Love Spirals Downwards founder, Ryan Lum, took a few minutes to sit down in his recording studio to discuss the new 25th anniversary release ‘Flux Deluxe Edition‘ that’s out now on all digital music platforms. He shares many behind the scenes stories about this newly expanded version of his seminal Projekt-released album, as well as insight into it’s creation back in 1997-98.
Download ‘Flux Deluxe Edition’ on Bandcamp to get one additional bonus track.
We are celebrating the 25th Anniversary of LSD’s final studio album, ‘Flux,’ with the remastered and expanded ‘Flux Deluxe Edition’ featuring 13 additional tracks. Previously unreleased songs created in 1997-98, a live performance from ProjektFest 1997, two remixes from 1998, plus a brand new recording are all included in this epic reissue! The Bandcamp release also includes one bonus track recorded in 1998.
“Fusing their familiar style with updated breakbeats, Love Spirals Downwards’ sound coalesces into a massively layered textural workout. ‘flux’ organically caresses your soul while electronically massaging your mind. Inspired by ambient drum & bass, Love Spirals Downwards combines their trademark ether-bliss guitars and heavenly female vocals with a breakbeat rhythmic foundation. The result of ‘flux’ is Love Spirals Downwards’ most advanced passage yet. Creating a style that is as much about mood as melody, Love Spirals Downwards continue their evolution beyond their ethereal dream-pop roots.”
— Projekt Records 1998 Press Release
‘Flux Deluxe Edition’ is available on Spotify, Apple Music, TIDAL, Pandora, Beatport, Juno Download, and YouTube music now
Love Spirals Downwards’ first television music placement was on the internationally syndicated show ‘Dawson’s Creek’ on The WB network. The 1998 ‘Flux’ track “Psyche” was featured in a party scene starring Michelle Williams and Chad Michael Murray on the season 5 premiere episode “The Bostonians.” According to Neilson Media Research this episode had 4.47 million viewers when it aired on October 10, 2001. It was really cool hearing this vocal drum ‘n’ bass song co-written and sung by Suzanne’s sister, Kristen Perry, on such a popular TV show and especially in such a long, fun scene.
Check out “Psyche” on the new 25th Anniversary ’Flux Deluxe Edition’ out now on all digital music services including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, TIDAL, Bandcamp, and YouTube Music!
Last month Apple Music launched a new DJ Mix Series which features exclusive mixes dropping bi-weekly from “a range of notable artists spanning genres and regions,” as their press says. The show’s second episode, released this March, is a mix by Bored Lord that includes “Alicia” (mistakenly credited as “Sound of Wave”). The classic Flux album track mixes in and out of The Future Sound of London and Malcom McClaren, with our song blending into the intro on “About Her,” as well.
Inspired by Pitchfork Mag’s “30 Best Dream Pop Release” list, Post-Punk compiled their own definitive Top 100 list by, “whittling down a list of nearly 200 releases over a series of loving debates.” Glad Love Spirals Downwards made the cut! Read the full Post-Punk Definitive Dreaminess: 100 Essential Dream Pop Releases or jus check out the blurb below:
64. Love Spirals Downwards- Flux (Projekt Records, 1998)
— GF, Post-Punk.com
The fourth and final album by Love Spirals Downward, darlings of the California ethereal set, broke stylistic ground for the duo of guitarist Ryan Lum and chanteuse Suzanne Perry. While the band’s earlier Projekt releases Idylls, Ardor and Ever stayed firmly within the subgenre’s melody-centered Cocteau Twins-influenced template, Flux incorporated skittering, downtempo trip hop and drum and bass rhythmic elements, oddly rendering their music even more intoxicating and opaque. Tracks like the peerless “City Moon,” “By Your Side,” and pulsating epic closer epic “Sunset Bell” felt like being trapped in a waking dream that you never wanted to end.
A retrospective look back at Love Spirals Downwards album, ‘Flux,’ appeared on the Hypnagogics blog. Unfortunately it includes an illegal download of the album, as well, when they could have simply added links to legal streaming files, but since they aren’t respecting our content rights, it seems fair for us to share theirs, in turn.
‘Flux’ Review by Autech
For a couple of years in the mid to late 90’s any movie trailer that you saw that had any sense of futuristic action featured a generic breakbeat track typically over some throaty unintelligible female vocals. For some reason, the drum and bass breakbeat became shorthand for futuristic action movies. Some of these films actually featured full soundtracks in the same vein, like The Matrix movies. The funny thing about all of this is D&B didn’t become the music of the future, and pretty much all of it sounds incredibly dated. Even current artists who produce within the genre have a hard time breaking out of the box that they got put in in the 80’s.
Continue reading Hypnagogics ‘Flux’ ReviewJason Moore reviewed Lovespirals’ latest album, Long Way From Home, for his Opus Zine. You can read the full review on his website.
It doesn’t feel quite right to say that Lovespirals is merely the new incarnation of Love Spirals Downwards, even though it’s pretty obvious why folks (myself included) would say that — and not just because of the name similarities. While founder/songwriter Ryan Lum has largely eschewed the gothic/darkwave overtones of his previous band, there’s still no denying that the ghosts of acts such as the Cocteau Twins still haunt their way through Lovespirals’ Long Way From Home. One need only to listen to hazy guitar strums or shimmery effects on “Empty Universe,” “Treading The Water,” or “Sundrenched” for that to become readily apparent.
And then there’s Anji Bee’s vocals. Bee lets her voice drift and sway through the album’s ten tracks in a manner recalling Love Spirals Downwards’ previous vocalists (such as Suzanne Perry), Liz Frazier (minus the glossolalia), and even Tracey Thorn (Everything But The Girl). You know what I’m talking about: a manner that is seductive, not so much for its sultriness and smokiness, but for its ethereal and otherworldly nature.
Continue reading Opus Zine Reviews Long Way From Home
The Love Spirals Downwards’ 1998 track, “Psyche,” (with Kristen Perry) appears on episode #501 of Dawson’s Creek. This season premier episode was just released on the Season 5 DVD set on May 3, 2005.
CNET’s brand new Music.Download.com site has posted the Top 50 Downloaded Songs for Week 2 on their forum, and it turns out that “Psyche,” from Flux, is #1! This 1998 track featuring the vocals and lyrics of Suzanne’s sister, Kristen Perry, has already had over 4,000 downloads from May 3rd to May 9th – not too shabby! LSD is featured on the site’s front page with this editor’s review:
Have a hit of Love Spirals Downwards, which otherwise goes by LSD. Ryan Lum and Suzanne Perry make music that will set your mind drifting, inspired by such beautiful dreamers as the Cocteau Twins and Mojave 3. The difference is that this duo drops drowsy beats over their acoustic guitars.
Check out our page at music.download.com/lovespiralsdownwards!
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.
