GOLDFISH DUO IS CAUGHT IN THE LOOP

By Larissa Focke

David Poole and Dominic Peters are the masterminds behind the Afro Nu Jazz sensation, Goldfish. They jumped out of the Cape Town city bowl a little over two years ago and immediately started making waves around the world.

In June last year, they hit France and Britain. After that they were off to Dubai in November, and Japan in December. The international touring has predictably spilled over to this year as they have toured England and Europe with the hope of showing the EU cats how we do it down here in Mzansi.

These guys are definitely not caught in a loop or swimming around in circles, so it’s no easy task trying to catch them. With a hectic schedule and being fully booked on months on end, it was almost impossible to hook up with them for an interview.

Dave and Dom have been passionate about music since childhood, despite the fact that Dave’s musical journey began with a sadistic violin teacher at the age of six. Dom ventured into the world of electronic music at the age of eleven, when he got a dodgy keyboard for his birthday.

Both went on to study jazz at UCT, with Dave obtaining his masters there. It has always been about the music for these guys, and good quality music at that. In between touring, gigs, being invited as guest artists and featuring on numerous CD compilations, they are no strangers to the music industry.

Even though there are plenty of other fish in the sea, these guys are pure gold.

Dave, you were part of a band called Dorp back in 1996, and both of you were part of Breakfast Included. How have these two previous bands inspired you to form Goldfish?
Everything you do musically leads you to your future path. Each project inspires the next. I think we have arrived in a great place for both of us musically speaking as we have so much freedom to live and we’re constantly in the studio to really grow and expand our musical horizons.

Do you think you have to study music in order to be classified as a good musician?No, studying music at a college does not make you a good musician it just helps you on your way and points you in the right directions for learning different musical disciplines faster. There are countless great musicians who never studied at a formal institution but this does not mean that they didn’t study music. All good musicians have spent many hundreds of hours studying their craft and listening to music.

You've been lucky enough to tour and play gigs in many different places - from Darling, to Fulham, to Cannes, to Camps Bay. Which gig did you enjoy the most?
The Coca Cola Colab was really cool – getting to play to a huge supportive South African crowd alongside artists like Fatboy Slim, Audio Bullys and Stereo MCs is always going to be a highlight. Also it was our first big break and acknowledgement that we were getting somewhere!

The past 12 months since we released the album have been incredible and there have been so many shows that have been amazing – and lot of time spent listening to ‘for your own safety please take note of the following in-flight Safety demonstration.’

How do you feel about the South African music scene, compared to overseas?
The SA scene is growing all the time, and so many incredible bands are coming through like The Dirty skirts, Lark, Bed on Bricks, Rory Eliot to name a few. The biggest frustration for me is the way Music, Art and Culture are totally undervalued in this country in comparison to sport.

When can we expect your next album?
Hopefully it’ll be out before the middle of next year but not entirely sure at the moment as the touring schedule has been quite gruelling with little time to do much else. We are rebuilding our studio at the moment, which is very exciting so as soon as that is done we will take some time off and get our heads stuck into the next album.

Caught in the Loop was named album of the year by FHM. And that's just the tip of the iceberg in terms of musical successes and highlights for Goldfish. What, in your opinion, is your greatest achievement thus far?
The amazing support we have received from South African music audiences around the country.

With the top of the range synths, groove boxes and electronic equipment you have, along with the cutaway stick bass and soprano sax, how much have you spent on musical equipment so far?
Dave: The GDP of a small country!
Dom: About the same as Jacob Zuma’s legal fees!