All posts by ryan

Echoes Best of 2026 So Far Lists Metanoia

ollowing its selection as the Echoes CD of the Month in March, Falling You’s Metanoia has once again been recognized by the program. In a mid-year retrospective released on July 6, 2026, titled “The Best of Echoes 2026 So Far – The Top 30,” John Diliberto ranked the album at #8.

In the program’s introduction, Diliberto noted:

In this semiquincentennial year, we are casting back at all the music we have played thus far at the mid-point of the year, and seeing which releases stood out. The list includes some legends of ambient music, some relatively new singer-songwriter-electronic artists, and maybe more space music than I would have expected. It’s been a tumultuous year, but the music has given us reasons to listen more deeply. 

You can read the full Top 30 list on the Echoes website.

As we previously reportedMetanoia features collaborations with Ryan and Anji Lum, including contributions to the tracks “Philomena” and “Alcyone.”

You can pick up a CD copy of Metanoia by Falling You on Bandcamp, while supplies last.

NTS Radio Anji Lum Guest DJ Set – Live on Channel 2

NTS Radio will feature a guest mix by your our own Anji Lum –live on Channel 2 at 12 p.m. PST on July 3, 2026. She will be sharing a selection of female-fronted trip hop, neo-soul, downtempo, and drum & bass –including a few Love Spirals Downwards and related cuts– from the late ’90s to the present, bringing a laid-back, sunny yet chill vibe to listeners. The one-hour set will be available to stream on demand starting Monday, July 8 via the NTS Anji Lum episode page. If you were a fan of The Chillcast with Anji Bee, you will definitely love this set, as it’s a definite return to form! We want to extend our thanks and gratitude to the NTS team for this amazing opportunity to get involved with their station.

Broken Single & Music Video Out Now

Ryan and Anji’s brand new single for June is available now on streaming platforms and digital music stores, as well as via YouTube Music.

From Bandcamp:

If “Dissociate” was a retreat into the void, “Broken” is the journey back. Blending organic trip-hop rhythms with dream-pop textures, the song pairs Ryan Lum’s shimmering guitars with Anji Lum’s soulful-yet-ethereal vocal harmonies. Moving from shadow into light, “Broken” is a meditation on emotional self-protection and the habits we form to shield ourselves. It’s a soundtrack for those hazy hours when intrusive thoughts slow their spiral, and you realize you might be okay after all.

The Sireneil podcast wrote, in part:

Love Spirals Downwards described the previous single, “Dissociate,” as a song to be heard at two in the morning. From that image, a concept was born—in our own words—of a secret room far from the noise of the world.

“Broken,” the newly released track, seems to bring us right back there a few hours later, when the night is not yet over and a thin mist continues to shroud thoughts and memories.

Ryan Lum’s luminous guitars intertwine with soft, pulsing trip-hop rhythms, while Anji Lum’s captivating voice traverses fragility with an almost disarming delicacy.

Like the mist that softens the contours of the landscape without erasing it, “Broken” does not completely dissolve the unrest. It simply offers a place to rest.

Stream “Dissociate” from the Bandcamp player below, where you can also purchase a download, or add it to your streaming playlists on SpotifyApple MusicAmazon MusicTIDAL or YouTube Music.

The duo’s YouTube video provides a visual journey through the hazy corridors of the mind. The imagery, captured in a singular photoshoot, serves as a quiet anchor for the lyrics—a dream-like progression of light and shadow on rippling water that mirrors the song’s internal architecture. Watch it on the YouTube player below.

Dissociate Single & Video Out Now

Love Spirals Downwards’ new single “Dissociate” finds Ryan and Anji Lum venturing into much darker sonic territory than previous cut “No Reply.” Driven by sparse, hypnotic beats and Ryan’s shimmering guitar, the song creates an intimate atmosphere where Anji’s fragile, whispering vocals can unspool without resistance. It’s a track built for candle-lit solitude, noise-canceling headphones in urban chaos, and the playlists that keep you from crashing out entirely. Fans of “Noumenon” (2024) and “Gray” (2026) will find “Dissociate” pushing even further into that restless, interior space.

Sireniel Podcast said that “Dissociate” is “more than a song: a small inner refuge, a half-remembered dream, an invitation to find peace in the silence of the night.

Music blog I Die: You Die called “Dissociate”: “A historical piece,” noting, “The lush production, sweet and understated delivery and chill groove are all things that have defined the band’s output.

Stream “Dissociate” from the Bandcamp player below, where you can also purchase a download, or add it to your streaming playlists on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, TIDAL or YouTube Music.

A mesmerizing visualizer video features the song’s lyrics alongside the evocative photography from the cover art, forming a cohesive whole that draws you deeper into the psychological state at the heart of this genre-blending song. Watch it on the YouTube player below.

“No Reply” Single & Video

The duo’s new single “No Reply” finds Ryan and Anji Lum returning to the soulful, late-night side of their sound, blending chillout textures with dream pop atmosphere, warm female vocals, and a laid-back groove. Built around haunting piano, acoustic and electric guitar, shimmering electric layers, and subtle string machine textures, the song explores the quiet anxiety of modern communication breakdown. More upbeat than recent singles “Secrets” or “Gray,” it’s closer in spirit to 2024’s “Not Myself,” with a retro downtempo feel.

Stream “No Reply” from the Bandcamp player below, where you can also purchase a download, or add it to your streaming playlists on SpotifyApple MusicAmazon MusicTIDAL or YouTube Music.

Filmed along the remote, rocky coastline of Catalina Island, the music video features Anji’s lyrics unfolding over point-of-view hiking footage and wide cinematic shots of natural beauty, mirroring the song’s theme of isolation and missed communications, and echoing the refrain: “No answer, no reply.”

