Reb Fountain Releases New Album ‘Water For Gasoline’ + Announces Tour
“We made a record a few months ago in my garage studio. I wrote the songs in the weeks before we recorded. Almost every song was recorded in one take, live in the room. Water for Gasoline was created in and for our current times and that same imperative has driven us to share it today. It’s all about connection.” – Reb Fountain
Written within the turning of a moon, recorded in a week and released three months later, Reb Fountain’s Water for Gasoline is immediate, mythic, memorable and the real deal. Water for Gasoline stands as a message of hope, resilience and the fight for love.
As if all roads were leading to this, Water for Gasoline captures Reb’s artistic energy and creative instincts as they unfold. Reb leans into her experience, her relationships, and her every day, creating an album that feels like a reflection of ourselves and sounds like we are part of her story. Water for Gasoline is made for the present moment.
Join Reb & band as they bring this ever evolving art work on tour in Aotearoa this October.
Water for Gasoline – The Album
Water for Gasoline reminds you of the vitalness of art and the meaning of your own song. It feels like pressure unleashed; so wild it is slow and free and timeless. Reb says,
“There was so much going on, in my life and in the world. I felt so pent up that when the flood gates opened the process was clear and unwavering. But making this record wasn’t instantaneous … It was steeped in years of experience, connection, community and a conscious choice to make art and meaning.”
Water for Gasoline is music made from the stuff of things. Reb’s songs are epics; allegories for love and life, as real and present as they are metaphor and memory. She mines herself and the world around her for meaning and music. When she says “I am the water, I am the gasoline”, she speaks of herself, of all of us, of all things.
“I don’t know how people cope without art to express how it feels to be in the world. Art feels essential to me … not easy, but an instinctive way to make sense of myself and the going on.”
Art is a catalyst for change and in these unprecedented times Reb feels the weight of this increasing pressure as an artist, a mother and a member of our global community. Learning from those that have gone before she looks back to see forward … even at herself. In Water for Gasoline, Reb calls on Good People to “tear the fascists down” beckoning the arm of Woody Gurthrie to her side. She “asks for water but is given gasoline” chanting alongside Howlin’ Wolf. Sam Hunt ‘passes the bottle’ and she passes it back full of the voice of the poem; bouquet heavy with experience.
Voices of heavyweights heard and unheard linger in Water for Gasoline; the influences and inspiration of legends are imprinted in song, the headlines of the recent press cut through like bedfellows, the beautiful lie lies unsheathed, the gamble is revealed, the grief is so embodied that joy blossoms like red pōhutakawa of summer.
Reb’s confessions are intentional. To weather the storm of daily life and to find a way through – for herself and us all.
Artwork for Water for Gasoline was also guided by the intentional artistic principle of immediacy and connection. Reb had a vision for the artwork being and feeling real; intrinsically human and home made. The symbols represent water and gasoline and are separated by the indigenous inspired, time for change symbol used to show support for transitioning away from fossil fuels. Rising before dawn, the cover artwork was shot by Kalvin Fountain-Best in the mists of a Tāmaki Makaurau on 120mm film. All the photography for the cover was taken with the design work in mind. The emblematic coloured water and gasoline symbols on the Special Edition LP were hand painted by Reb and held as an inverted rainbow sign, known as the Peace Flag used in demonstrations against nuclear weapons. This was framed and photographed so it would shine through the window of the embossed die cut symbols forming the cover. Reb’s hand written font completes the artwork compiled by Arahi Waanga.
Water for Gasoline – The Single
The title track of the album, Water for Gasoline, is released today along with a music video filmed in Reb’s garage studio where the album was recorded. Directed by Lola Fountain-Best & filmed by Joe Curtis the video features Reb & band at work.
“Water for Gasoline is old school, folk, blues; the ink was still fresh on the page when we recorded it live, in one take at my home studio. “How come we’re asking for water and getting gasoline’, is a question I ask myself on a daily basis.”
Imagine a seeker heads on an anti-hero’s journey in a world dripping in oil. Water is a metaphorical and literal antidote to the gasoline she finds herself wading in. And yet we are the water and the gasoline. So how does she navigate and choose her path and what does she uncover about herself and the world along the way? Reb’s answer is the song Water for Gasoline; a sprawling lyrical allegory fit for all times.
In Water for Gasoline you can hear the players holding fast; creating a landscape akin to the ocean wave; rising and falling as Reb’s performance shifts and sways. This is because that is literally what Reb & band were doing. Recording in one room together, with no headphones or amplification for Reb’s voice, they played quietly enough to follow her instincts, her lilts and falls. The music feels like it’s on the edge, holding its breath, swaying in time. The result is a recording that is utterly clear, compelling, nostalgic and out of nowhere all at once.
“Records require different degrees of instrumentation. Our role is to work out how to best present a song. Sometimes lyrics come so thick and fast that the music needs only to lend a supportive hand. We created a landscape that was simple, that allowed us – and affords the audience – the space to be fully immersed in Reb’s lyrical world.” – Dave Khan
Water for Gasoline – The Community
Reb views art as an act of resistance. Each song on Water for Gasoline holds its own – at times quiet, others brazen – 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 resonates 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, 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.
Catch Reb Fountain playing live in stores across Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch this weekend!
Friday 14 August – 6pm @ Real Groovy Records, Auckland
RSVP Here
Saturday 15 August – 3pm @ Flying Nun, Wellington
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Sunday 16 August – 2pm @ Flying Nun, Christchurch
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Water for Gasoline – The Tour
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. In celebration of her new work, Reb brings an enhanced band line up to audiences across Aotearoa and Australia this October, featuring Dianne Swann and James Duncan alongside bandmates Dave Khan & Earl Robertson.
Fans are encouraged to sign up to Reb’s Newsletter via rebfountain.co.nz for early access to Artist pre-sale tickets that go on sale Monday 17 August 12pm for 24 hours or until allocation is exhausted. General Public tickets on sale Wednesday 19 August 12pm from rebfountain.co.nz
Joining Reb in Auckland and Wellington is Otago artist Mads Harrop. After conquering the Student Radio Charts with her single Contagious in 2020 Mads has continued to highlight themes of neurodiversity through her music. Her diagnosis of Tourette’s syndrome in 2019 directly affects her songwriting with her track Hiding in Colour written shortly after her diagnosis to help her through the challenge. Playing with her full band for both shows, Mads is a welcome addition to the tour.
Supporting all other dates in Aotearoa is Young Moon the moniker of Los Angeles born, Nelson based Trevor Montgomery. Over the past decade, Young Moon has released music through respected indie labels Western Vinyl (J Tillman, Dirty Projectors) and Orindal Records (Advance Base, Julia Byrne, Cass McCombs), Their style described as “Cloud Gaze” blends ambient textures, slow-burning melodies, and introspective lyrics.
Reb Fountain Water for Gasoline Tour
With special guests Mads Harrop and Young Moon
Presented by Fountain Records & The Student Radio Network
Tickets on sale Wednesday 19 August 12pm at rebfountain.co.nz
Thu 1 Oct @ Last Place, Hamilton
Fri 2 Oct @ Totara St, Mount Maunganui
Sat 3 Oct @ Dome Cinema, Gisborne
Sun 4 Oct @ Paisley Stage, Napier
Fri 9 Oct @ The Loons, Christchurch
Sat 10 Oct @ Pearl Diver, Dunedin
Sun 11 Oct @ Yonder, Queenstown
Fri 23 Oct @ Powerstation, Auckland
Sat 24 Oct @ Meow Nui, Wellington
