With more than 20 years of making music, GoldFish has become a noted name when it comes to sounds that define the South African music landscape.
This year the duo take a short left back to South Africa for the Corona Sunsets Summer Tour. The event kicked off with a lively pop-up shop in Pretoria where music lovers could get a mini experience of the upcoming summer event.
Excited at being part of the tour, Dave Poole and Dominic Peters shared their thoughts on the music industry and their latest releases.
It’s been close to 20 years since you guys made your mark on the global music scene. What has been a personal highlight for you?
Dave: Being able to travel the world doing what we love with someone who has the same unique vision for music as me is a constant highlight that could never be downplayed. Amazing things have happened for sure, like meeting and playing for [former president] Nelson Mandela during his 46664 event and performing at Red Rocks for the first time. It's one of the world’s most iconic venues everyone from the Beatles to anyone of your musical inspirations you can think of has played at once upon a time. But these things come and go and the aforementioned highlight is still burning strong.
Dom: I definitely echo what Dave said. It’s a huge privilege to make six albums and so many singles together, as well as all the adventures in life and tours that we have shared. We’ve gone through a lot of life and countless times around the globe together. Basically, our entire adulthood has been together and that’s not something you do with many people in your life. You develop a secret language of experiences and in-jokes that no one could possibly grasp or understand. The highlight is that there’s always more to discover making music together.
What changes have you noticed in the electronic scene, and how have they inspired your approach to recorded sessions and live performances?
Electronic music is constantly changing, which is both the beauty of it and the curse. We luckily have always tried to forge our own sound within this scene, but we do love being influenced by other artists and producers who are on the cutting edge. Recording sessions have been more influenced by technology than anything else and it is amazing what can be done remotely.
However, there is no substitute for getting in the room with each other or collaborators to create and record new music. This gold standard will always be the first prize for us. From a live performance perspective, we are always trying to give our best to the fans who have taken time out of their lives and invested in us to buy tickets and watch a show. We always give 100%, whether it is two people or 20,000 people. Both kinds of shows have happened.
What can attendees who are new to your music expect from this performance?
GoldFish is a multi-instrumental dance music experience that will get you dancing and filled with good vibes.
Your previous album, Late Night People, has such a distinct sound compared to your usual offerings. What was the inspiration behind that sound?
Late Night People described a lot of what we had going on at that time touring the world playing clubs and rolling out early in the morning. Albums generally encapsulate how we are experiencing life at that point in time and this was no different.
Tell us the story behind what gave birth to your current project, If Summer Was A Sound?
If Summer Was A Sound was born out of the question “What is GoldFish?” during our move to San Diego in California seven years ago to get us closer to the touring action. It dropped us in one of the most ‘summery’ places on earth, with kilometres of beaches, palm trees and the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean. This was 100% the inspiration for the answer to the question “What is GoldFish?”.
And the answer?
If Summer Was A Sound. This doesn’t mean you need this song in mid-summer. It’s a teleporting device to drop you into a happy moment in your life, maybe the beach or anywhere that’s your happy place. Similar to how the smell of coconut sunscreen takes you back to being a kid mid-summer. If you are enjoying the album, come say “Hi” online @goldfishlive.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.