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
Last week, Ariel of Cyber PR selected The Chillcast as one of her Top 100 picks for the Indie Maximum Exposure List under Category 6- Online Resources (Where to Submit). This is an incredibly thorough list of resources for the independent musician with advice from a number of different people including Derek Sivers (founder of CDBaby), Jed Carlson & Lou Plaia (Reverb Nation), Tom Silverman (New Music Seminar & Tommy Boy) and, of course, Ariel Hyatt.
#80: The Chillcast: The Largest Podcast For Chillout & Electronica
The Chillcast is a weekly music podcast featuring hand picked podsafe music hosted by Anji Bee, vocalist of Lovespirals. Anji Bee is a Southern California vocalist, lyricist, podcaster and vidcaster. Anji’s podcast gets tens of thousands of downloads per show and Anji is always looking to discover great new artists in the genres listed.
Lovespirals band founder, Ryan Lum, proclaimed that the band’s last album, Long Way From Home, would be the final one to come out on CD. But response to such claims in interviews and the band podcast, Chillin’ with Lovespirals, was consistent amongst fans; they want a physical product, not just a digital one. So the band scrapped their plans to release one or two digital-only EPs per year and returned to their original format, the full-length album. This time around, however, the eco-conscious duo decided to do their homework before going with their usual compact disc manufacturer. The resulting packaging is one that the fans are sure to love, and that the band can feel good about. Future Past will be Lovespirals’ first digipac, printed on 100% recycled stock with 100% recycled plastic trays, printed with vegetable-based inks and coated with water-based biodegradable varnishes. You can hear Ryan and Anji talk about the CD packaging — and hear a clip of the opening song from Future Past — on Chillin’ with Lovespirals #70.
'Future Past' by Lovespirals available on CD Nov 2009
Please add yourself to the official Lovespirals newslist to stay informed of release date, news, events, and specials. Check out the video section to view in-studio clips of the band at work on the new album.
Have you seen the Xtranormal site yet? It allows you to select from various characters and backgrounds — including your choice of gender and language — then animate them using various actions and expressions. Type in what you want them to say and how you want them to say it — even choose which camera angle — and the site turns your script into an animated video. It is way too fun! I had heard of it somewhere, but once I saw it in action – via a video by Ryan Coseboom of Stripmall Architecture, I knew I had to try it out.
“… Now my sad little cubical is filled with beautiful tunes!”
What the heck? Here’s my first movie, about the new Lovespirals album. I think it’s pretty cute, anyway.
“Is Lovespirals that old Goth band?” “No. They are so not Goth.”
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.
My fangirl status has just reached another high today as I am in the Fan Spotlight on the official site of Laker guard, Sasha Vujacic. OMG! As of today, when you visit vujacic.net, you will see my little face TWICE on his homepage; once for said spotlight, and the other for the Ask Sasha A Question area, which I posted about previously. I’m not sure if this makes me a stalker or a good news source, but either way, it is a thrill to play a small part on my favorite player’s site. Of course, this is actually my third time making the news on Sasha’s site. I was also one of 3 “Vujachicks” features in an article called Sasha Spirit showing various fans holding up signs for Sasha at Lakers games. Please read my Sasha Vujacic Fan Spotlight interview and feel free to leave a comment there on the site.
Cynthia Hall gave The Chillcast a nice little writeup in her Australian-based lifestyle blog this week.
WEEKEND CHILLOUT
Your iPod is full of surprises. Last week, you carelessly set it to shuffle and mid-candle lit dinner, Olivia Newton John began demanding that you get physical.
While you’re always open to suggestions, here to better maintain your evening’s mood are Anji Bee’s Chillcasts.
… kick back this weekend to a mellow mix of internationally diverse downtempo, deep house, world beat and electro tunes to sooth your soul.
