Melbourne-based musicians Mindy Meng Wang 王萌 and Tim Shiel have released the new single ‘Mirror Flower 镜花水月’. It’s the pair’s first new music as a duo since 2021’s Nervous Energy 一 触即发. The song’s English title, ‘Mirror Flower’, is taken from the Chinese phrase 镜花水月. The phrase’s literal translation is, “Flowers in the mirror, moon reflected on the water,” which speaks to the fleeting nature of beauty.
The track is distinguished by Mindy’s guzheng playing and Shiel’s refined electronic production. “As we were making this song, I felt immediately like the melody was so pretty, that it was almost too pretty to be true,” said Mindy.
Mindy Meng Wang 王萌 & Tim Shiel – ‘Mirror Flower 镜花水月’
‘Mirror Flower 镜花水月’ comes with a music video courtesy of director Nick Mckk (Julia Jacklin, Ferla, Elizabeth). The video stars Malaysian-Australian dancer Tony Yap, an improvisational dancer whose style is rooted in Asian shamanistic practice.
“Tony’s practice is mainly in trance dance – he improvises his movement, reflecting on his feelings and thoughts in that moment,” said Mindy. “In this video, it was fascinating to see his reflection in movement to our music. His dance is so captivating and has that same quality of 镜花水月 – it only happens in that moment, it blossoms in the moment, and he can never revisit that same exact thing again.”
‘Mirror Flower 镜花水月’ is out now via Music in Exile, a not-for-profit record label based in Melbourne/Naarm, which also released Nervous Energy 一 触即发. Mindy Meng Wang 王萌 and Shiel will head to the UK in May for their first shows outside of Australia – details here. Future Australian tour dates are expected to be announced at the conclusion of the UK trip.
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