Tag Archives: Anji Bee

Interview

Lovespirals Interview on DAXX

A Q&A with Anji Bee just went up on the DAXX site. You can read the full interview over there, but here’s a good selection of topics.

DAXX: In 10 words or less, describe your demeanor.
ANJI: “Mellow” is always the word that comes up about Ryan! I’m kind of a mix of mellow and intense, depending on the situation. Ryan always says I’m “sweet”. Other people tend to say that I’m “cool.”

DAXX: What genre of music do you like to produce? To listen to?
ANJI: We had been making Atmospheric jazz step drum ‘n’ bass the past couple years, but we just completed a downtempo vocal track last night, and I hope we go in that direction for some more songs. We’re also talking about trying a vocal house tune, probably with the help of our jazzy house collaborators, Gabriel D. Vine and Doron Orenstein. They’ve gotten us more interested in deep house stuff ‘coz they have a great band, called Toof, that does that sort of thing. I’m thinking about doing stuff along the lines of some of the Om Records releases — very groovy, mellow dance music with sexy vocals. Ryan wants to use a lot of Rhodes and sax, and experiment more with the beats and grooves. We want to keep it very jazzy, and atmospheric — that’s the main thing!

Continue reading Lovespirals Interview on DAXX →
Interview

The Violet Collective Interview

Rik of The Violet Collective interviewed Anji Bee about her various creative endeavors on mp3.com. You can read the full Q&A over at the Violet Collection site.

Maybe you’ve seen her face around the mp3.com site, or maybe you’ve heard one of her collaborations with Lovespirals, or Voiceless, or Delphinium, or, well, you get the picture. Anji Bee is the voice behind a number of bands I’ve grown to enjoy, so I thought that it’d be kinda neat to have a little chat with her for The Violet Collection…

RIK: You divide your time between a few projects, Lovespirals and Delphinium being the most visible. How does this affect the way you write? Do you sit down with the idea of writing a Lovespirals song for example, or do you decide where a piece will be used after it’s written?

ANJI: I haven’t actually done any recording for Delphinium (formerly known as Datura) in a few years. Justin and I started doing other projects, and then he stopped making music. He’s been saying he wants to get back into it, so perhaps we’ll collaborate again sometime in the future. Since I’ve been in Lovespirals I’ve collaborated with a number of different musical projects, though — mostly during the end of 1999 to mid-2000. I was so excited to join Lovespirals that I went into a really creative period of songwriting, and my song journal was just overflowing.

Continue reading The Violet Collective Interview →
Band News

New song, new comp

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/lovespirals to listen to our FREE streaming and downloadable MP3s.

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. Buy Diva X Machine 3 on Amazon.

Review

KUCI FM Reviews Temporal

Anji Bee, DJ and music director at KUCI 88.9 FM, wrote a review of our new Projekt release, Temporal: A Collection of Music Past & Present. Anji actually designed the cover art for the CD, including some of her own photography. Her review reads, in part:

“From their hauntingly beautiful acoustic beginnings to their present drum and bass and electronica sound, this compilation covers the entirety of Love Spirals’ career with 13 tracks culled from their master tapes. Arranged in groups of three songs from the four major periods of recording, Temporal begins at the end, with a set of remixes from the last studio album, Flux, done by Ryan last summer. 

“Alicia” is a flamenco spiced bossa nova drum’n’bass tune with lovely acoustic guitar licks provided by Rodney Rodriguez of The Von Trapps. With the remix, the vocals are downplayed, and the rhythm made stronger. Lots of ethereal pads have been added, to subsitute for the old analogy keyboards of the original. “Misunderstood” has been almost entirely revamped with exciting breakbeats and lots of fabulous moody saxophone played by Doron Orenstein of Toof. This remix is my favorite track of the album for sure.

Continue reading KUCI FM Reviews Temporal →
Interview

Losing Today Sept 1999

THE DARLINGS OF PROJEKT
Interview & photos by Anji Bee

Love Spirals Downwards are known as the darlings of Projekt Records. And with just cause; they are the best selling band, with the hottest moving new release of Projekt for 1998, “Flux.” This latest of 4 popular full-length albums marks a turning point in the band’s ever-fluxing sound. Whereas the last album, “Ever,” showcased several electronic-based songs in the mix, “Flux” concentrates almost completely on the electronica side of band mastermind, Ryan Lum’s musical influences. There has been some slight controversy over LSD’s “sound change” and band member relationships, but all of that seems ludicrous to the mellow, well adjusted Lum. He’s always created the music for Love Spirals Downwards using whatever inspiration happened to hit him, be it a fine dining experience, an exotic vacation, a shamanic vision, or just simply a new piece of gear to fiddle around with. Although a philopsher at heart, searching for his own personal truth in life, Ryan isn’t a terribly serious artist with an attitude or an agenda. He just likes to make music like anybody else does, for the fun of it.

Continue reading Losing Today Sept 1999 →
Band News

KUCI related DJ gigs

Friday May 21st, I’ll be dj’ing at Sterile, located at Neutral Grounds Cafe in the Santora Building for the Arts, 207 N. Broadway, Santa Ana, CA. (More information on the Peach site www.peachfuzz.net). This promises to be a very cool show with the bands Halou (Bedazzled Records) and Sweet Trip (Darla Records) coming down fron San Francisco to perform live. I’m looking forward to a fun evening and those of you in the area should try to go.

Also in Southern California, I’ll be on two radio shows next week as part of the KUCI 88.9 fm annual fund drive. For those of you outside of its broadcasting area, you can listen to KUCI on the net 24 hours a day at the KUCI site.

  • Wednesday 5/19/99 Space Disco For Fish Tacos.

    Special 3 Hour Fund Drive Edition 8pm to 11 pm, with Sweet Trip (Live), Halou (Live), plus Special Guest appearances. I will be doing a short live interview, either in person or by phone.
  • Thursday 5/20/99 The All Purpose Nuclear Bedtime Story

    9pm to 11pm: Host DJ’s, Anji and Justin, will be giving away 3 promo copies of Flux to listeners who pledge, plus I’ll be doing a live interview by phone.

Last month, I sent out the first mailing of the Love Spirals Downwards email list. There’s no regular schedule that i’m planning to send mailings out, but It’ll most likely be once every month or two.

Review

Flux Reviewed by KUCI FM

College radio station KUCI 88.9 FM produces a professional ‘zine to promote their shows, DJs, and favorite bands. In the most recent issue, they featured a review of Flux penned by the station’s music director, Anji Bee:

With Flux, bandleader, Ryan Lum, has fully committed himself to the electronic groove based sound first hinted at on Love Spirals Downwards’ previous album, Ever. Flux gives full play to Lum’s increasing attraction to the melodic side of drum and bass music, with 7 of 9 tracks using that unique polyrhythmic technique. Over an electronic bed of break beats, samples and synth, Lum lays down his signature guitar melodies and lush washes, using both electric and acoustic guitars. 

Continue reading Flux Reviewed by KUCI FM →