You, Ken Lee (of Eleven Shadows), mixed and mastered the songs of Adore alongside John at his Blueberry Buddha Recording Studios.
Though known for his melancholic mix of ambient textures and ethereal vocals, John wanted to “explore a more optimistic side of emotional music and this gift called life.” To this end, he employed liberal use of heavy, distorted, electric guitar in the vein of classic 90’s shoegazer acts like My Bloody Valentine and Ride, which may surprise long time fans of Falling You.
Adore is available as a digital download now directly from the Magnatune site, with CDs to follow soon. Watch for it on iTunes, Amazon, eMusic, etc later this month.
Buy Adore by Falling You on Magnatune
Stream Every Song From Adore In Full:
Adore by Falling You
As a side note, Zorko contributed a moodily atmospheric Falling You remix to Lovespirals’ Love EP released in June 2010.
Friday, March 11th, 2011
Suzanne’s Infamous Chupacabra Story
Do you remember when the X-Files had that episode with the Chupacabra? Well, it made a big impact on Love Spirals Downwards back in the day. Suzanne commented on its spooky power in this infamous story told live on-stage at the Projekt Festival on 8/1/1997, held at The Vic Theatre in Chicago, IL. Classic Suz stage banter!
Suzanne's Chupacabra Story
Tuesday, December 21st, 2010
LSD “Little Drummer Boy” + Remixes
The last song Love Spirals Downwards ever recorded was an atmospheric drum ‘n’ bass version of the classic Christmas song, “The Little Drummer Boy,” with jazzy Rhodes piano by guest musician, Gabriel D. Vine. It was never officially released, but has been made available online as an MP3 sometimes called “The Little Drum ‘n’ Bass Boy.” Ryan just put it up on his new SoundCloud account — Merry Christmas!
AnimmA has released 2 bootleg remixes of this tune on his YouTube account. They’re both pretty cool!
“Little Drummer Boy” artwork by Anji Bee with photography by Susan Jennings and logo by Michael Plaster.
Saturday, October 2nd, 2010
Love Spirals Downwards Kykeon Video
A clip from a CBC Television documentary featuring Timothy Leary called, “How To Go Out of Your Mind: The LSD Crisis,” has surfaced on YouTube with the addition of groovy psychedelic fractal art set to Love Spirals Downwards’ “Kykeon (50 Years of Sunshine Mix).” This version of “Kykeon” was originally released in 1993 on the double CD 50 Years Of Sunshine, which celebrated the discovery of LSD. (Guess why Silent Records asked the band to contribute?) Forward to 7:44 to view the song portion of the video. By the way, this mix of the song was included on the Projekt 100: The Early Years compilation celebrating the 100th release for the label. Its part of the 3 for $20 sale at Projekt.
Monday, August 23rd, 2010
Remastered Idylls and Ardor CDs on Sale
Projekt is currently offering the recently remastered reissues of Love Spirals Downwards’s first two albums, Idylls and Ardor — as well as the debut Lovespirals album, Windblown Kiss — as part of their 3 for $20 sale. Also included in the list of 84 discounted CDs and other items is the Projekt 100 compilation containing “Kykeon (50 Years of Sunshine Mix)”, which is a rare remix not available on any of the band’s albums. A Dark Noel (in the Excelsis series) ~ 3 — featuring LSD’s shoegazery version of “Welcome Christmas” — is also a part of the sale. This track is also not available on any of the band’s albums. Now would be a great time to fill in your collection!