Reb Fountain
{{Short description|New Zealand folk singer}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=June 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Reb Fountain
| image = Reb Fountain - 52900829371.jpg
| image_upright = 1.2
| caption = Fountain at the Great Escape in May 2023
| birth_name = Rebecca Fountain
| birth_date = {{Birth month and age|1973|06}}
| birth_place = San Francisco, USA
| genre = {{hlist|Folk|rock|pop|country}}
| years_active = {{hlist|1990|2006–2009|2017–present}}
| label = Independent, Flying Nun Records
| past_member_of = The Eastern
| website = {{URL|https://rebfountain.co.nz/}}
}}
Reb Fountain (born June 1973) is an American-born New Zealand singer and songwriter known for her genre-defying blend of alternative folk, country and pop-rock music.
She first rose to prominence as a teenager, when she was labelled the "best voice to come out of Christchurch" in 1990. She subsequently disappeared from the music scene until the release of her 2006 debut album Like Water, and its 2008 follow up Holster. She stepped away from her solo career for close to a decade, before returning with her 2017 album Little Arrows.
A major breakthrough came in 2020 after signing with Flying Nun Records and releasing the self-titled Reb Fountain; the album went on to win the 2021 Taite Music Prize, as well as nominations for the Silver Scroll and five Aotearoa Music Awards.
She released her fifth studio album Iris in 2021, followed by How Love Bends in March 2025.
Early life and education
Reb Fountain was born June 1973 in San Francisco, USA. Her parents were hippies who raised her in a music-centred, liberal Christian community she describes as "like a full-on Woodstock hippie situation." At 6 years old, she moved to New Zealand in 1979,{{Cite web |last=Findlay |first=Marissa |date=2021 |title=Reb Fountain on self-realisation, storytelling and new album Iris |url=https://www.metromag.co.nz/arts/arts-music/reb-fountain-on-self-realisation-storytelling-and-new-album-iris |access-date=2025-06-23 |website=Metro |language=en}} sailing into Lyttelton Harbour aboard the Oriana after her father, John Fountain, took up a role as a professor of economics at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch.{{Cite web |date=2019-10-18 |title=Singer-Songwriter Reb Fountain's Bright New Direction |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/viva/culture/singer-songwriter-reb-fountains-bright-new-direction/MBD3JJC2UYH2DAWLG3AJS2TCHY/ |access-date=2025-06-16 |website=NZ Herald |language=en-NZ}}{{Cite web |last=Winder |first=Virginia |date=13 March 2020 |title=Reb Fountain's ready to let the music flow at Womad 2020 |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/news/120206774/reb-fountains-ready-to-let-the-music-flow-at-womad-2020 |access-date=2025-06-23 |website=Taranaki Daily News}}
Fountain comes from a long line of migrants; her grandmother had immigrated from Ukraine to Canada, before walking across the border into the United States. Music was an important part of her childhood, and her family used music to connect with other migrant families. She began singing with her parents from a young age and received her first guitar at 5 years old.
After her parents' divorce when she was 9, her relationship with her mother became fraught as her new step-father was an alcoholic and physically abusive. She changed schools numerous times and struggled with depression and an eating disorder. From 13, she started performing live at cafes and open mic nights, inspired by her childhood attending the Whitecliff's Family Music Festival on country singer John Grenell's farm; she found solace in pairing her "melancholic poetry" with music, calling the ability to express herself through songwriting "a lifeline". At 15, while a student at a co-ed boarding school in Colorado, she was briefly committed to a suicide prevention institution for disclosing historic self-harm attempts to her teachers. Following her discharge, she returned to New Zealand to finish her schooling at Hagley College.
Career
= 1990–2006: Immaculate Sun and further education =
At 16, she joined her first band Immaculate Sun, and played regularly around Christchurch and Dunedin. As a finalist in 1990's Battle of the Bands contest she was labelled "the best voice to come out of Christchurch in ten years".
