“Little Drummer Boy” Single Now Available

It has been a dozen years since Love Spirals Downwards founder, Ryan Lum, recorded his ambient drum & bass rendition of the classic Christmas song, “The Little Drummer Boy,” and at long last, it is finally available for sale! Originally conceived and recorded in 1999 for the Projekt Records holiday music series, Excelsis, this recording has never been properly released. This was the last song that Suzanne Perry contributed vocals to, and it’s sound is very reminiscent of the band’s final album, ‘Flux.’ Like the 1999 Lovespirals song, “Beatitude,” it features jazzy Rhodes piano by guest musician, Gabriel D. Vine, of Monkey Bars. Over the last decade, 2 versions of this cover song have been floating around the internet under different titles; there’s the polished aforementioned vocal version and also an earlier demo mix which features vocal samples from a classic old-school Christmas record. This demo mix is stripped down and funky, with more emphasis on Ryan’s funky live bassline, and less use of synth pads. Both versions are very catchy and a fun addition to anyone’s holiday music library. Pick up the 2 track single for just $2 in the high quality digital audio format of your choice from the newly launched Lovespirals Bandcamp Store


Special Thanks to our friend, Susan Jennings, for her 1998 band photograph used as the cover art!

New Falling You Album Featuring Suzanne and Anji Out Now

The 2-time NAR Lifestyle Music Award winning musical project, Falling You, just released a new album entitled, Adore, on Magnatune. Enigmatic band founder and producer, John Michael Zorko, has long worked with a revolving cast of talented and varied female vocalists including Lovespirals Downwards own Suzanne Perry, Victoria Lloyd (of Claire Voyant and Mono Chrome), Dru Allen (of Mirabilis and This Ascension), Erica Mulkey (AKA Unwoman), and Shikhee (of Android Lust) — just to name a few.

In her first appearance with Falling You, Lovespirals’ vocalist, Anji Bee, contributes lyrics and vocals to the ambient opening track, “Blessed,” penned about her relationship with bandmate, Ryan Lum, who engineered and recorded her vocal tracks.

Suzanne contributed lyrics and vocals to the album’s second track, “Champagne.” With its summery dream pop feel, this collaboration brings to mind her work with Melodyguild. Suzanne had previously been featured on Falling You’s 2006 album, Human, and 2008 album, Faith.

Long time friend of Love Spirals Downwards, Lovespirals, Anji Bee, and Falling You, Ken Lee (of Eleven Shadows), mixed and mastered the songs of Adore alongside John at his Blueberry Buddha Recording Studios.

Continue reading New Falling You Album Featuring Suzanne and Anji Out Now

Ryan Lum on Black Tape for a Blue Girl Song

Did you know Ryan contributed guitar to the Black Tape For A Blue Girl song “Overwhelmed, Beneath Me“ released by Projekt and Hyperium Records in 1993? This song was originally recorded in 1992 with vocalist Lucian Casselman for the album ‘This Lush Garden Within,’ an album that has been reissued several times with different artwork. This recording was also featured on ‘The First Pain to Linger’ maxi CD that accompanied Sam Rosenthal’s 1996 novel of the same name.

“Overwhelmed, Beneath Me” was reworked in 2000 with then-current vocalist Elysabeth Grant. That version appears on the ‘With A Million Tear-Stained Memories’ 2-CD collection released by Trisol and Projekt in 2003 and on ‘A Retrospective’ collection released by Shadowplay in 2008 as well as by Projekt for the longer digital-only release, ‘The best of (deluxe: 2008​+​1991).’

LSD’s “Little Drummer Boy” on SoundCloud

The last song Love Spirals Downwards ever recorded was an atmospheric drum ‘n’ bass version of the classic Christmas song, “The Little Drummer Boy,” with jazzy Rhodes piano by guest musician, Gabriel D. Vine. It was never officially released, but has been made available online as an MP3 sometimes called “The Little Drum ‘n’ Bass Boy.” Ryan just put it up on his new SoundCloud account — Merry Christmas!

ProjektFest 2010

Sam of Projekt asked us to help promote the upcoming Projektfest 2010. Apparently some fans were asking for us — and Melodyguild — to be included via the Projekfest Poll. While we appreciate the kind gesture, we hope you understand that we are not able to perform. It sounds like Sam has a lot of interesting things planned, though, and we’ve certainly had some entertaining times at past Projektfests. Philly is a cool town, too, so definitely check it out if you have the chance to attend!

Suzanne Perry on new Falling You album Faith

Love Spirals Downwards’ vocalist, Suzanne Perry, has contributed to two songs on the new Falling You album, Faith. You might be able to guess from the titles alone which tracks she penned, but as the featured artists are not listed, hers are “The End Before the Winds” and “And the Rain Comes in Waves.”

Check it out now on Magnatune.

Featuring incredible performances by Suzanne Perry (Love Spirals Downwards), Amanda Kramer (The Golden Palominos), Shikhee (Android Lust) and other Falling You favorites, ‘faith’ continues in the dark ambient / heavenly voices / ethereal style of ‘human’ and ‘touch’, while adding subtle industrial elements. Exploring what we humans do when life’s experiences shake the foundations of whatever beliefs we hold, ‘faith’ asks the question, ‘What do we do when everything crumbles around us?’

Magnatune

Now Faith by Falling You is also on Bandcamp.