Founded by guitarist and producer Masaki Liu, Rivulets and Violets released two albums, first self-titled in 1994 on Eden Records, and Promise in 2000 on Five Minute Walk. Promise contained some lyrics, written by Masaki and Jen Hollingsworth. Musically the album was said to have a simple sound that obscured its hidden layers of complexity, which was attributed to the fact that Liu is a studio whiz.