GoldFish: Blending Jazz, House Beats, and Live Instrumentation

The South African electronic music duo GoldFish is entering a new creative phase centered on a philosophy they call Get Busy Living Vintage. This immersive approach, which transcends the boundaries of a standard album or concert series, emphasizes the group’s commitment to blending live instrumentation with electronic production, moving away from sterile digital sounds toward a more organic fusion of jazz and dance music.

Dominic Peters and David Poole, the musicians behind the project, are currently navigating a heavy schedule of performances across the United States and South Africa. As part of this activity, the duo has released a new single titled Little Wonder, featuring South African vocalist Zolani Mahola. David Poole noted that the group had sought a collaboration with Mahola for a significant period due to her talent and energy, eventually writing and recording the track together in San Diego.

The group’s current touring schedule includes a performance at the Toulouse Theatre in New Orleans on April 24, appearing on the first night of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Tickets have been made available for a late-night show on April 23.

The Intersection of Analogue and Digital

Central to the GoldFish identity is the integration of formal jazz training into house beats and pop hooks. Both Peters and Poole met over two decades ago while studying jazz at the University of Cape Town, a background that informs their insistence on performing their studio creations with live instruments.

The collision of analogue and digital is the X factor for a good sounding record. We don’t want it sounding too sterile and clean.

Dominic Peters

This preference for spontaneous, non-electronic elements is highlighted in their 2025 album, Live in Amsterdam, which features improvised bass solos by Peters. Poole explained that many of their studio tracks originate from these live moments. For example, the 2009 track Soundtracks & Comebacks was built around an upright bass riff that Peters improvised during a concert and later recalled in the studio.

The duo’s sound is characterized by a mix of downtempo, nu jazz, electro swing, and tropical house, utilizing instruments such as the saxophone, flute, double bass, and keyboards. Poole’s saxophone work specifically became a hallmark of their sound, contributing to the success of the 2012 hit Washing Over Me, which reached No. 1 on South African radio.

Global Transitions and the 33 Degrees Label

The geography of the duo’s career has spanned several continents. After spending eight years based between Cape Town and Ibiza, Peters and Poole eventually relocated to San Diego to focus on the United States market. This duality between their South African roots and their American base inspired the naming of their record label, 33 Degrees, as both Cape Town and San Diego are located on the 33rd parallel in their respective hemispheres.

Under the 33 Degrees label, the group released the 2025 tracks Body Language and Born A Miracle. The latter features Zakes Bantwini, a prominent South African artist and 2022 Grammy winner. Peters stated that the collaboration occurred while Bantwini was in Los Angeles, allowing the duo to channel the momentum of his Grammy win into the recording.

Beyond house and jazz, GoldFish has incorporated rock influences into their repertoire. In 2015, they covered Nirvana’s Heart-Shaped Box with collaborator Julia Church. The Live in Amsterdam version of If I Could Find includes an interpolation of the White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army, a rework that Peters noted was sparked by a jam session on a vintage Fender Rhodes keyboard during a soundcheck at The Belly Up in Aspen, Colorado.

Origins and Early Career

The duo officially formed in Cape Town in 2004. Their debut studio album, Caught in the Loop, was released in 2005 through Black Mango Music. The album consisted of 15 tracks, blending future jazz, deep house, and afrobeat, and featured singles such as All Night and The Real Deal. The original release included a DVD of interviews and live performances, and it featured guest vocalists Suanne Braun and Max Vidima.

The album was later reissued in 2020 as a limited-edition double vinyl featuring remastered audio. Over the course of their career, GoldFish has earned an MTV Africa Music Award and three South African Music Awards, while finding significant commercial success in the Netherlands.

Despite their evolution and relocation, the group continues to lean into the atmospheric sounds that defined their 2023 album, If Summer Was a Sound, while pursuing the more immersive goals of the Get Busy Living Vintage philosophy.