The April 2nd “100% Podsafe” issue of iProng Magazine features an interview with Anji discussing Lovespirals, going podsafe, getting into podcasting, music licensing, live performance vs studio recording, and much more. Also included this issue is a great article on eMusic vs Amazon downloads, interviews with fellow podsafe artists Geoff Smith and Natalie Gelman, and an article with Rich Robinson of the Black Crowes, who released their new single to the Podsafe Music Network.

100% PodSafe Edition, iProng Magazine Artist Feature on Lovespirals

For someone who isn’t familiar with Lovespirals, how would you describe it to them?

Interview by Isobel Geo for Fiber Online, Oct 26, 2003

ISOBEL: What changed in the Lovespirals sounds with your entrance in 1999?

ANJI: The sound was already evolving in 1998, moving towards something more jazzy and funky than previously. Ryan was working with Doron Orenstein, a trained jazz saxophonist, when I joined. Adding my jazzy and soulful vocals helped to further that evolution. As we continued to work together, my song writing style brought a poppier edge to the music. The biggest change I brought to the band was that I encouraged a more collaborative song writing technique.

ISOBEL: The last album was ‘ Windblown Kiss,’ released last year, so what’s the new Lovespirals’ plans for albums, tours, or remixes?

ANJI: We’ve been writing and recording new songs ever since we finished touring for Windblown Kiss, and are about half way done with an album now. Soon we need to start preparing a new live set that includes all of these new songs. Right now we’re getting together files for a remix competition of our new song “Walk Away” that PeaceLoveProductions will be putting on. We are currently seeking a label to release our next album, as well as looking into possibly doing them ourselves.

Here’s a partial transcript of the interview Tom Schulte did with Anji recently on his Internet radio show, for those that aren’t able to stream audio. Outsight is a featured archival broadcast of the Music Sojourn site so go listen to it if you can!

Tom: Been enjoying ‘Windblown Kiss.” Been playing it for the audience here. Ya happy with it?

Anji: Yeah, yeah it turned out a lot differently than probably people might have expected, but… You know, we kinda started out one way… at first we were working on a trip hop song, and then we wrote, uh, the first song, “Oh So Long,” and we realized that we were kinda on to something a little different. We just kinda went with it. Made kind of a rock album. With jazz. 

Tom: Yeah, definitely, and, um, some sort of flamenco, soul, folk touches — it’s beyond retro, it’s almost vintage at times.

Anji: Yeah, you know what? I’m actually really into vintage styles, I guess you’d say. I love antique furniture and vintage clothes, and I listen to a lot of old albums. I think that rubbed off on Ryan while we were making the album.

Interview by Shaun Hamilton

Chain D.L.K.: So what lead to the breakup of the Love Spirals Downwards project and the birth of Lovespirals? Was it the evolvement of the music or from other factors?

Anji: It’s just been a natural progression, really. The first song created by Ryan and I that came out on CD was a [drum and bass] remix of “Bittersweet” for Claire Voyant, which they [Metropolis Records] credited on the album as “Love Spirals Downwards.” That was in late 1999, early 2000, I forget exactly. By 1999 we had already recorded a few songs, so when Temporal was being assembled, we discussed including one or two of our songs with the older LSD stuff. 1999-2000 was a very transitional time. We weren’t totally sure where we were headed yet. Ryan was still very immersed in the DJ scene then, so the stuff we were working on was 10 minute dance tracks – pretty unsuitable as album material. It wasn’t really until 2001 that things clicked into place for us, as far as the album goes.

Chain D.L.K.:How did you two meet and start working on music together?

Anji: We met a few times at different places in LA. We first started talking at a little Projekt party, which both of our bands were invited to. Then we got to know each other more through a series of appearances he made on KUCI, for both my radio show and other DJs’ shows out there. One afternoon he had me come over to his studio and he showed me a few new songs he was working on. One of those became the instrumental, “Beatitude,” and the other eventually turned into “Love Survives”. The first song he had me do vocals on, though, was the club track, “Ecstatic”, which just has a little “oooh ahhh” sample. There were a lot of starts and stops when we first started working together; we were really plagued by computer problems and personal issues.