Tag Archives: Projekt

Audio, News

Falling You ‘Shine’ feat. Love Spirals’ Vocalists

Once again, Love Spirals Downwards’ former vocalist, Suzanne Perry, and current vocalist, Anji Bee, have collaborated with John Zorko of Falling You. ‘Shine’ is the first of his albums to be released by Projekt, who are offering a limited edition CD as well as a digital release.

On the Projekt website, Suzanne Perry discussed “Until the Stars Align,” her contribution to Shine:

“Creatively, the ingenues that live in John and I connect. Getting a song from him is always surprising as he manages to weave an unexpected intergalactic sounding sound. Sometimes I don’t know what to do with these sounds to be honest, but I’ve grown fond of them and have come to know them as Zorkoesque. What did I think of when creating this song? As it has always been for me, it’s not been about thinking or connecting the sounds to the world as it is in these fleeting moments. But I recall thinking about the night sky. The lyrics for ‘Until the Stars Align’ were written mostly by Cris Miller.”

Projekt.com

Cris Miller, as you may recall, collaborated with Suzanne first in 2004 on a cover of “Sally’s Song” for the Projekt Holiday Single 2 maxi-CD under the name Melodyguild. Also known as Silver Screen, Miller contributed vocals as well as lyrics to the Falling You cut, making him perhaps the first male vocalist featured by John Zorko.

Audio, News

Ardor Remastered Reissue Now On Bandcamp!

Love Spirals Downwards new Bandcamp page is now offering the 2007 remastered reissue of their seminal second album, ‘Ardor,’ Not only does this reissue offer excellent sonic quality, but an extended songlist including two never before released out-takes and a live recording. Plus, it boasts a beautiful new version of the cover art, expanded for the digipac format. Band founder, Ryan Lum,  returned to his master tapes and re-mastered the entire album to ensure the highest sound quality possible. Lum has said that he “always felt the mastering quality was lacking, particularly with ‘Ardor'” and that “compared to the original” the reissue “sounds much cleaner and sweeter.” Indeed, the depth and clarity of the recordings is remarkably improved with greater definition and more sparkle. Buy either the Projekt Records CD or digital download in your choice of audio format on Bandcamp now!

“An album that is compelling, evocative and very, very beautiful.” -Singapore Vogue

Audio, News

Idylls Remastered Reissue Now On Bandcamp!

Love Spirals Downwards have joined Bandcamp at long last, starting off with the remastered reissue of their 1992 debut album, ‘Idylls.’ This 2007 remastered reissue of ‘Idylls’ is much improved in sound quality from the original CD and cassette version, with more sonic depth and clarity. It also features 3 additional tracks, including Love Spirals Downwards first ever recorded song, “Mediterranea,” a live version of “Scattery January,” and a rare extended mix of “Love’s Labours Lost” from the out-of-print “Heavenly Voices Pt. 1” comp. Buy the Projekt Records digital CD or digital download in your choice of audio file format now!

“Like a cloud-ride to a heaven via angelic voices and delicate music.” -Industrial Nation

Audio, News

Projekt Holiday Comp Features New Lovespirals

Check out the brand new Lovespirals recording of an original holiday song by Lovespirals vocalist/lyricist, Anji Bee, for the Projekt Records holiday music compilation, ‘Ornamental‘ — available on double CD or digital download. Love Spirals Downwards band founder, Ryan Lum, returns to his vintage Projekt-era roots with melancholic dream pop guitars and lovely female vocal harmonies. Stream it or download it from Bandcamp or check out the official upload on YouTube.

Continue reading Projekt Holiday Comp Features New Lovespirals →
Review

Echoes Reviews Ornamental CD

John Diliberto of the nationally syndicated radio show Echoes has reviewed the new Projekt holiday compilation CD, Ornamental. Entitled “It’s Christmas. Projekt Gets Ornamental,” reads in part:

There are a lot of post-Cocteau Twins shoegazer ruminations on the album.  Autumn’s Grey Solace … Ashkelon Sain & the Dorian Fields… Unto Ashes… LoveSpirals, who had a couple of my favorite Excelsis songs, (“Welcome Christmas” in their Love Spirals Downwards edition and “Aspen Glow” as LoveSpirals) return with another evocative seasonal song, an original called “Happy Holidays” featuring Anji Bee, who sings it with sophisticated élan,  like she’s casting knowing glances over her shoulder against Ryan Lum’s chiming guitars.

