Come enter Sony’s ACID Planet remix contest for Lovespirals! Remix the duo’s song, “Feel So Good,” from the 2010 album, Future Past. Download a zip file with a folder of official song stems including Anji Bee‘s main and backing vocals (both dry and with Leslie Rotary Speaker effect) and Ryan Lum‘s phased electric guitar, Fender P bassline, and Hammond organ line, plus a folder of 20 Sony bonus loops consisting of “Organ Donor” organ lines and “What Is It” basslines. Sony is also offering a free download of ACID Express which contestants can use to create a remix if they like. One grand prize winner will receive a copy of ACID Pro, 5 ACID loop libraries and all 4 Lovespirals albums on CD, plus the opportunity to be included on a new remix single for “Feel So Good.” Get started now, you’ve got until DECEMBER 28TH, 2010 to enter!
Personally, I’ve been thrilled by the interactions I’ve had with musicians and other vocalists working within the CC format, and have no problem with making some of my work available under the Attribution-NonCommercial license. In 2007, I contributed vocals to 2 songs on the Creative Commons free download album, Adrift, by Moosefrog and in 2008, I contributed vocals to 2 songs on the massive CC Asia Band project, CABACA. I have since made several other vocals and spoken words available on ccMixter.
The brand new 7 Day Visa album, Buenos Aires, includes one track featuring Anji Bee. “Que Quiero” is a lovely reworking of a Creative Commons collaboration with Moosefrog from 2007, originally titled “En la Oscuridad.” Jamahl Richardson of 7 Day Visa (and The Shanghai Restoration Project live band) created a completely new arrangement of Bee’s Spanish language lyrics set to his original music, which was inspired by his recent trip to the cosmopolitan capitol of Argentina. Wistful, dreamy, and sensual, this chillout tune is sure to set your mind wandering with memories of warm, lazy days filled with the vibrancy of Summer. Other special guests on this album include German Alejandro Pla, Joseph Allan Johnson, Matthew Szemela, and Lucas Cantor. You can check out “Mano y Mano (ft. Matthew Szemela)” on The Chillcast #224: Chill Favorites. 7 Day Visa also produced two excellent remixes for the recent Lovespirals release, Love EP, both of which you can download free from Lovespirals’ Bandcamp Page. You can also check out the Chillcast Artist of the Week feature on 7 Day Visa for the album, Tokyo, which includes a free download of “Sakura Stroll.”
Lovespirals is the musical project of musician, Ryan Lum, and vocalist, Anji Bee – your humble Chillcast hostess… The first single from our fourth album, Future Past, to get the full remix treatment is “Love” – an atmospheric drum ‘n’ bass tune that recalls some of our earliest work together. A half dozen producers from totally different musical schools of thought set my poppy yet ethereal vocals to completely new musical scores. From angular drum ‘n’ bass, to lush downtempo, to atmospheric ambient music, this moody collection covers a lot of sonic ground. Chillcast listeners should be familiar with most — if not all — of the contributing producers which includes: Chill Factor-5, 7 Day Visa, Divasonic, Soul Whirling Somewhere, Falling You, and Xurba.
