A Conversation with: Reuben Fleetwood

Born & raised in Whangamatā and one of Sony Music’s newest signed local artists, Reuben Fleetwood keeps delivering us slick, soulful, R&B-infused tracks on the intricacies of love and we’re fully here for it! The fast-rising singer collaborating closely with renowned NZ producer Rory Noble (Kanye West, DJ Mustard) chats to us about his three singles, including “So Do You” that was translated into te reo Māori as “Haere Rā” for Waiata Anthems Week.

We’d love to know about your musical journey so far from when you first started singing and making music!

So I first started singing probably around 2015, kinda more serious anyway, rather than around the house of course (laughs). I started doing some café gigs and pub gigs and that type of thing from my small hometown (Whangamatā). Playing guitar and singing. And yeah, it just kind of led from there. It was around then that I started writing too, but my songs were pretty lame back then (laughs).

Congrats on your new track “So Do You” and so cool that the track was chosen to be part of the Waiata Anthems project! Can you tell us about the process of translating it to the te reo Māori version “Haere Rā”?

It’s funny because Rory Noble and myself actually wrote that track maybe like a year and a half ago. We loved that track from the get go - we kinda thought that we’d do something with it later on but we didn’t know when we were gonna bring it out or anything. Then the label obviously hit me up to see if I wanted to join this Waiata Anthems week and I was real stoked about that. We were all talking and giving ideas, and then we all settled on “So Do You” as the track we would use to translate into te reo Māori.

Hana Mereraiha, the lady that translated it, sent me some voice memos translating it over the English version. I got the hang of it the night before we recorded and yeah, it was cool. It was pretty similar sounding in terms of vowel sounds compared to the English track, which made it a bit easier for translating.

Amazing! Going back to your debut single “U” which has done amazingly well with over 120K plays on Spotify alone, can you tell us about the concept of this track and were you surprised by the incredible reception that it got?

The song is based on a real toxic relationship vibe, that person you can’t get over. And yeah I was blown away by the reception because it was my first song I released. I was just so buzzed that it was out in the world but seeing the traction it was getting was so awesome.

Your other song “Focus” has done extremely well too! What was your main highlight working on that track?

I just love the whole vibe of the track aye. It was cool coming up with the concept - Rory and I centred it around a poker game. Like city vibes at night time playing poker. That’s probably one of my personal favourite tracks so far. 

Awesome! Who would you say are your biggest inspirations in music?

My biggest performance wise would probably be Michael Jackson and The Weeknd. I love their voices and what they can do with music, it’s insane. Man, the Six60 boys - I love those guys, their music is insane. Especially coming from New Zealand, they’re such a big inspiration. I’ve always loved their music, and the way that they’ve been able to change their sound and the way it’s evolved, it just keeps getting better.

Who are some of your other favourite NZ artists right now and are there any songs you especially love or connect with?

I love the Sons of Zion boys as well. When I heard “Drift Away” I was like, “what the heck, that’s a New Zealand artist?!” (laughs). Kings as well - he’s crazy.

What do you love most about living in New Zealand, and do you have any favourite places to travel to or local spots to visit?

Oh yeah, I love New Zealand aye. I’m so biased (laughs). My hometown would be my favourite place I think, Whangamatā. I’m a surfer as well so surfing is a big part - any beach in New Zealand is insane.

What are some of the biggest lessons you’ve learnt so far as an artist?

I think especially getting together with producers you haven’t met before, or musicians you haven’t met, and you’re all just crammed into this room to make a song (laughs), you’ve gotta be completely honest from the start if you feel the track or if you don’t or if you want to change something. Because if you get to the end and you’ve kinda gone with an idea that you didn’t really vibe with, then you shut off the idea of liking the song. Yeah that’s the biggest lesson I’ve learnt so far, just be honest about how you feel about the song and any ideas.

Lastly, if you could say one thing to every person in the world, what would it be?

I’d probably say something cliché as (laughs) like honestly, just be positive. Or just be kind, because you never know what people are going through. That’s such a big message - I know it’s cliché, but there’s so much meat behind that saying. Something I try to live by.

Also, I just want to shout out everyone that’s still in lockdown aye! Man, for the rest of New Zealand to drop to Level 2 and us still being in Level 4 (laughs). But we got this!

Thanks so much Reuben! Make sure to follow him on Instagram, Facebook, Spotify & Apple Music.