Echoes CD of the Month: Falling You ‘Metanoia’ feat. Love Spirals

Echoes Radio host John Diliberto has chosen Falling You’s new album, Metanoia, as the CD of the Month for March 2026. Not only will it be featured on the nationally syndicated program tomorrow night (Monday 3/2/26), but there is also a lovely review posted on the site.

Echoes March CD of the Month: ‘Metanoia’ by Falling You. Brush up on your Greek mythology when we journey from the ancient to the future with Falling You’s deliriously beautiful and poignant remaking of ancient, archetypal myths as searing dream pop.

Of the track that Ryan and Anji Lum contributed lyrics, vocals, instruments, and production to, Diliberto said:

The album ends with the third epic track, “Philomena,” named for the Christian martyr. It’s a tale which illustrates that Catholics could match Greek and Roman mythological legends in fantastical tales. Vocalist Anji Lum turns it into a fable of strength over adversity with RyanLum dropping-in ambient guitar textures and reverberant, blues-laced accents. It’s a track that ends the album as strong as it began.

Continue reading Echoes CD of the Month: Falling You ‘Metanoia’ feat. Love Spirals

“Secrets” Single and Music Video Out Now

The duo’s second single of 2026, “Secrets,” finds Ryan and Anji Lum turning inward, embracing a hushed late‑night chillout atmosphere shaped as much by restraint as by confession. Written and produced by the husband‑and‑wife duo, the track leans away from guitar‑led dynamics in favor of moody synthesizers, understated keyboard lines, and contemporary electronic beats, subtly shifting the emotional contour of the songwriting. Anji’s lyrics confront the quiet damage caused by withholding truth, moving from regret toward self‑recognition, while the recurring question — “Are you keeping secrets again?” — circles like an echo of doubt that refuses to fade.

“Secrets” is available now on SpotifyApple MusicAmazon Music, YouTube Music and other streaming platforms under the original band name, Love Spirals Downwards, as well as on Bandcamp under both iterations. Listen on the player below.

The dreamy visualizer video continues sharing secrets with the world, using the album‑cover image and additional shots taken by bandleader Ryan Lum in that same session. Vocalist and co‑writer Anji Lum edited the clip, weaving in more footage she shot herself and integrating her lyrics. Check it out now on YouTube.

“Gray” Single & Music Video Out Now

The duo opens 2026 with “Gray,” a hushed late‑night single that finds Ryan and Anji Lum leaning deeper into restraint, atmosphere, and emotional stillness. Grounded in the project’s familiar minor‑key gravity, the song blends evocative samples and muted, trap‑influenced rhythms with Ryan Lum’s signature layering of electric and acoustic guitars, soft electronics, and emotive string machine textures—modern in its pulse, yet unmistakably Love Spirals in tone.

The arrangement centers on mood and space, with the chorus built around a delayed, disembodied sample of the word “gray” and a quiet, high‑register response that drifts like a half‑remembered thought. Only in the bridge do harmonies bloom, briefly lifting the song with nostalgic warmth before receding again, while Ryan’s guitar work culminates in a classic Lovespirals solo—restrained, melodic, and quietly expressive.

Download “Gray” in your choice of digital audio format on Bandcamp or stream via SpotifyApple MusicAmazon MusicYouTube Music, or your fave digital music platform.

Created by Anji using archival personal footage, the accompanying music video mirrors the song’s emotional terrain through largely monochromatic imagery, punctuated by fleeting bursts of color during moments of remembered warmth. Together, the single and video form a unified, introspective statement.

Download “Gray” in your choice of digital audio format on Bandcamp or stream via SpotifyApple MusicAmazon MusicYouTube Music, or your fave digital music platform.

Love Spirals Contribute to Falling You ‘Metanoia’

It’s been eight years since ambient musician John Zorko last released an album under his Falling You collective, but he’s finally returned with a new full-length inspired by the myths of Ovid’s Metamorphoses.

John first reached out to Anji Lum in 2023 to contribute lyrics and vocals to a track for the project. As Anji explained in  Chillin’ with Lovespirals Episode 101, she initially struggled with how to approach the material before ultimately embracing the story of Philomena. The imagery of a woman turned caged nightingale, using birdsong to achieve personal liberation and vindication, felt especially fitting for the album’s theme. Her blend of original lyrics sung in a soothing lower register with spoken passages drawn from Sir Samuel Garth’s 1717 English translation of Ovid, bridges the modern and the archaic.

Continue reading Love Spirals Contribute to Falling You ‘Metanoia’

“Drift Begins” Single & Video Out Now

The duo’s final single of 2025 finds them drifting into liminal territory with “Drift Begins.” Built around soft piano and ethereal pads, the track reaches back into Ryan Lum’s early ’90s sonic palette, with gentle acoustic guitar, chiming electric lines, and even the same vintage drum machine he used on his first few albums. The effect is a warm, windswept echo of his Projekt-era roots, reimagined with the benefit of modern equipment and production techniques.

The song’s stately 6/8 meter, softened edges, and misty lyrical imagery subtly echo the contemplative spirit of Pink Floyd’s 1972 song “Burning Bridges,” reflecting the duo’s longstanding affection for mid-period Floyd. While Ryan’s emotive, smoothly distorted, suspended solo inevitably recalls David Gilmour, Anji’s vocals also nod to that era, hovering between intimacy and reverie in luminous two-part harmony. Elsewhere, Anji’s high and low registers intertwine in a way that recalls the aching duality Rachel Goswell and Neil Halstead carried across both Slowdive and Mojave 3. 

Continue reading “Drift Begins” Single & Video Out Now