You can download each individual track from LastFM (mark you favorite remixes with “Love This Track”) or Bandcamp. Or you can download the entire EP — which includes the original album version of “Love” — in one click for just 99¢ from Lovespirals’ Webstore or Lovespirals’ Bandcamp Page — the later of which offers you the chance to pay whatever amount you deem fit. Both Bandcamp and LastFM have built-in social media tools that allow you to easily repost links to emails, Twitter, Facebook, and other services with the “Share” pull down menus, so be sure to tell a friend! Podcasters, DJs, Internet DJs, and music bloggers are all encouraged to share these tunes with their audiences, as well. If you’re feeling the love, please write a review of the Love EP on iTunes, Amazon Mp3, or CDbaby — even if you did download it free elsewhere. Lovespirals would appreciate you giving us a little love in return. 🙂
There’s lots of new Anji Bee tunes in the works with a variety of musical collaborators, and I’m pretty excited about everything that’s going on! First and foremost, I’d like to officially announce that I am currently in the process of recording the first Anji Bee branded album. Woot! After a decade of releasing one-off singles containing my lyrics and vocal arrangements with various artists from all over the world, I thought it was high time I collected together all of my favorite ideas into one perfected package. You can expect to hear many of your favorite tunes from over the years, plus some brand new tracks co-written with my longtime musical partner, Ryan Lum, of Lovespirals. We’re working more closely than ever to bring my songs to life in the most polished versions possible. You have no idea how hard it is for me to keep these tunes under wraps…
Aside from this massive project, I have also contributed vocals/lyrics to new songs by Falling You, The Grooveblaster, and Karmacoda for their next albums. I also have a new single with Nick Murray, called “Have I Known You,” coming out on Loverush Digital this summer. I understand there will be several remixes by other dance music producers on the single, but I don’t know who yet! And speaking of remixes, several new ccMixter-related songs have come out recently using my vocals from the CC Asia Band project. One of these was just released on a 2-CD set by Buddha Bar DJ, Benoit Cassar, for the 2nd installation of his compilation series, Danai. “Buddhahood (ft. Anji Bee)” is included on Danai, Vol. 2 (CD 1: Camera Rolling), available now on iTunes, eMusic, and Amazon. Then there’s the “Floating Buddha Mix” by ccMixter producer, Vo1k1 of “Crossing the Pond,” which is a free download. The final collab I’d like to mention is an amazing rework of my vocals from the 2007 song, “En La Oscuridad,” that I recorded for Creative Commons band, Moosefrog. Jamahl of 7 Day Visa created a very sexy new version called “Que Quiero” for his new album, Buenos Aires, due out this summer.
And last, but not least, I’ve been wrapping up work on a big remix project for Lovespirals which should see the light of day in a few weeks. The ‘Love EP’ will contain remixes by a variety of indie artists (and friends) including Chill Factor-5, Divasonic, Xurba, 7 Day Visa, Falling You, and Soul Whirling Somewhere. This is a very unique remix set which moves between upbeat dance mixes and moody ambient versions of this track from Lovespirals’ new album, Future Past.
To celebrate the release of Lovespirals’ new album, Future Past, San Francisco electronica act, Karmacoda, are hosting a very cool Happy Hour event at Harlot. Featuring a Chillcast DJ set, Lovespirals meet & greet and short acoustic set, plus a full Karmacoda performance, this is one party you won’t want to miss! Ryan and Anji will also be on hand to autograph eco-friendly digipacs of Future Past (and their previous 3 albums, as well.) This will be the first time Lovespirals have performed live in San Fran, and their first public performance since 2006, not counting their late-2007 virtual concert in Second Life. This is a very special night and we hope you’ll be there to share it with us! Be sure to arrive early as this event starts promptly at 7pm and ends at 10pm. Please spread the word on Twitter, Facebook, and your favorite social media sites.
FEBRUARY 26th, 2010
7 pm to 10 pm
No Cover, 21+
Harlot
46 Minna Street
San Francisco, CA 94118
415.777.1077 www.harlotsf.com
Lovespirals first Future Past single, “Shine” has won the Garageband Reviewer’s Pick Award for Best Female Vocals in the Alternative Pop genre for this week. This is an ongoing contest judged by site users, primarily musicians who are also participating in the contest held by this unique i-Like owned music site. Songs are judged in an anonymous fashion, with the reviewer having no information about the track other than the soundfile itself until after they have rated it and posted their review comments.
Quite a haunting song. Nice mood with the Rhodes, and the female singer has a sexy voice which works really well when layered. Reminds me of the French band Air. Good sound, well done.
Kieran Moore
Visit Lovespirals page on Garageband to read all the reviews thus far, as well as to stream or download “Shine” for free. You can also check out more Lovespirals songs, including the multiple-award-winning “Love Survives,” which won Track of the Day and Track of Week twice each, and currently holds #16 Best Female Vocals of All Time in the Electronica Genre.