Describing herself as "deeply shy", the 16 year old Fountain began relying on liquor to qualm her performance anxiety.{{Cite web |last=Vegar |first=Sam |date=2018 |title=Feature - Reb Fountain – The Passage Of Time |url=https://nzmusician.co.nz/features/reb-fountain-the-passage-of-time/ |access-date=2025-06-23 |website=NZ Musician |language=en}} At 17, after she began drinking more heavily and mixing alcohol with prescription medication, she was admitted into an alcohol rehab clinic at Queen Mary Hospital in Hanmer Springs. She was asked to leave before completing treatment as she refused to leave an "inappropriate" relationship, and although the twelve-step program didn't resonate with her, she stopped drinking and credited the experience for helping shift her perspective on life.
After leaving the clinic, she travelled with her boyfriend to London briefly, before settling and getting married in California.{{Cite web |title=Reb Fountain |url=https://flyingnunaustralia.com/collections/reb-fountain |access-date=2025-06-23 |website=Flying Nun Australia |language=en}} Soon after, she was hospitalised from two grand mal seizures, leaving her unemployed without a driver's licence. Unable to work, she decided to return to a career in music, and moved to Seattle, Washington, to study jazz singing at the Cornish College of the Arts. Moving to Seattle proved pivotal for her, describing it as the first time she took herself seriously as a musician, and that the opportunities to perform with other musicians helped build her confidence.
At 23, after her marriage ended, she moved back to New Zealand.
= 2006–2009: ''Like Water'' and ''Holster'' =
After returning to New Zealand, she began working on her first album with her brother Joel, a prominent jazz drummer. Work towards the album was slow; she had also entered into a new relationship, had two children, and studied a BA and Master's degree at the University of Canterbury. She said the process of creating the album "wasn't at all organised or thought out", and recorded a "shiteload of songs", with the ones finished first making it onto the album.{{rp|at=12:15}}
Like Water was released in 2006 on her own label, Fountain Records. Critics noted the album's versatility, with some tracks drawing comparisons to Bic Runga, while others were described as ranging from "alt-country to edgy skater-rock". Although it was well received critically, it didn't find commercial success.{{rp|at=13:40}} Following its release, she moved up to Auckland, where she described feeling like an outsider as her record "wasn't commercial enough". She performed live regularly, but never felt she'd reached the sense of success she'd been hoping for.{{rp|at=13:40}}
In Auckland, she met "kindred collaborators" Dylan Storey and Sam Prebble. The pair joined her for her live shows, performing together as "Reb Fountain and The Bandits". Storey and Prebble were both accomplished musicians in their own right, and the three of them would often collaborate on each other's projects and live performances.{{rp|at=17:00}}
They continued working with her to write and record material for her second album, Holster, released in 2008 through her label.
Following Holster
= 2010–2013: The Eastern and collaborations =
Fountain continued to work on new material with Storey and Prebble, including recording songs that would eventually become Little Arrows. During the recordings, she began feeling "really despondent" and lost her motivation for the album. Having left an abusive relationship, she was also struggling financially; as a solo mother, her kids had reached an age that made touring difficult.{{rp|at=14:45}}
Despite nearly finishing the album, her struggles with depression and multiple crises left her "[un]able to function", and she stepped away from her solo work due to a lack of confidence.
In 2012, Nick McGrath and Jess Shanks, knowing of Fountain's struggles, invited her to join their Christchurch folk-rock band The Eastern as a background vocalist. She would also go on to perform background vocals for British-New Zealand singer Finn Andrews, and collaborate with a diverse range of musicians, including Tami Neilson, Don McGlashan, Marlon Williams, Steve Abel, and Neil Finn.
= 2014–2017: ''Hopeful & Hopeless'' and ''Little Arrows'' =
In 2014, she was convinced to record a live EP, Hopeful & Hopeless, by her friend and owner of Auckland's Wine Cellar; it was one of her last collaborations with Prebble, before his suicide a month later on 23 October 2014. Fountain, who had known and collaborated with Prebble for over a decade, was left devastated by his death and struggled with survivor's guilt. For a long time afterwards, both Fountain and Storey found themselves unable to revisit the unfinished works.
