Who is Anji Bee?
I am a vocalist and lyricist, as well as a podcaster and vidcaster. Additionally I am a visual artist and writer. Some say I am “the sexiest voice in podcasting.”
You are the singer of Lovespirals, can you give a brief introduction to the band?
Lovespirals is the collaboration between myself and Ryan Lum, who previously recorded music with other vocalists under the extended moniker, Love Spirals Downwards. Over the years, the band has evolved quite a bit and attracted a wide array of listeners from all over the world.
How did you and Ryan Lum meet and what made you decide to start this band?
I first became aware of Ryan through his music in the early 90’s. Projekt sent me his albums to review for my fanzine. The first time I actually met Ryan was at a His Name Is Alive show. One of the guys from Dewdrops Magazine introduced us, but sadly I was more interested in talking to Warren Defever about doing an interview after the show to pay Ryan much attention. We met again at a Projekt party, and that was when our friendship started to bloom. The idea of us collaborating came up a few years later, when I was interviewing him on my radio show and he mentioned he was working on a side-project of jazzier electronica music. We didn’t work together right away, and only did a handful of songs over a 2 or 3 year period, but something clicked in 2001 and we suddenly started working on our first album together. The music was really different from his dance songs I had recorded vocals for, and we were both really excited about what we were coming up with together.
Besides being a singer you have been active in the music scene for a long time both with magazines and as a DJ. Originally you studied to be a designer; what appeals to you so much about music that it made you drop out of school and basically make it your job?
You know, music was really always my #1 love. When I was a kid I was under the mistaken assumption that one would have to study music and voice from a young age in order to be in a band. I guess that’s because music was so different in the 70’s; everything was so professional back then. The way the music business is these days, its much more obvious that anyone can make music and get it out to the world. I tried learning guitar a few times during my school days and I actually wrote some songs, but I didn’t try to form a band until much, much later. And I didn’t take myself seriously really until I started working with Ryan. I’ve grown a lot in our time together as Lovespirals.
Both Lovespirals as you have been part of the gothic scene, do you still consider yourself to be part of this scene or did it became too limited?
Its fair to say that Ryan and I were both drawn into the Gothic scene more from outside forces than from either of us feeling truly at home there. We both have fairly sunny dispositions and a laid back approach that lends itself more easily to the Dream Pop side of Ethereal music. The band never really marketed itself as Gothic, either now or back with the old singer - in fact most early interviews found the band trying to distance themselves from the Goth misnomer. These days we don’t really go to the clubs or follow the new music coming out, aside from stuff our old Goth friends are doing. Right now we’re trying to decide if we should accept Sam’s offer to go play ProjektFest 2010 or not. One the one hand it would be great to see old friends, but on the other we feel like we’ll stick out like sore thumbs with our new music.
In the past you have done vocals for Chandeen, how do you look back on it. How did the collaboration go and do you still follow them?
The Chandeen collaboration began some years ago, when Harald emailed us asking Ryan to contribute to a side-project modeled on This Mortal Coil. I offered to add some vocals to a piano demo he shared with us. Time went by, but the collaboration never surfaced and eventually Harold contacted me to say he wanted to include my track on a new Chandeen album. I was happy to see it finally released, though I have to admit that I was disappointed that my song is a “hidden” track, rather than its own song. You can’t find it on iTunes unless you already know its there.
How would you describe the music of Lovespirals these days?
That’s a toughie! It keeps changing all the time and I haven’t really been able to find a genre name that really suits us perfectly. Right now we’re using Downtempo as our genre, but our last album we were calling Dream Pop. In reality, each album is filled with a myriad of styles, not only from song to song, but within the songs themselves. Some of the descriptors for our sound are: smooth, soulful, sensual, and dreamy. Many people have said we create “baby-making music.”
What are the strongest points of Lovespirals music for you?
My favorite parts are usually the guitar solos, surprisingly. I’m a real sucker for Ryan’s guitar. Our music is based on the vocals and guitar lines, or the vocals and keyboard lines, so that is where the strengths lie. Its the interplay between my voice and his lead instrument that really form the songs. Of course I am also partial to my vocal harmonies, because they are so fun to write and record and often create magical moments in the songs.
