Got back from Philly last night. We enjoyed ProjektFest more than we anticipated. It was nice to hang with Audra and Mira at the after parties, and to see old pals like Roachie, Johnny, Lisa etc… There’s some talk of us doing a West Coast tour with Mira this Summer, which would be really cool! We especially hope to hit Portland and San Francisco, where we have friends and family. Keep posted to our news section for updates!
Here’s some photos from Lovespirals whirlwind weekend. From the top left, Lovespirals doing soundcheck at The Trocodero Theatre, Ryan playing his new semi-hollow body guitar during our set, Ryan, Anji, and Doron performing at The Trocodero Theatre, Ryan and Anji doing a stripped down set at the Bizarre Bazaar, meeting fans at the Bazaar.Special thanks to Tome Wilson for photographing us — and for picking us up at the airport in a limo — and thank you to everyone who came out to see us!
Lovespirals are included on the new compilation CD, Blisscent Vol. 1, which showcases Indie, Dream Pop, and Shoegazer acts popular on the underground radio show, Blisscent.
Lovespirals will play the headlining slot of the 3-day festival’s opening night, as well as an intimate, stripped down performance the following evening for the Merchant’s Bazaar. Get more information from the ProjektFest site. This will be the live debut of the new lineup with guitarist, Ryan Lum, vocalist, Anji Bee, and guest saxist, Doron Orenstein.
The Onion’s AV Club has posted a fairly positive review of Love Spirals Downwards’ 1996 album, Ever, both in their newspaper and on their website:
The Onion V 30, #18:
In the past 10 years, countless shoegazing dream-pop bands have come and gone, leaving behind a large but largely forgotten body of lush, languorous work. If that ethereal little subgenre is dead, Love Spirals Downwards plays “post-shoegazer” music, co-opting the crisply pretty guitar lines and billowy female vocals—and stripping away the layers of cloudiness that typify the work of bands like Slowdive and pre-1995 Lush. Ever, Love Spirals Downwards’ third album, plays through like one long, meandering voice, albeit one that’s sometimes fed through filters or accompanied by acoustic guitars and the occasional electronic noise. Singer Suzanne Perry has one of those high, hypnotic voices that swoop and soar dramatically, and it’s awfully pretty to listen to. It’s just too bad that a substantial portion of Ever is devoted to ambient noodling rather than simple, unpretentious voice-and-guitar tracks like “El Pedregal” and “Lieberflusse.” Still, it’s a nice, airy surprise, recalling many of the best things about a lot of dead-and-gone bands.
Another review has come in for the new holiday Projekt comp. Matt Rowe of MusicTap gives the Maxi CD a 4 out of 5 star rating and a glowing review which reads, in part:
“The Excelsis collection issued by Projekt are comprised of some of the most mystically enchanting songs that refer to the Christmas holidays. With ghostly reverence that is ethereally communicated to us by the artists that interpret the selections, we are taken on a journey of such aching perfection that we can only melt into the songs, become one with them. With the release of Excelsis 3 ~ A Prelude, Projekt have provided us with yet another great set of beautifully rendered Christmas tunes. Lovespirals gives us “Aspen Glow”, a song borrowed from John Denver and sweetly sung in as good a version as you’ll ever hear by the beautiful Anji Bee, who’s voice is as charming as a winter scene that you become lost in. Ryan and Anji’s respect for the season is deeply felt. This track has become one of my favorite seasonal songs.”
Rowe’s view on the holiday season could honestly not be in more stark contrast to the fellow from Chain D.L.K., almost comically so. But its nice to know that both people who hate and revere Christmas adore the Excelsis compilation series:
“Christmas is a wonderful time that delineates the essence of everything pure and good. It is a mystery that can never be contained nor revealed and yet, is felt as a pain of something never grasped. The fundamental nature of it is in the beauty of the songs on this disc but vanishes as soon as you take the disc out of the player. Regardless, they leave a resonant peace that you can count as ‘value added’. Cheers to Projekt for this collection and the sets that preceded it. My Christmas wish is that Projekt would carry on with this series and continue to provide us with the intrinsic magnificence that is Christmas.” – Matt Rowe
A cheeky review has been posted on gothic industrial site, Chain D.L.K. written by Shaun Hamilton. It reads, in part:
“Ahhhhh, X-Mas…. The smell of pinecones roasting on the fire — or something like that. Or was it elves? Hell, toss them in there too! I hate X-Mas, and I’m not a cheery one to have around the house at that time of year, but this CD is something good to come out of it and the series in general. Projekt has always been music made for winter time and it shows why this is my choice music to listen to on a nice winter day inside. Lovespirals kicks in with their special brand of babymaking music. I can’t help it, everything this bands sings and plays sounds so kinky and sensual, but still so classy! And it is the first time I’ve heard someone sounding dead on like Liz Frazier without being a knockoff.”
Projekt has released a new ExcelsisChristmas/Winter themed compilation CD, Excelsis 3 ~ a Prelude, which kicks off with our cover of John Denver’s catchy folk-pop song, “Aspenglow.” This is actually the first song featuring Anji to appear on a Projekt release… Several sneak-peek tracks from the upcoming Lovespirals album are also available on MP3.com, so come take a listen!
“2001: 10 Best From a Year of Blood and Fire” The Chinese curse about interesting times comes to mind when reviewing 2001: so does the line about rough beasts slouching toward Bethlehem. For much of 2001 world events made it difficult to concentrate on silly things like music and entertainment. Still, there were some excellent releases this year, as Gothic and Industrial Music lurched into the 21st century.
10/9 Tie: Lovespirals Ecstatic (Projekt) & Claire Voyant Time Again (Metropolis)
As synthpop’s rise led inexoribly to its decline, some Gothic/Industrial artists have started looking toward other avenues of inspiration. On these releases, Lovespirals and Claire Voyant provide tasty Illbient and Trip Hop influenced grooves and give us a harbinger of Goth’s Next BigThing.
(Ed. note: it should be noted that “Time Again” includes a track remixed by Lovespirals.)
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.
Water Music Records just released 2 various artist compilations with Lovespirals tracks. We’re excited to be included on a comp with one of our favorite producers, LTJ Bukem! You can listen to RealAudio or Windows Media files at their site, as well as make an online purchase, so check it out…
Chill Out Lounge Vol. 2: 12 track mixed set of chill electronic grooves, including LTJ Bukem, Baby Mammoth, France & Dom, and more. The Lovespirals tune included is a special edit of our 1999 Jazz-Step song, “Hand in Hand”. Check out the Water Music Chill-Out Lounge v. 2 page for details.
Chill Out in the City: 12 track comp of Jazzy Down Tempo featuring Baby Mammoth, ORG Lounge, France & Dom and more. The Lovespirals tune included is the 1999 instrumental, “Beatitude,” featuring Doron Orenstein and Gabriel D. Vine of L.A. Deep House band, Toof!. Check out the Water Music Chill-Out in the City page for details.