She credits performing night after night with The Eastern for helping her "get over [her] own shit" and "saving" her. As she rebuilt her confidence, she began to re-engage with her own music again.{{rp|at=22:40}}
In 2017, she released her third album, Little Arrows, and the previously recorded live EP Hopeful & Hopeless, both through Fountain Records. She describes the works as "two sides of the same coin", thematically dealing with her journey as a migrant and musician.
Both releases were well received critically, and Hopeful & Hopeless went on to win two awards at the New Zealand Country Music Awards, and earned Fountain the Best Country Artist award at the 2018 New Zealand Music Awards.
= 2020: ''Reb Fountain'' and Save Our Venues campaign =
In May 2020, Fountain had a major breakthrough with the release of her self-titled album, Reb Fountain, marking a significant "stylistic shift" to pop, away from her earlier folk and country sound. In a move described by critics as her "Second Coming", it was her first release with Flying Nun Records under a new record deal. The album's planned tour was postponed until the end of 2020 due to COVID-19; in October, she toured as the opening act for Crowded House's 13-date To The Island tour.
The album received critical acclaim, and went on to win the 2021 Taite Music Prize, was short-listed for a Silver Scroll for "Don't You Know Who I Am", and was nominated for five Aotearoa Music Awards, including Album of the Year, Best Alternative Artist, and Best Solo Artist, and technical awards for Best Album Artwork and Best Engineer.
== Save Our Venues campaign ==
In 2020, after speaking with friends who owned the Wine Cellar and Whammy Bar in Auckland, Fountain became concerned many live music venues would not financially survive COVID-19 lockdowns. Fountain began the Save Our Venues campaign, which grew with support from other New Zealand artists including The Beths, Marlon Williams, and Tiny Ruins. The campaign raised $50,000 within its first 24 hours, and eventually raised over $500,000 in support of 30 independent venues across the country. Many venues, including Hamilton's Nivaro Lounge and Napier's Cabana, credit their survival to the campaign.
= 2021: ''Iris'' =
File:TGE 2023 Day 1 - Reb Fountain (52891550680).jpg, 11 May 2023]]
During the 2020 lockdown, Fountain and her band decided to isolate together at a studio in Waitaki Valley, Otago, to begin recording her next album. During the lockdown, Fountain's co-producer David Khan challenged her to write a new song every day.{{Cite web |title=Reb Fountain {{!}} Artist |url=https://www.flyingnun.co.nz/collections/reb-fountain-artist |access-date=2025-07-01 |website=Flying Nun |language=en}}
Fountain released her Flying Nun sophomore album, Iris, in October 2021. Her planned tour was postponed due to a head injury she suffered five days prior to Iris
Mojo gave the album four out of five stars, calling Fountain "New Zealand's next alt-folk sensation", and in 2025 Rolling Stone featured it in their list of "Top 80 Best NZ Albums of the 2020s", praising her as "one of New Zealand's most consistent lyricists".{{Cite web |last=Lochrie |first=Conor |date=2025-06-26 |title=The 80 Best New Zealand Albums of the 2020s So Far {{!}} Reb Fountain, 'Iris' (2021) |url=https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/80-best-new-zealand-albums-of-the-2020s-so-far-78646/reb-fountain-iris-album-78708/ |access-date=2025-07-01 |website=Rolling Stone Australia |language=en-AU}}
= 2025: ''How Love Bends'' =
In March 2025, Fountain released her sixth studio album, How Love Bends.{{Cite web |last=Reid |first=Graham |date=2025-03-17 |title=Recommended Redcord: Reb Fountain: How Love Bends (digital and vinyl) |url=https://www.elsewhere.co.nz/music/11437/recommended-record-reb-fountain-how-love-bends-digital-and-vinyl/ |access-date=2025-07-07 |website=Elsewhere |language=en-nz}}
Personal life
Fountain raised two children as a solo mother, and would often bring them with her when busking around Auckland. Her son, Kalvin Fountain-Best, is an artist and photographer who has designed artwork for some of her releases, and her daughter, Lola Fountain-Best, is a writer and director who has filmed numerous music videos for Fountain, including 2021's "Beastie" and "Lacuna", and 2025's "Forever" and "He Commands You to Jump Into The Sea".
Fountain has spoken candidly about her mental health and her past struggles with alcohol abuse, depression and self-confidence.
