INTERVIEW: Reb Fountain releases new album 'IRIS': "I didn’t set out to write a record, rather find a way to communicate something essential amidst a global landscape where everything is material"
Image: Marissa Findlay
Award-winning New Zealand singer-songwriter Reb Fountain today releases her new album IRIS. Fountain has a remarkable ability to draw you deep into her music in a way that is utterly immersive and almost takes you outside of yourself, and IRIS is no different. There is a beauty and warmth to the songs which always carry an intangible sense of otherworldliness which adds to their charm.
Whilst Fountain’s musical roots are in noir folk-punk, IRIS carries a wide range of soundscapes, including the gentle 1980s indie-synthpop of ‘Invisible Man’, the dramatic piano and strings ballad ‘Fisherman’, the ethereal, sparkling, acoustic guitar folk track ‘Swim To The Star’, to the soaring vocals and lush pop sounds of latest single, title track ‘Iris’.
Since her return last year with Reb Fountain, her first album in 3 years, Fountain’s long career has never been stronger. This year she won the Taite Music Prize, was shortlisted for the Silver Scroll Award for her song ‘Don’t You Know Who I Am’, and her self-titled album was nominated for five New Zealand Music Awards. It feels like Fountain has truly come into her own in the past two years, creating the strongest, most creative and confident music of her career and her music is truly a joy to experience. We recently caught up with Reb to chat more about the creation of IRIS.
Hi Reb! It’s such a pleasure to chat with you again. How is everything rolling in the world of Reb Fountain right now?
Here in Tāmaki Makaurau we are in lockdown, which is a little surreal. First day of lockdown I dropped a heavy speaker on my foot and crushed my big toe and was stuck in a moon boot. Out of the boot now but a tree branch fell on my head a couple days back and I’m a tad concussed. The good news is my new record IRIS is out and it makes everything better.
Congratulations on the release of that album. IRIS really is such a beautiful album. How does it feel to have it out in the world?
I’m grateful for the opportunity to have made IRIS and sharing it with folks now is seriously a full circle moment.
In Greek mythology, Iris is the goddess of the rainbow and also a messenger to the gods. How did her story inform the creation of the album?
Iris the goddess is a bridge between worlds and with this record I wanted to cultivate that sense of connection between the human and mythological. In saying that I didn’t set out to write a record at all, rather find a way to communicate something ‘essential’ amidst a global landscape where everything is material. I guess in many ways I sought to create my own hero’s journey; mapping mythology with my own story and doing my best to create an archetypal narrative in song. IRIS provided me an opportunity to speak my unspoken, to reflect what I have seen and experienced from within and to bear witness.
You created this album during lockdown and have said throughout that period you made an effort to write a song a day to remain productive and grounded. As a creative person, did you find it a struggle to create when you didn’t have the usual aspects of a musician’s life - a live crowd, fellow artists, and just the world in general - around you to motivate and inspire?Writing a song a day was a huge challenge in itself only exacerbated by being stuck at home, but lockdown also created the space for me to dedicate myself to writing in a way I wouldn’t have or couldn’t have otherwise chosen to. Inspiration comes from all places and sources not just social interaction, however when being insular and self-reflective got tiresome – which was most days - I was information gathering wherever I could in order to connect on a more human scale. It’s easy to get lost in one’s own story but far more interesting to me to explore the connections and commonalities we share with others. I listened to news, podcasts, music, read books, mags and went down google rabbit holes, watched movies, talked to friends and family on the phone about politics and life. Strews of paper, countless exercise books with pages torn, notes on my phone, scribbles on the back of envelopes, lists in my head; writing at least a song a day over a month period felt like I was swimming in lyrics and phrases. IRIS was pieced together from these fragments.
As with a lot of your work, there is a really eclectic soundscape on this album, with elements of pop, folk and rock with many of the songs taking sonic twists and turns. Was there a particular sound or feel you were aiming for when creating the album?
IRIS was an opportunity to harness the band’s live sound in conjunction with these newly formed tunes. The album’s foundation is really our band connection, which makes the sound distinctive from my last record. The soundscape is heavily influenced by Dave Khan’s instrumentation – he sonically supports my songs to have room to grow and flourish. I tend to write irrespective of genre which means the collection of songs are quite diverse but the sound of the band unifies them into what for me is a beautiful and cohesive collection.
