Interview: Six Questions For Reb Fountain

Reb Fountain begins her unmissable nationwide tour this weekend, promising keen ears a sneak peek at new music in between tracks from her Tui award winning back catalogue. Having worked alongside swathes of New Zealand country and pop icons, including but not limited to Neil Finn, Marlon Williams, Don McGlashan, Finn Andrews, Tami Neilson and Julia Deans, this time round the Tāmaki Makaurau songwriter is shining a light on her own works of folk. Before setting out, Fountain took the time to answer a few prying questions from UTR assistant editor Annabel Kean, sharing industry insights and not revealing anywhere near enough about the time she performed at a Smurf convention…

Undertheradar proudly presents...

Reb Fountain

Saturday 12th October - The Wine Cellar, Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland
Thursday 17th October - The Dome, Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival, Tūranganui A Kiwa / Gisborne
Friday 18th October - Cassels Blue Smoke, Ōtautahi / Christchurch
Saturday 19th October - St Peters Hall, Paekakariki
Sunday 20th October - Cannon Heath, Hauhau Pounamu, Carterton 
Wednesday 23rd October - Victoria Spiegeltent Hawkes Bay Arts Festival, Heretaunga, Havelock North 
Thursday 24th October - Carrus Crystal Palace Tauranga Arts Festival, Tauranga Moana / Tauranga
Sunday 27th October - Leigh Sawmill, Leigh

Tickets available via BanishedMusic.com

1. You have toured a massive amount during your career. What do you do in between shows to recuperate? Or are you just a total extrovert?

Extrovert? no way. I love touring and performing for sure but also love being at home with my dogs and kids. Another thing i miss on tour is cooking, there’s nothing like making a Mexican feast for friend and family mmm.

2. Where has been your favourite place in New Zealand to perform? Bonus: Where has been the strangest?

Favourite is The Wine Cellar in St Kevins arcade, Rohan [Evans] is a true guru and spiritual leader in NZ music and The Wine Cellar is the centre of it all. As for the strangest, I once got booked to play at a Smurf fan convention, I didn’t read the emails properly so showed up to play solo at what I thought was just a standard gig, but literally every one there was painted blue!

3. In my extensive research I came across a Juice TV interview you did circa 2008 and you talked about getting bored of one genre and moving onto the next one. How do you feel about that idea now? Any plans to create a metal album?

Yeah I totally still feel that way. I love to discover new music and delve right into it, this gets reflected in the music I make of course. Recently I’ve been totally obsessed with Belafonte Noir and I would absolutely love to write some songs in that style.

4. Who’s a band or artist you’re excited about at the moment?

Oddly enough I’ve been listening to Pusha T (and some of his older stuff as Clipse). I really know nothing about gangsta rap and realise I’m not exactly the target audience but I’m still inspired by lyrical dexterity and masterful production.

5. As someone who’s had a lot of experience in the NZ music scene, how have you been affected by gender disparity in the industry? And have you noticed any difference now compared to ten years ago?

Well, this is a complex question to unpack. I have seen a real shift in awareness about gender disparity in the music industry over the past decade, however I’m not totally sure that increased consciousness has turned in to real change yet.

6. What’s the story behind your next album? Or do you even approach an album like that, with a common narrative running through it?

This next record is not really based of a narrative as such. However, the songs were all written over a relatively short period and they have some common threads. As a writer I want the listener to decide and interpret what those threads are you know? I love the fact that a song I’ve written can mean one thing to me and a totally different thing to someone else and we’re both right!