I’ve been begging for musicians to create a different kind of seasonal music besides the rote rendering of the same 25 or so holiday chestnuts over-roasted on an open fire.  Projekt has been fulfilling that since 1995 with Excelsis.  Ornamental takes them in a slightly less gothic and doom-laden mode and makes it a likely pick for the best seasonal CD of 2012, if your tastes in seasonal music heads towards the abyss.

The review, featured in the Program Highlights section of the Echoes website, also includes one of our Future Past band portraits taken by Susan Jennings — a nice surprise!

You can pick up a copy of the 2-CD holiday collection, Ornamental, from Projekt Records.

Audio, News

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).’

News

Idylls & Ardor Reissue CDs on Sale at Projekt

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Projekt is currently offering the recently remastered reissues of Love Spirals Downwards’s first two albums, Idylls and Ardor — as well as the debut Lovespirals album, Windblown Kiss — as part of their 3 for $20 sale. Also included in the list of 84 discounted CDs and other items is the Projekt 100 compilation containing “Kykeon (50 Years of Sunshine Mix)”, which is a rare remix not available on any of the band’s albums. A Dark Noel (in the Excelsis series) ~ 3 — featuring LSD’s shoegazery version of “Welcome Christmas” — is also a part of the sale. This track is also not available on any of the band’s albums. Now would be a great time to fill in your collection!

News

Melodyguild EP Released by Projekt

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The long awaited debut album by Melodyguild — the band of former Love Spirals Downwards’ vocalist, Suzanne Perry — has finally been released. The ‘Aitu’ EP — originally announced in early 2003 — will officially drop June 10th, but it’s available online now via Projekt. This 4-song digipac CD is currently #6 on the Projekt Top 10 – congrats!

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Review

Pop Matters Reviews Idylls & Ardor Reissues

A joint review of our recent remastered reissue CDs on Projekt was posted by Mike Schiller to the Pop Matters website. It’s rather negative towards Idylls, alas, but below are some of the more positive quotes:

You just don’t see bands like this anymore. The whole shoegazing, atmospheric, easy-listening-gothic darkwavy movement has all but disappeared into the night, morphing neatly and quietly into the less laboriously-described genres of folk, rock, and ambient music. In the ’90s you could hardly throw a stone without pelting one of these bands in the forehead…

Love Spirals Downwards always tended a little more toward the “artistic” side of the spectrum of acts in this style. Rather than find the dance beat that would hook the Love Spirals Downwards name into the mainstream, primary instrumentalist Ryan Lum went for a more minimalist approach, more akin to the lighter side of such darkwave stalwarts as Cocteau Twins, Love is Colder than Death, and Projekt labelmate Black Tape for a Blue Girl. There was always just enough percussion to push a song along, and even then, only when that percussion was necessary. Suzanne Perry took a plaintive approach to the Lisa Gerrard-esque habit of nonsense syllables mixed with the occasional intelligible lyric, coming off as ethereal, yet human. Combined, the two made some of the prettiest, if not necessarily the most engaging music in the genre.

Continue reading Pop Matters Reviews Idylls & Ardor Reissues →
Review

Ritual Reviews Remastered Reissue CDs

Projekt send over a review of the remastered reissues of Idylls and Ardor printed in :Ritual:, an Italian underground music magazine covering the dark, gothic, electro, and industrial spectrum. The following is an attempt at an English translation:

The dream pop to rediscover

The Californian duo made up of multi-instrumentalist Ryan Lum and singer Suzanne Perry, LSD remain one of the best-kept secrets of dream pop. Idylls, their debut originally released in 1992, shows a group that is still somewhat immature and repetitive, but already capable of fascinating listeners. The lesson of Cocteau Twins is filtered through solemn atmospheres that recall Dead Can Dance’s Within The Realms…, without neglecting nods to labelmates such as Lycia and Black Tape For A Blue Girl.

It is, however, with the later Ardor (1994) that the group would achieve its small masterpiece, thanks to songwriting that had now matured and allowed for a more varied and personal approach. On the one hand, the more ethereal moments are refined, with some passages that would not be out of place on an album by This Mortal Coil. On the other, a more concrete approach is not shunned, thanks to electric guitars that at times give the music a shoegaze edge.

It is surprising to discover how, listening back today, these albums have aged remarkably well: their original sheen, especially in the case of Ardor, is almost intact. There is nothing transcendental, however, about the bonus tracks added to the reissue — a couple of remixes, a couple of live tracks, and little else. But that hardly matters: anyone who missed them at the time will have no more excuses.

Tony Aramini