Anji Bee

Anji Bee began her broadcasting career in 1996 as a college radio DJ at KUCI 88.9 FM, on the UCI Irvine campus. Her first show, Gloomy Sunday, aired from October 1996 to May 1997. This was immediately followed by another show, The All-Purpose Nuclear Bedtime Story. Bee and her co-host, Justin Johnsen, interviewed a number of underground culture figures on this show, including performance artist/musician/filmmaker, Miranda July, experimental solo artist and former Swans member, Jarboe, and ambient music composer, Robert Rich. Bee worked as KUCI's Music Director and Experimental Music Director, as well as Art Director and Editor of the station's program guide. Additionally she was a music writer for the guide.[1] In January 2000, Bee began an Internet radio program called The Lovely Ladies of Electronica on Live365. She later amended the name to Chillcast Radio with a slight change in music format.

Switching from radio to podcasting, in June 2005 Bee initiated the Chillin' with Lovespirals band podcast. Bee began contributing music and audio comments to the Daily Source Code—the podcast of former MTV VJ, Adam Curry, who had just created the Podsafe Music Network (now known as Music Alley). This association led to a podcasting contract for Bee when Curry founded the PodShow Network (now known as Mevio) with Ron Bloom that same year. Bee has guest hosted two episodes of the Daily Source Code, "Best of Charley #5" and "DSC #524: Adam Loves the Ladies". Curry has said that Bee "has the sexiest voice in podcasting."[2]

In February 2006, Bee launched a new music podcast, The Chillcast with Anji Bee, featuring podsafe chill out music. In December 2006, she joined fellow PodShow podcasters the Rumor Girls, Cali Lewis, Soccergirl, and PodChick to create the group podcast, ShowGirls, which went on to win an award at the People's Choice Podcast Awards presented during the 3rd annual New Media Expo in 2007. In 2007, The Chillcast was added to Adam Curry's PodShow lineup on Sirius Stars 102,[3] Bee created and produced the podsafe music podcast, Unwind, for the Tylenol PM brand,[4] Bee filled in as the female hostess (known as Le SuperAgent 69 and DJette Agent 69) of the electronica music show, Atmosphere69 on Mix96 FM (now known as Virgin Radio),[5] and Bee launched a vidcast edition of her weekly music show, called Chillcast Video, with the debut episode receiving over 200,000 requests.[4] Additionally in 2007, Bee collaborated on the song, "On The Whole," with fellow PodShow podcaster, Mark Yoshimoto Nemmcoff for his comedic satire, Pussy: The Musical.

In 2009, The Chillcast was picked up by 246Live 100.7 FM Toronto for the Sunday morning midnight to 1 am timeslot.[6] Also in 2009, Ariel Hyatt selected The Chillcast as one of her Top 100 picks for the Indie Maximum Exposure List, citing it as "The Largest Podcast For Chillout & Electronica." [7]

In 2011, The Chillcast joined the new Club1 programming block on Nijmegen1 Radio on 107.8 FM in the Netherlands, airing from 4am to 5am each Sunday. Station music advisor, Wessel Rubensky, first discovered Bee via Adam Curry, who was a popular DJ and VJ in the Netherlands.[8]

Over the past decade, Anji Bee has collaborated with a number of independent bands and musicians from all over the world including Canadian composer, Rom Di Prisco (as Bitstream Dream and Machineries of Heaven), Berlin DJ/Producer, Bloody Mary, German band, Chandeen, North Carolina producer, The Grooveblaster, Russian project, The Morphism, San Francisco band, Karmacoda, and Finnish Creative Commons band, Moosefrog. The bulk of her recordings have been with Ryan Lum, of Love Spirals Downwards, under the shortened moniker, Lovespirals.

Bee's music has appeared on television, cable, DVD, and video games, as well as podcasts, Internet radio, and satellite radio, including: The Oprah Winfrey Show, Martha, E!'s Gastineau Girls, the WB's Popular boxed set, The Strand: Venice (by Daniel Myrick of The Blair Witch Project fame), EA Games' Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2, Adam Curry's Daily Source Code, and multiple shows for MTV and VH1.[1][9]

Her vocal style has been compared to Sade,[10] Astrud Gilberto,[11] Elizabeth Fraser,[12] Tracey Thorn and Billie Holiday.[13] Music critic Ned Raggett, wrote in Allmusic:

Bee's singing is a perfect counterpoint, a blend of classic mid-century jazz-pop flow and a bit of '60s cool in a French or Brazilian sense -- some low-key scatting here, some warm, playful crooning there.[14]

• 2002 “Cylkoid” with Rom Di Prisco for Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2
• 2003 “Ragdolls” with Plastic Chair for Different (Chris Garrett Mix CD)
• 2004 “Love Me Leave Me” and “Phantasma” with Rom Di Prisco as Bitstream Dream for Integration
• 2007 “En La Oscuridad” and “New Life” with Moosefrog for Adrift
• 2007 “On The Whole” with Mark Yoshimoto Nemmcoff for Pussy: The Musical
• 2008 “Tomorrow” with Chandeen for Teenage Poetry
• 2008 “Summer Days” and “Whole Wide World” with The Grooveblaster for Cities, Streets & Bebop Nights
• 2008 “Crossing The Pond” and “Favor Tweet” with The CC Asia Band for CABACA
• 2010 “Buddhahood” with Benoit Cassar for Danai, Vol. 2 (CD 1: Camera Rolling)
• 2010 “Que Quiero” with 7 Day Visa for Buenos Aires
• 2010 “Arabesque (Jin Choi Remix)” with Bloody Mary for Arabesque EP
• 2011 “Put Some Music On (Good Times)” and “Smiling” with The Grooveblaster for Out Of The Past
• 2011 “Love Will Turn Your Head Around” with Karmacoda and Beth Hirsch for Love Will Turn Your Head Around - Single and Eternal
• 2011 “Cast Out Of Paradise” with Bloody Mary & SIS for Potluck
• 2018 “Love Me Leave Me” and “Goodbye” refresh version with The Morphism for Living Generation

• Anji Bee's Site
• Lovespirals' site
• Anji Bee on Discogs