Image: Steve Wheadon

New Zealand’s Reb Fountain has today announced she will release her new album IRIS on October 1, accompanied by the immediate release of the second single from the album ‘Beastie’.

‘Beastie’ is a smooth, slinky song that marries pop melodies with an irresistible soul-jazz swing. ”In ‘Beastie’, I wanted to explore and disrupt tales and tropes that separate ‘others’ from our ‘selves’,” Fountain explains. “It’s easy to relegate evils to the ‘shameful past’; harder to confront our own current inhumanity, especially if one’s identity comes with benefits or losses. I wanted my eyes open and to speak in solidarity with resistance . . . and to give folks a chance to join in chorus . . . for in the absence of resistance we are complicit — rather than revert to a destructive default, I want to make a conscious choice for equity, justice, community, and love.”

Fountain also releases the music video for ‘Beastie’ today. Directed by Lola Fountain-Best and featuring Fountain and her band, the one shot video was filmed at Everybody’s restaurant in Auckland and explores the many different selves that make up each of us.

IRIS, preceded by ‘Beastie’ and May’s ‘Heart’, will be the follow-up album to Reb Fountain released last year. The album, written during 2020’s lockdown, promises to be a continuation and growth of the noir-pop, alt-folk soundscape Fountain has explored over the last 12 months. “Writing a song a day to keep myself grounded and productive during lockdown, IRIS provided me an opportunity to speak my unspoken, to reflect what I have seen and experienced from within and to bear witness,” she explains. “Iris is in many ways an unsung hero, known as the goddess of the rainbow, sea and sky, she acts as bridge between the gods to humanity with little of her own story known. So many stories go unheard, so many aspects of our humanity are unsung; visibility is a contested and inequitable space where what is essential, and of beauty, is often ‘invisible’. I wanted and needed to give voice to this essential human spirit; to conjure and hold and commune with the very real, valid and invaluable voices within and around me.”

Reb Fountain is an artist that never fails to create warm, all embracing music that has an ethereal, other-worldly feel to it - in the best possible way - that takes you out of yourself and provokes reflection and rumination. IRIS is an album to greatly look forward to later this year.

‘Beastie’ is out now via Flying Nun Records. You can download and stream here.

IRIS will be released on October 1 via Flying Nun Records on both black and turquoise vinyl, CD and digitally.. You can pre-order and pre-save here.

To keep up with all things Reb Fountain you can follow her on Instagram and Facebook.