Naarm/Melbourne based folk duo Fountain Lakes headed out to Iceland for a month long residency at The Fish Factory this September and we kept in touch via DM to see how it went.
The journey started just over a year ago:
“We’ve been watching the Fish Factory from afar for a while, so when they put an artist call out for 2026, we decided to apply. Why not?” They shared.
From there the residency all fell into place pretty quickly with Fountain Lakes receiving an offer just a couple of weeks later. Luckily, with months still left until their actual trip they had some time to get their heads around it.
A missed flight connection and a gruelling 36 hour trip there definitely started to make them question their choices, but once they started the drive to East Iceland everything started to settle into place:
“The landscape is shocking in a really good way. If you wanna feel small, come to Iceland. We drove across steaming lava fields, past countless waterfalls and stopped off for lunch at a beach where seals dodged icebergs drifting in the ocean, all framed by rainbows.”
Breathtaking scenery aside, there was still an adjustment. There are other artists doing residencies at the same time but aside from this the location is pretty isolated and the weather could get grim at times, another adjustment the band had to make:
“whenever the sun comes out we try to get outside and soak it up.” They noted, mirroring what the locals do. “We’ve also gotten very used to walking in the rain and mist. With all the changing weather, it means the mountains look different every morning on our walk up to the Fish Factory. It never gets old – still stopping to take photos all the time.”
Both members of Fountain Lakes have had various musical projects over the past 20 years
“Jac has a band called Amarillo and also contributed the vocals for an album of Bert Jansch & Pentangle songs which was released earlier this year. I (Emma) played in a band in the early 2000s and played guitar for Angie Hart for a few years, and other projects here and there.”
When they came together as a pair, they took some time to find their collective voice and their sound, with the current band line up being together since mid 2025.
Back home the duo usually head out of the city to write, and they shared a little about how they’d usually build a song:
“Our process is to think of a subject or a feeling for the song as a starting point, then we muck around with chords and a melody. Then we tell each other stories trying to find the lyrics.”
Their work at The Fish Factory was pretty similar but they definitely note that this was the extreme version of getting away from it all. So much so that even making soup became an expedition:
“We hit a bit of a roadblock midweek (couldn’t stop writing about mountains)” they laugh “so took a drive to a nearby town in search of a can of beans.”
The beans were the crucial final ingredient for their soup recipe. They were also the magic ingredient to break the roadblock! They stumbled across a local brewery, and took a well earned break.
“A bit of daydreaming time” as the band described it, was enough to get their juices flowing again with some new songwriting ideas.
The friends who started out singing covers around a kitchen table entered this residency with a clear goal. They wanted enough material for an album. As they reach the end of their time at The Fish Factory, I asked how they felt it went:
“mixed emotions, it’s hard to express what the experience was like. It was unique, sometimes challenging but most of all just really special. Having so much focused time to write and live in an artistic community and just focus on being an artist without the pressures of day jobs and errands is not something we’ve experienced before. Also looking forward to getting home to our pets and fellas. It’s bitter sweet.”
And crucially, they confirmed they definitely have enough songs for an album.
They marked the end of their residence with a show. Attended by some of the staff and the other artists in residence it gave them a chance to test out some new tracks and revisit some favourites from Junkyard of Lost Hearts. The gig was held in the coffee roastery on site:
“A cool little room with a few couches and a roaster, bags of beans around the room, and a bar.”
“They lit candles and it was lovely and peaceful. And afterwards it turned into a dance party complete with smoke machine.”
As for the album, right now the duo are taking the long way home, enjoying a much needed holiday in Europe. Once they’re back in Melbourne, they’ll be reuniting with their band to try out the new songs before honing them into a final, finished collection over the coming months. They’re also taking the stage again with a show at Merri Creek Tavern on November 8th!
Follow along with Fountain Lakes here.
Grab tickets to their upcoming show here.