Born out of a shared love for improvisation and experimental music, Maxwell Brown and Huiming Wu‘s 花溪 Flowerstream delivers a unique blend of sounds patiently worked up in their home studio. Performing sometimes as a four-piece band, the sound of Flowerstream is relentlessly evolving. Toby Powell learnt more of their process and plans.

Guzheng, a Chinese plucked zither, and drums are the centre of Flowerstream’s new EP ‘Flowers Dream’, which includes Procrastination Inspiration, their debut single release. Whilst their published catalogue remains small, the eclectic range of live shows the Tāmaki Makaurau duo/band perform illustrates the diversity of their sonic palette.

On ‘Flowers Dream’, Brown and Wu explore recording and electronic processing in various ways, integration of the guzheng especially bringing unique textures and dynamics to their sound. Across the six tracks built up in their home studio their different initiatives weave together into a cohesive and explorative project. Brown looks after most of the production as well as playing drums, while Wu provides bass, guitar, guzheng and lead vocals.

Though collaborative, much of the work is done independently. Airtalk is one of the first full songs that Wu has written.

“I wrote the song and chords, then I gave everything to Max and he added drums, bass, keys, and a little bit of electric guitar. I just trusted him with everything and it turns out great,” she smiles.

Flowerstream’s music comes across as very deliberate. They may improvise and adapt instrumentation, but the outcome is finely crafted.

“You think, ‘I like this song, so I want to make it as good as I can,'” says Brown. “Then it’s just a continuous process of listening to it, thinking, ‘This could be better.'”

“We work by doing a lot of experimentation with the way we record and just the production stuff until we are both happy about it,” Wu explains. “Actually, when we first recorded Airtalk we tried recording in our little bathroom because it has reverb in the space, and yeah, did we end up using any of the vocal tracks from the recording?”, she wonders amid laughter.

“No!” Brown answers brightly. “We really wanted to have the big keys and bass, kind of like this more dream pop-type vibe, and getting the acoustic guitar to match was way more difficult than I imagined. We experimented a lot, and that song sounded really different like a year ago – or longer – than it ended up coming out.

“We’ve been improvising together for a long time – we have the studio here but we also, in our dining room, have a little drum kit and bass amp. During lockdown we jammed bass and drums like every day, but just for like 20-minutes or something. Then when we got the guzheng we played heaps but didn’t have pick-ups for it, so I had to use the little quiet drumsticks.

“When we got the pick-ups in the guzheng that changed the improvising because Huiming could be loud and I could be loud as well. Drums sound really different when you can actually hit them! So we’ve been jamming for a long time but the sound has been changing the whole time as well.”

Originally with only microphones to capture the guzheng’s acoustics, now they employ a blend of bass and guitar pick-ups, as well as a piezo, Brown explaining the piezo used on its own picks up vibrations from his kick drum. Often the instrument is further shaped by pedals before being sent to multiple amps and the desk, allowing Wu to experiment further.

“I can make it sound more doomy and heavy, I can also make it sound more psychedelic. It gives me more choices, and adds more dynamics to our live sets.”

“It’s cool,” Brown enthuses. “Amplified guzheng sounds pretty unique already, and then when you add pedals it sounds kind’a like guitar, and kind’a like bass, but not quite like either. The guzheng gets a lot of sustain because it’s just these notes ringing out, so when you add distortion and reverb and stuff it makes it sound really huge, like an organ sometimes. Even for us, without an audience, it’s really fun making these sounds and experimenting.”

To celebrate the release of the ‘Flowers Dream’ EP they planned a string of shows as a full band, with Brayden Jefferies playing bass and Leea Lamatoa on keys.

“Up until relatively recently Wu has been playing bass, but since we’ve added more stuff she shifted over to guitar and is focusing on singing more. We haven’t played live with keys that much, but in the recording process it’s an important part of the sound – it makes everything really full. Leea is amazing as well, it definitely helps to have talented friends.”

The pair will soon head to China to tour as an improvisational duo, with a travel-size guzheng in tow. Wu is looking forward to it.

“We are excited about showing our music to Chinese audiences, but also we’re excited about listening to other Chinese underground, independent artists, because we don’t really have the opportunity to hear more music made by Chinese artists here.”

“I think representation is just so important, you know?” Brown adds. “Especially when you’re starting out as a musician. It just helps to find people that are relatable.”