Love Spirals Downwards recently appeared in the German fanzine, Black. The following is an English translation of the interview by Thomas Wacker.
The reputation of the “Ethereal Wave” precedes PROJEKT mainly because this label, next to BLACK TAPE FOR A BLUE GIRL, has one of the best—if not the best—”Heavenly Voices” bands: LOVE SPIRALS DOWNWARDS. This is Ryan Lum and Suzanne Perry, who first caused a sensation in 1992 with their debut album, ‘Idylls.’ Suzanne’s angelic, lovely voice especially delights critics and journalists, and their global fan community continues to grow.
Already in the 3rd edition of BLACK, I tried to interview Ryan Lum and failed miserably because I tried to interpret too much into the music and the meaning, and he simply wouldn’t give any information on this. I don’t want to give the impression that Ryan and Suzanne think they are above their music, and I certainly don’t want to defame the artists… no, on the contrary, I like the music of LOVE SPIRALS DOWNWARDS very much. Nevertheless, it is my job as a journalist to engage with the music and the artist and convey a picture of both to the readers.
Since Ryan wasn’t and isn’t much help to me, I only have the option of describing the sound of this unique formation based on comparisons. In our first interview, Ryan gave me bands like SLOWDIVE, GRATEFUL DEAD, BRIAN ENO, and COCTEAU TWINS as his personal favorites, and from this, you can already guess which direction the sound of LOVE SPIRALS DOWNWARDS tends.
The album ‘Ardor,’ in particular, radiates an intense and ethereal aura, such as you really only know from the COCTEAU TWINS. Comparisons between Elizabeth Fraser and Suzanne Perry can also be made, even if the band is certainly not happy about it, as you can see from the following interview…
With their new and third full-length album, ‘Ever,’ LOVE SPIRALS DOWNWARDS seamlessly link to what they started with the ‘Sideways Forest’ maxi-single: here is more emphasis on acoustic arrangements, giving the final result a more primal feel. While soft guitars and Suzanne’s vocals still dominate, the record feels softer, more natural, and above all, more honest compared to its predecessors.
The following interview is brief, yet concise and meaningful. I tried to somehow pick up where my first interview left off and get answers to my questions. But once again, Ryan Lum remains somewhat brittle and taciturn; thus, this band will remain a mystery to me, no matter how brilliant I find their music…
BLACK: After our first interview about a year ago, I was quite disappointed with most of your answers because you said that the majority of your musical material actually has no meaning. Sorry, but I simply cannot believe that…!!! The music must at least represent a means for you to express or present yourselves… or does it not?
RYAN: No, there really is no meaning behind it. It is very difficult to build a meaning without lyrics, which is related to the fact that Suzanne sometimes sings in no real language at all. The music itself naturally has a message for me, but this message obviously affects other people differently. It means whatever you want it to mean, if you absolutely need a message. But what is the point of a message anyway?
BLACK: You also mentioned that the name LOVE SPIRALS DOWNWARDS was merely a play on words. Does it perhaps stand for LSD?
RYAN: No, you are completely wrong there too. It’s best if you try to interpret your own opinion into it… though that isn’t really our intention. And it certainly doesn’t stand for LSD.
BLACK: You are among the most successful bands on the PROJEKT label, and you are known everywhere for your heavenly sound. Some journalists even claim you are the new COCTEAU TWINS and that Suzanne Perry is Elizabeth Fraser’s sister. Do you see musical similarities yourself?
RYAN: What, journalists really claimed that about us?! I’d call that quite a bit of stupidity… but critics and journalists are usually quite dim, and yet people read what they write. Sure, I like the Cocteau Twins, but I like a dozen other bands just as much. If people really think we are copying that band, then they haven’t understood what we are actually doing.
BLACK: Your new album Ever sounds a bit more elemental and natural than Ardor. To my taste, the last album sounded more personal and had a slight tendency toward melancholy. Would you describe Ever as the beginning of a new musical period for LOVE SPIRALS DOWNWARDS?
RYAN: Every new release is a new challenge and a new beginning. Perhaps it’s more obvious on Ever, but I am actually always finding new sounds and different ways to make music. Doing the same thing over and over again would be too monotonous and boring for me. Most of all, I look for ways to make music that evoke feelings in me as if I were a small, innocent child again.
BLACK: Let’s go back to the topic of “meaning and message of lyrics.” We already spoke about how you never hide messages in your lyrics; and yet, I noticed a few tracks on Ever—such as “El Pedregal,” “Ananda,” or “Ipomoea,” and of course “Sideways Forest”—which seem to have been inspired by South America. Can you confirm that?
RYAN: I would describe those more as loose themes that wandered in and yet have a specific meaning to me personally. Once again—even though I’ve said it several times—there is nothing hidden in our music or our lyrics that needs to be discovered or that anyone needs to understand. People should simply enjoy our music. You can certainly claim that Everprocesses a sort of Latin American or Spanish theme, but that is by no means obvious to me!
BLACK: You have already given individual live concerts in the past, e.g., during last year’s PROJEKT festival in Chicago. I would be interested in what your live concept looks like, if there is one!
RYAN: Live, we always perform very acoustically: I play the acoustic guitar and Suzanne sings, and nothing else… no DAT recorder, no keyboards, or anything else. If you’ve never seen us live, you’ll certainly find it boring, but we’ve discovered that we really love this kind of concert. Sometimes we even sound better on stage than we do on our CDs. For the future, however, I could imagine playing all the other instruments, such as samplers, drum machines, and keyboards, live. But then the typical LOVE SPIRALS DOWNWARDS sound would surely come across as “dance music.”
BLACK: If you had the opportunity to transform yourself into another life form or object, which form would you choose and why?
RYAN: Donald Duck, because I love swimming and flying. Suzanne would like to be a clam, since they love in the ocean.
BLACK: Do you have plans for the future of LOVE SPIRALS DOWNWARDS?
RYAN: The future…hmmm…I see myself getting fat and bald. But hopefully this will take a long time!
