REB FOUNTAIN BRINGS #1 ALBUM WATER FOR GASOLINE TO AUSTRALIA THIS OCTOBER
★★★★★
"Absolute stunner": 'Water For Gasoline' is Reb Fountain's "best album yet"
Chris Shultz - Boiler Room
New Zealand singer-songwriter Reb Fountain brings her acclaimed new album Water for Gasoline to Australia this October for two special headline shows in Eora, Sydney, Friday 16th October, supported by New Zealand artist Adam Hattawayat Bootleggers and in Naarm, Melbourne, Saturday 17th October at The Curtain with Adam Hattaway and local favourite Dan Kelly.
Water for Gasoline delivers another striking body of work from one of New Zealand's most acclaimed contemporary artists, a record that confronts the challenges of our times while searching for light, beauty and connection amongst the noise. The same artistic instinct and collective spirit that shapes Water for Gasoline has long defined Reb Fountain’s live performances, with her live band taking her recordings to the next level.
The album debuted at #1 in New Zealand, cementing Fountain’s reputation as one of Aotearoa’s most compelling contemporary artists. Recorded live in her home studio over just one week, Water for Gasoline is raw, immediate and deeply human, a record about connection, resilience, love and finding light in uncertain times.
“Almost every song was recorded in one take, live in the room. Water for Gasoline was created in and for our current times… It’s all about connection.” - Reb Fountain
Reb will perform songs from the new album alongside favourites from her acclaimed catalogue, bringing the same intimate, instinctive energy that defines the recordings to the stage.
The album’s title track captures her Dylanesque live-in-the-room approach, while 'Good People', featuring the voices of Tami Neilson and Dianne Swann, is a stirring call for unity, hope and collective action. Other album highlights include the atmospheric 'The Gamble', the aching 'Pass the Bottle', and the delicate 'Swarm'.
'Beautiful Lie', another key track from the album, will be accompanied by a new music video offering another glimpse into Fountain’s distinctive visual and musical world.
Reb views art as an act of resistance. Each song on Water for Gasoline holds its own - at times quiet, others brazen, a call to action - all woven together by infectious hooks, slow jam grooves and Reb’s unmistakable voice. “Bob Dylan thought that you could blow an army off the stage with a guitar and your wits about you. Woody Guthrie believed art should send people into battle knowing what or whom the real enemy was. As Patti Smith says, ‘people have the power’ when they create art as a conscious act. To me, art is all that and an expression of love; a clear sign that the universe is bent towards creation, not destruction.”
Art for art’s sake has become a living mantra for Reb, where "doing the work" of art is all part of daily life. Connection and community are central to Reb’s work, and it is these relationships that have been foundational in the creation of Water for Gasoline.
“I don’t ever feel like I do this alone. My work is a collective project inspired and shaped by my fellow contributors and whanau. We share in the process so deeply and intimately, and I am forever grateful for our relationships. We’ve all chosen this path and get to make music and life together that we make sense of as we roll along. What a gift.”
Strong relationships underpin Reb’s creative process. Water for Gasoline is the fourth Reb Fountain album co-produced by Dave Khan & Simon Gooding & performed by Reb, Dave, Simon & drummer Earl Robertson. The camaraderie and connection at the foundations of Reb’s music resonate clearly in the effortless and joyful undertones of her work. Reb’s daughter Lola Fountain-Best directs and edits Reb’s music videos, her son Kalvin Fountain-Best undertakes photography and artwork, her housemate Arahi Whaanga helps with design, and her pets even feature on the album. Reb’s output is a team effort.
Water For Gasoline delivers another striking body of work from one of New Zealand's most acclaimed contemporary artists. It’s Reb at her most assured and confident. An album for now, confronting the challenges of our times while searching for light, beauty and connection amongst the noise.
With Water for Gasoline, Reb continues to make music that sits somewhere between folk, blues, rock and something entirely her own: lyrical, cinematic and emotionally direct.
Reb Fountain Water For Gasoline Australian Tour
Friday 16 October
Bootleggers, Sydney
with Adam Hattaway
Saturday 17 October
The Curtin, Melbourne
with Dan Kelly + Adam Hattaway
Tickets on sale now via rebfountain.co.nz