Shine Wins Garageband Award for Best Female Vocals in Alternative Pop Category
You can now buy Lovespirals’ brand new album, Future Past, exclusively from the Lovespirals webstore! This gorgeous 6-panel eco-friendly digipak includes all of Anji Bee’s song lyrics plus beautiful photography by Susan Jennings and original artwork/design by ithinkitsnice. The CD itself was replicated using real-time glass mastering and vintage CD manufacturing equipment for audiophile-class sound, care of Groove House Records. Anji (and Ryan) will personally autograph your copy if you request it, PLUS you’ll receive an immediate digital download of the album when you purchase the CD directly from Lovespirals. In keeping with this green release, the band are packaging orders in non-bleached mailers made of 90% recycled content (50% post-consumer). You can read more about the Future Past eco-friendly packaging in an earlier blog post. Future Past will also be distributed via Projekt Records, CD Baby, Amazon, iTunes, eMusic, Rhapsody and all the usual online music sources, but the band wanted to make the album available to fans as soon as possible. As an independent band, it is difficult to schedule simultaneous release on all platforms, so those will be trickling in over the next few months. Please join the Lovespirals mailing list to keep up with the latest news and events.
Future Past by Lovespirals released by Chillcuts Digital Media
Lovespirals are in the final stages of producing their 4th full-length album, tentatively titled, Future Past. The 11 songs comprising this new collection include some of the band’s most ambitious work to date. Band founder, Ryan Lum, has achieved what he feels is truly a big-studio sound in his private home studio. His attention to detail in sound design is born of a true love of the craft, and he’s been perfecting these skills since his first indie release, Idylls, back in 1992. Lum has updated his musical equipment and recording system quite extensively since Lovespirals’ 2007 album, Long Way From Home. This might be most noticeable to the listener in the range of guitar and keyboard sounds used on this album. In addition to the Rhodes piano and Hammond organ featured in the past, Lum has enhanced his vintage keyboard palette with analogue synth and string machine sounds. And guitar tones too have been pushed into new future retro sonics, utilizing both vintage and modern boutique guitars, tube amplifiers, and effects pedals.
Ryan Lum strums acoustic guitar in Chillcuts Studio
Band vocalist, Anji Bee, who began collaborating with Lum in the early 2000’s, has also worked hard to improve upon her sound and performances. Armed with a new microphone, cabling, and preamp, she has pushed her voice to new heights, exploring diverse vocal territory. From deep, sultry rhythm and blues soulfulness to bright, ethereal breathiness — and all points in-between — from a single voice to a 3-part harmony; Bee is the vocal equivalent of a one-man band. And lyrically, Bee has dug deep to unearth some of her most revealing and intimate lyrics yet. Though her song topics have always touched upon more than personal relationships, the abundance of such fare in the past has led critics to label Lovespirals as purveyors of “love songs.” Bee feels confident that will not be the case this time. Interestingly, the two songs most obviously tied to romance are not ballads, but upbeat numbers; “Feel So Good” is soulful funk with a distinctly retro feel, while “Love” is an atmospheric drum ‘n’ bass song, reminiscent of the duo’s earliest work together.
Anji & Ryan of Lovespirals listening to a fresh take
Not that this new album is wholly composed of electronica vibes; on the contrary. Lovespirals have achieved a fine balance between their various influences, including moody classic-rock ala Pink Floyd or Fleetwood Mac; groovy late-period Motown soul & funk; bittersweet electropop in the vein of Air or Zero 7 — with a sprinkling of sensual slow-burning blues, and a dash of the soaring ethereality that the band has long been known for. Somehow Lum and Bee are able to take such disparate elements and combine them into an easily identifiable sound that can only be described as “Lovespirals.” Though it’s hard to label their music for today’s highly genre-defined culture, Lovespirals are not concerned. The joy of independent music is that it is not bogged down by marketing research and sales strategies; it exists because of the creator’s love of music. And Future Past is certainly a labor of love for Lovespirals.
Anji Bee in Chillcuts Studio working Lovespirals’ new album
Ryan Lum in Chillcuts Studio working Lovespirals’ new album
Please add yourself to the Lovespirals newslist to stay informed of release date, news, events, and specials.
Jazzy chillout artist, The Grooveblaster, is working on a new album and is once again collaborating with me on a sensual electro-lounge tune. I thought I’d share a video snippet of me working on the vocals here in the Chillcast studio. The song is tentatively titled, “Put Some Music On.” Release date is unknown at this time, but you can be sure you’ll hear it on The Chillcast just as soon as it is available!
While you’re waiting, be sure to pick up our summer-themed single from last year, “Summer Days,” if you haven’t already. That track plus Grooveblaster’s remix of my big Lovespirals‘ single, “This Truth,” and another original song called, “Whole Wide World,” are all available on the 2008 album Cities, Streets & Bebop Nights on iTunes.