Discography
= Albums and EPs =
{{Table alignment}}
| class="wikitable defaultleft col2center col3center col4center col5left"
|+ ! rowspan="2" |Title ! rowspan="2" |Release ! colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" |Peak ! rowspan="2" |Details |
| style="text-align: center;|NZ |
|---|
| style="text-align:left"|Like Water
|2006 |— |— |
|
| style="text-align:left"|Holster
|2008 |— |— |
|
| style="text-align:left"|Little Arrows
|2017 |36 |7 |
|
| style="text-align:left"|Hopeful & Hopeless (EP)
|2017 |— |5 |
|
| style="text-align:left"|Reb Fountain
|2020 |3 |2 |
|
| style="text-align:left"|Iris
|2021 |3 |1 |
|
| style="text-align:left"|How Love Bends
|2025 |6 |1 |
|
| colspan="5" style="font-size:90%" style="text-align:center"|"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
= Singles =
- "Don't You Know Who I Am" (2020)
- "When Gods Lie" (2020)
- "Hawks & Doves (Tali remix)" (2021)
- "Beastie" (2021)
- "Lacuna" (2021)
- "Iris" (2021)
- "Heart" (2021)
- "Psyche" (2021)
- "Invisible Man" (2021)
- "Faithless Lover" (2023)
- "Happy Xmas (War Is Over) (cover)" (2023)
- "How Bizarre (cover)" (2024)
- "Come Down" (2024)
- "Forever" (2024)
- "Nothing Like" (2025)
- "City" (2025)
- "He Commands You To Jump Into The Sea" (2025)
- "How Love Bends" (2025)
- "Ring Ring" (2025)
Awards and nominations
| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ !Year !Award !Work(s) nominated !Category !Result ! scope="col" class="unsortable" |{{Abbr|Ref.|References}} |
| 2009
|"January's Well" |{{{longlisted}} |
| rowspan="4" |2018
| rowspan="2" |New Zealand Music Awards |Little Arrows |{{Nom}} |
| Hopeful & Hopeless
|{{won}} |
| rowspan="2" |NZ Country Music Awards
|Herself |Best Country Music Artist |{{won}} |
| "Hopeful and Hopeless"
|Best Country Song |{{won}} |
| rowspan="4" |2020
|"Don't You Know Who I Am" |{{shortlisted}} |
| rowspan="3" |Aotearoa Music Awards
| rowspan="3" |Reb Fountain |{{Nom}} |
| Best Solo Artist
|{{Nom}} |
| Best Alternative Artist
|{{nom}} |
| rowspan="2" |2021
|"Hey Mom" |{{shortlisted}} |
| Taite Music Prize
|Reb Fountain |Taite Music Prize |{{won}} |
| rowspan="6" |2022
|"Iris" |{{shortlisted}} |
| rowspan="3" |Aotearoa Music Awards
|Iris |{{Nom}} |
| "Lacuna"
|{{Nom}} |
| rowspan="3" |Iris
|{{Nom}} |
| Rolling Stone NZ Music Awards
|Best Record |{{Nom}} |
| Taite Music Prize
|Taite Music Prize |{{nom}} |
| 2025
|"Come Down" |{{Nom}} |
References
{{reflist|refs=
<-- BACKGROUND -->
{{cite web |last1=Girling-Butcher |first1=Victoria |last2=Shute |first2=Gareth |date=5 June 2020 |title=Reb Fountain - Profile |url=https://www.audioculture.co.nz/profile/reb-fountain |access-date=16 June 2025 |website=AudioCulture |language=en-nz}}
{{Cite news |title=Unchained Melody |last=Monk |first=Felicity |date=2009-07-19 |url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57db61218419c224b3be7d0b/t/57f8c97c20099e80cdfdf829/1475922307261/UnchainedMelody_SM_0719.pdf |work=Sunday Star Times |at=supp.p.14-16 |publication-place=Auckland, NZ |via=FelicityMonk.com |issn=1172-9740}}
{{Cite web |date=2017-09-15 |title=NZ Live: Reb Fountain |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/nzlive/audio/201858705/nz-live-reb-fountain |access-date=2025-06-23 |website=RNZ |language=en-nz}}
{{cite web |last1=Bollinger |first1=Nick |title=Reb Fountain: on tours, traumas, and finding her voice |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/544168/reb-fountain-on-tours-traumas-and-finding-her-voice |website=RNZ |language=en-nz |date=8 March 2025}}