In September 2020 my band, along with co-producers Dave Khan, Simon Gooding and I, all headed down to Sublime Studios in Waitaki for two weeks of full immersion recording. Sublime is a destination studio in an isolated part of New Zealand - you wake up in the morning to sheep nibbling grass at the foot of grape vines, sprawling countryside and crisp air, dog walks up the river where the dogs chase, and often catch, a rabbit or possum before heading back to fresh chook eggs, homemade sourdough and one of the most unique studios in the country to record in.
We all needed to get away and focus on our work but we also needed connection and togetherness after such an isolating time. The stillness of the countryside and the intense focus we had making the music was just what we needed; a sweet oscillation in opposition to our journey thus far in the pandemic. The space we found at Sublime and the tight-knit connection that we held was intricately woven into the fabric of IRIS during the writing, production and recording process. I can hear this space and the tension of isolation and connection in IRIS … it’s like a map to a time of transition, where anything is possible.
One of our favourite tracks is ‘Invisible Man’, which has this fascinating mix of 1980s pop beats, piano, rock beats and a vocal that at times is gorgeously feather soft and gentle. Can you talk us through the story behind this one?
Like many during lockdown, I found solace walking the deserted streets at dusk. No cars on the road, I soared around the round-about like I was a car … ‘driving’ around too many times for the fun of it, hand signal out, hooning down the middle of the road. Bob Dylan’s new song ‘Murder Most Foul’ had just been released and after listening many times on my evening strolls my friend Dave Khan suggested I should write a song called ‘The Invisible Man’. It came to me as I was veering off the roundabout heading home. In that moment I knew how it felt to be trying to hold onto something that wasn’t there, trying to hunt for some place that couldn’t be found, trying to love someone who didn’t want to be loved. ‘Invisible Man’ is an ode to the endless quest; catching shadows, missing ghosts, aiming for something that’s better than nothing only to find that you want it all. I wrote much of it in my head on that walk, even the guitar parts, however it had two other sections that I eventually erased and rewrote as the chorus. We wanted the music to reflect both the tip toe and the dance hall, the stillness of lockdown dusk and the hustle, bustle and fury of our post covid lives. I love the production on this track as it hints to the extended dance mix that is our collective experiences of late.
The album ends with ‘Intermission’ which has a folk-country feel teamed with throwback synths and has lyrics which seem very appropriate to the situation our world is in right now - ‘this is just an intermission…this is how we make it out alive’. Again, can you talk us through the story behind this one, and was it always going to be album closer?
When I listen to ‘Intermission’ I imagine I am walking into an old theatre – one that doubles as a movie theatre, with velvet curtains, ticket stubs and dim lighting. It’s like a Lynchian portal; a space where we exist in transition. It’s stoned and mystical and full of potential. It’s anti-anthemic and a homegrown sing-a-long all at once. Dave was adamant it was the last song on the album – a ray of optimism and a doorway to our next great adventure.
Your music videos for the singles released from IRIS have been so fantastically creative and compelling. How important is that visual side to your music?
I am really grateful to Lola [Fountain-Best] for partnering with me on my music videos - we are not a high budget outfit so in many ways our videos are created through limitations – it’s a great challenge for us. As much as possible we like to use film as a medium however this isn’t always an option. Often we are making it up on the spot or making the best out of a less than ideal situation … its character building. I enjoy the process of making videos but our aim isn’t ever to create a concrete caricature of the song, more to offer an impression, like an imprint or reflection. I’d make music videos for every song if I could … they’d also probably be blockbusters or indie films … instead we just try and have a good time.
The pandemic has been so destructive to the music industry, what do you want to see happen to help get live music back on its feet again, and what can fans to do help support artists?
We’re all in this together and in that way I feel there’s a collective responsibility to care for one another. I want punters to feel supported and safe and to be able to make an informed choice about their participation in events. I want my band and team to feel safe to do their work and connect with audiences. The pathway to creating safe places to enjoy music is health and safety policies that enable us to entertain and be entertained with certainty and limited restrictions. I’m keen for promoters, venues, artists, crew and government to create policy that values the creative arts and the communities that engage with it. I hope this will allow us all to connect over live music again soon. We have to think about others to ever make it out alive.
IRIS is out, what else is on the table for Reb Fountain in 2021 and into 2022?
To be fair I want to get the fuck out of dodge as soon as we can. I miss touring so much - we have a tour booked for NZ and are planning to head to Australia in 2022 as much as we can … can’t wait to see you at a show round the bend.
IRIS is out now via Flying Nun Records across all platforms. You can also buy the album on vinyl, coloured vinyl and CD.
To keep up with all things Reb Fountain you can follow her on Instagram and Facebook.
Album cover image: Steve Wheadon
