GOLDFISH BACK IN THE HOME BOWL

WHAT was meant to start at 17:20 only started at 18:10, all thanks to technology and its ability to slow down everything, even phone calls, to the other side of the world. When the connection was finally made, I was more than happy to chat to Goldfish member, Dominic Peters.

“Sometimes the connection is bad and I thought you weren’t going to call, but then I saw all your missed calls, so let’s just say my shower was cut very short”, Peters said while laughing. Along with fellow band member David Poole, the duo will be jetting back to South Africa on tour for the first time since moving from Cape Town to San Diego in California.

Known around the world for their dance anthems, the band is excited to be coming home. Their tour includes Durban, Cape Town and Pretoria, a city they have not performed in in years. “We just got back from Brazil and we always have a great time in Brazil. We are off to London and then we are coming home. What’s really special about this tour is our gig in Pretoria, it’s been forever since we played in Pretoria and we could not say no, because we were immediately attracted to the venue. The Pretoria National Botanical Gardens is such a beautiful place and it reminds us of Hyde Park in London,” he said.

“Being home is great because we can perform to our original audience, people who have been with us from the very beginning, and know our story and not just songs we play in clubs or at music festivals, you can’t fake that kind of love from our South African fans.

“There’s nothing better than coming home, it’s like your mom making your favourite dinner. We also perform to crowds here that are very engaging, and that’s also a bonus because now that we live in America, when your day is ending, our day is starting so we can’t engage over social media much,” added Peters.

The duo, who have won multiple awards, including a few South African Music Awards and an MTV Africa Music Award, released their latest album, Late Night People, in October last year.

Commenting on the album, Peters said: “We spent over a year working on that album, and it was an emotional journey, mainly because we were producing that album while moving between SA and the USA.

“It’s really dedicated to our fans and everyone who has been instrumental in our career. You won’t believe how many people come up to us and show us their Goldfish tattoos. We also called it Late Night People because the people who enjoy our music seem to do so late at night,” he laughed.

He also said that this album, which is their fifth, illustrates where they are in their career.

“It’s a very clear indication of where we started from, where we are now, and the direction we want to take in terms of the sound of our music. Dance music is disposable, one day you produce a hit and the next day someone else does the same thing, so we always try to make timeless music.

“Also when we started, we were just music students at the University of Cape Town, and we didn’t really know about the technicalities of music, we just had our instincts and we followed them.”

Goldfish are also known as one of the first South African DJ outfits to take up a residency in Ibiza, Spain.

“We found ourselves in Ibiza a year after releasing our debut album, having a residency in Pacha, which was mind blowing for us. Only the hottest DJs work out there and when we got there we realised that we needed to up our game and work harder than we were. We look at South Africans like Black Coffee and are incredibly proud and happy that the South African flag is still flying high in Ibiza,” he said.

One of their highlights so far was performing at Coachella this year.

The music and arts festival, which had headlining acts like Beyonce this year, attracts thousands of festival goers from around the globe including some of South Africa’s favourite celebrities.

“I think that Coachella is a defining moment for any artist, it was for us. We enjoyed it. I must tell ayou though, there are lots of stages at the festival, and this year Beyonce headlined on the main stage. A day before our performance we were told that during Beyonce’s performance, no one else would be allowed to perform, so our slot was moved from 3pm to 1pm. We thought that no one would come because 1pm is early, and right before our slot the grounds were empty but as we got on stage, thousands gathered in front of us which was crazy. It was such a huge compliment,” he said.

Although there are no plans to release a new album any time soon, Peters did say that fans can expect a lot of new music. “It’s a singles world at the moment, in terms of music, I mean, so we want to release a few singles for the rest of the year.

“We have some major collaborations coming up which is going to be amazing, I am very excited for what we have for our fans. We are also settling into life in America and playing at as many places as we can.”

Although making the move to the US was one Peters is happy they made, he does admit to missing home. “To move to America was a choice of career or lifestyle and we chose career and we are happy we took the risk because it is paying off, but we do miss home.

“I miss my family, my mom, my friends, I absolutely miss surfing in Jeffreys Bay and even biltong – we get biltong here but it’s not the same,” he said.

He attributes the secret of their success to staying humble and staying true to who Goldfish is.