<--
Like Water -->
<--
BANDITS -->
{{cite web |last1=Easton |first1=Paul |title='Outstanding' musician Sam Prebble remembered |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/10663624/Outstanding-musician-Sam-Prebble-remembered |website=Stuff |access-date=24 June 2025 |date=25 October 2014}}
{{cite web |title=Sam Prebble Obituary |url=https://notices.nzherald.co.nz/nz/obituaries/nzherald-nz/name/sam-prebble-obituary?id=42113699 |website=The New Zealand Herald |access-date=24 June 2025 |date=27 October 2014}}
<--
IRIS -->
<--
Little Arrows -->
{{cite web |last1=Bollinger |first1=Nick |title=Little Arrows by Reb Fountain |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/thesampler/audio/201855831/little-arrows-by-reb-fountain |website=RNZ |access-date=30 June 2025 |language=en-nz |date=23 August 2017}}
{{cite news |last1=Alexander |first1=Mike |date=22 October 2017 |title=Reb with cause |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/music/97334435/reb-with-a-cause |access-date=16 June 2025 |work=Sunday Star-Times |publisher=Stuff Ltd.}}
<--
IRIS -->
{{Cite magazine |date=2021-11-01 |title=Reb Fountain |magazine=Mojo |last=Aston |first=Martin |url=https://www.pressreader.com/uk/mojo-uk/20211101/page/89 |page=89}}
<--
AWARDS-->
{{Cite web |date=1 June 2018 |title=Auckland musician sweeps country awards |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/104390721/auckland-musician-sweeps-country-awards |access-date=2025-06-24 |website=Stuff}}
{{cite web |title=Six60 wins big as Marlon Williams takes top gong at NZ Music Awards |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/stories/2018671365/six60-wins-big-as-marlon-williams-takes-top-gong-at-nz-music-awards |website=RNZ |access-date=25 June 2025 |language=en-nz |date=15 November 2018}}
{{Cite web |last=Dinsdale |first=Mike |date=22 August 2020 |title=Troy Kingi among five finalists in APRA song of the year award |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/northlands-troy-kingi-among-five-finalists-in-apra-song-of-the-year-award/EELKYFSHAHVAKPEFF5XJIBNRB4/ |access-date=2025-06-24 |website=NZ Herald |language=en-NZ}}
{{Cite web |date=15 July 2021 |title=Silver Scrolls 2021: NZ's best songwriters revealed |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/silver-scrolls-2021-troy-kingi-sid-diamond-reb-fountain-and-the-beths-announced-as-finalists/MHZPGPT4U6SLAJRB47P26TJNQI/ |access-date=2025-06-24 |website=NZ Herald |language=en-NZ}}
{{Cite web |last=Jack |first=Amberleigh |date=21 July 2022 |title=Marlon Williams and Reb Fountain among artists up for 2022 APRA Silver Scroll Award |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/music/300641998/marlon-williams-and-reb-fountain-among-artists-up-for-2022-apra-silver-scroll-award |access-date=2025-06-24 |website=Stuff}}
}}
External links
- {{Official website|https://rebfountain.co.nz/}}
- [https://www.flyingnun.co.nz/collections/reb-fountain-artist Reb Fountain] on Flying Nun Records
- {{Bandcamp|id=rebfountain|name=Reb Fountain}}
- {{Discogs artist|artist=Reb Fountain}}
- {{MusicBrainz artist|mbid=624bdd2d-3ca3-4283-83b5-841f7d28aad5|name=Reb Fountain}}
{{Authority control|qid=Q118347398}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fountain, Reb}}
Category:Aotearoa Music Award winners
Category:Cornish College of the Arts alumni
Category:Flying Nun Records artists
Category:New Zealand country singers
Category:New Zealand folk musicians
Category:New Zealand pop singers