The music is a mixture of influences and styles, yet the outcome is Lovespirals; is it hard to combine all these things into a unique style?
Honestly its just something that happens naturally. We never sit down and plan to create something in a certain style. What you hear is just the product of the two of us messing around in the studio, trying different things out. Since Ryan is the only musician of our duo, most of it is really his doing. I suggest things from time to time, but he’s the one putting in the long studio hours to craft out the sounds and melodies of the music.
You have just released your new album: “Future Past” Can you explain the album title for us?
It was inspired by the working title of the final song of the album, “Believe.” The opening line is, “Looking into the future through the eyes of the past.” I had titled the song “Future Past” in my journal, but later changed it to “Believe” since the word is repeated throughout the song. But the original title was evocative and it seemed to describe the retro flavored sound of the album fairly well.
Do you believe your future is built on past experiences or do people have control over their future?
The past is built of our present actions every bit as much as our future will be, so both things you said are true.
How are the comments on the album so far? I read many good reviews, I bet some made you blush?
The comments have been amazing and really affirming. We felt that this was a strongest effort thus far, so we were thrilled that people seem to agree with our assessment. I’m not sure how we’re going to follow this album up, but hopefully new inspiration will strike and we’ll end up feeling that our next album is our best. I guess ideally you always want to feel that your most recent work is your best. As for blushing, I’d have to say the comments of Beth Hirsch most thrilled me because I’ve looked up to her work for some time. I was also really tickled by many of the things B of Karmacoda has said both publicly and privately about this album.
What inspires you in writing lyrics? They seem to be lyrics that many people can relate too, is this important for you? What makes a lyric a good lyric for you?
I think the best lyrics are the most personal, honest lyrics. When they are written too generally, the emotional impact suffers. The trick is to write something deeply personal yet not so specific that it sounds obscure to someone else. I’m always striving to bring more poetry into my words, as well, because I often admire songs with that quality.
How do you create lyrics, do they come spontaneously or do you have to sit down and work on them? Some people say writing lyrics is hard work while others say, it is a gift, what do you think?
Its always different. Sometimes I think of words when I’m going about my day, and other times I think of them when I hear Ryan noodling around on guitar or keyboards. Many of the lyrics for Lovespirals were written months or years before, either to other music or no music at all. Sometimes I write the whole song at once, other times I just write one part and then have to come up with other parts later. Other times I’ll take two different lyrics and combine them to become one song. Usually I will end up editing and perfecting the lyrics over time, but not always. As for “Gift VS Work”, I would have to say it’s a bit of both!
For many years you are doing podcasts, what is so challenging and fun in doing it?
Like I said, music is my #1 love, so its super fun to continually discover new music. I love figuring out which songs sound good together and how best to segue from one track into another. Its been a natural transition for me, from making mixtapes, to becoming a college DJ and then an Internet DJ - the obvious next step was becoming a podcaster! I enjoy the voiceover work, too. And getting to promote the music of bands I enjoy is a great honor. Becoming friends with some of them is even better.
Over the years you must have seen music evolve, what are the biggest changes in music you have come across?
I guess the main thing is what I touched on earlier; as a kid it seemed that musicians were all really well trained, seasoned professionals. Guitarists played amazing solos and singers had incredible, natural vocals. These days, most of the music you hear on the radio is synthetic. Voices are all pitch corrected and auto-harmonized with so much production that they don’t even sound human anymore. Guitar is minimized and often reduced to power chords and texture. Keyboards are all controlled by midi and half of the sounds are simply samples. People have forgotten the craft of songwriting and instead worship the cult of celebrity based on appearance and novelty. Its sad.
If you could throw a dime in a wishing well and do a wish, what would you wish for?
You’re not supposed to say, or your wish won’t come true!
What will be next for Anji Bee and Lovespirals?
I’m working on several collaborations and side projects right now, some of which Ryan is also involved with. We’re also thinking about doing more live shows to promote our new album.
Any last words for the readers?
Follow your dreams, attempt the impossible. Perhaps your ideas aren’t as crazy as they seem! Oh and please visit www.lovespirals.com for much more from the band and www.anjibee.com for my podcasts, vidcasts, and musical side-projects. :D
www.anjibee.com