Category: Interviews

South Africa is filled with breath taking landscape; it’s rich in human flavor, culture diversity, history, and every changing art.  It’s no surprise that this musical duo came into the Electronic music realm with a unique, strong, colorful, and powerful sense of sound.  Dom Peters and David Poole have pretty much created a new genre within Electronic music.  They’ve added live classical jazz instruments, loungy vocals, and over all sensual feeling that comes with their music.  We had the pleasure to interview this South African music gem and are happy to share what we’ve learned from them.  Check out what these cool cats… er, goldfish… have to say!

1. Who is Goldfish in 5 words or less.

Electronic music that has soul.

2. How would you describe your sound?

Warm, electronic, analogue, uplifting, made in the sun.

3. How did you guys meet?

Dave and I met whilst studying music at University. We were doing degrees in Jazz so we were studying Miles Davis and Coltrane, which is kind of like doing your broadway before moving onto blockbusters. It’s a great training and gives you a broader insight into music. We actually got started playing in a Jazz Band together to pay our tuition, and discovered that we both had a similar love for artists like Kruder & Dorfmeister, St Germain, Air, and Zero 7 amongst others. We were always chatting about live electronica side of things and how not many artists (at the time) was really doing it. We decided to get together in Dave’s dorm and make a track which we gave to a friend of ours…he came back a couple days later saying he’d played it at a house party and everyone had gone mental, so we thought maybe we should make some more. We did our first gig and just got this massive response which we’d never had to anything else we’d ever done musically…and it’s been nuts ever since.

4. How has being from South Africa set you apart from others in the music industry?

Being from Cape Town has definitely shaped our sound. You just can’t help it. Cape Town is one of the worlds best kept secrets when it comes to Cities and it’s just a gorgeous place to live. The environment and beauty lends itself to creatives and for people who make aesthetics and beautiful surroundings are a priority. This is Africa and we are exposed to sounds, people and situations in a combination that you will find in no other place in the world. We wouldn’t sound the way we do if we were from anywhere else. When it comes to dance music it’s important to embrace your surroundings in your sound as there is nothing worse than a copycat trying to sound like what is in the Beatport Top 10. That is what makes you unique and not a wannabe.

5. What’s the one thing you guys do in South Africa you can’t do anywhere else in the world?

When we’re actually home, sleep in our own beds. That’s our biggest luxury in the world.

6. Your music videos are always incredibly unique, fun to watch, and completely one of a kind.  Where do you guys pull inspiration from to create these videos?

We have a long and close relationship with animator and director Mike Scott. He is just the most imaginative and creative guy we have ever met and he’s not afraid to incorporate any crazy ideas we might have into our videos. That’s the best thing about animation, the normal rules do not apply and you can feature anyone or do anything. We haven’t been sued yet! The downside is that it is incredibly labour intensive, expensive and they take massive amounts of man hours to make, But the reward is worth it when you see another music video of bikini chicks by the pool in Miami or a band/DJ miming along to their track. Save us.

7.  Since you’ve been touring, what has been your favorite city and why?

Tough one. New York is amazing, it’s a city that doesn’t give up it’s best moments until you’ve put in a bit of effort. But I think we’d have to say Amsterdam. Aside from the massive support we have there, the people are just so cool. Maybe it’s because they haven’t had a baby sitter telling them what to do their whole lives when it comes to ‘drugs or adult entertainment’ so they are just urbane, chilled and educated people. They can speak minimum three languages fluently and yet weed is legal. Go figure.

8. What are the top 3 things you guys must have in your green room before and/or after a show?

Mood lighting, some aromatherapy candles and our personal chef. Just kidding. We’re not really fussy when it comes to drinks riders. Just some water, beers and maybe tequila…It’s really funny watching other artists having full on meltdowns about this kind of thing. We emptied Tiesto’s Jaegermeister Machine backstage at Pacha Ibiza before a show once so I think we owe him a drink.

9. How do you define sexy?

Confidence without arrogance.

10. What is the sexiest City? Hotel? Club? Song? DJ? Place to kiss?

Sexiest City must be New York or Berlin.  Sexiest Hotel, The Hacienda in Ibiza. Sexiest Song, Moan by Trentemoller. Sexiest DJ: my Girlfriend(yes I’m dating a DJ, my life is one giant cliché) Place to kiss, a secret cave I found in Ibiza that you can only swim to.

11. What is your favorite thing about electronic music?

It has no rules. Sampling (when it is used creatively)was the best thing that ever happened to music.

12. How do you incorporate other aspects of music into your sets?

We love rubbing a bit of dirt in our tracks. We always say this but electronic music can sound a bit sterile so we are always looking at ways to bring that warmth back to dance music. Dave and I both did degrees in Jazz and Dave has a masters…which means nothing when we’re arguing in the studio! We play around 10 instruments between us including Saxophone, Double/Electric bass, Guitar, Flute, Piano, Clarinet, Drums, sing etc so we pretty much have the whole band covered. Pretty much everything you hear on our albums is played by us bar any guest vocalists.

13. What advice would you give to a young DJ/Producer trying to make it?

Don’t buy into the wave of fame, hype and noise surrounding electronic music at the moment. You get into this scene because you love music and if you give your best you’ll get the best back.

14. What’s next for Goldfish?

Our album 3 Second Memory is coming out is Oct, big shows to surround the album release at ADE and a remix of One Million Views by the legend, Carl Cox!

15. What are your three simple luxuries?

We’re massive surfers so those would have to be Sun, Sand and Sea. The best things in life are free.

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*Images provided by Goldfish

 

Music has been around for ages. It’s been a form of expression, communication and declaration. It’s been a form of evolution, cultural growth, competition and education.  Throughout the years, music has been everything.  Along with the history of music, there’s the history of art. Like music, art has been everything, and everywhere.  Art and Music are synonymous.  A powerfully famous name in the arts, and now in music, is Picasso. In an area of technology and overwhelming “socialness,” Florian Picasso has stepped into his own and made the Picasso name proud.  As a multi-genre DJ, Florian Picasso uses his history, passion, and ear to really speak to the musical masses and express a new form of art; lifting art and music to another level.   We had the incredible pleasure of interviewing this cool cat and now you get to learn what we’ve learned.  Meet our friend Florian Picasso, a new form of music and art.

1.      Introduce yourself in 5 words or less.

Hmm I’d say “Handsome, talented, funny, jealous and greedy” Haha!

2.      How were you introduced to the world of electronic dance music?

At first I was just spinning hip-hop records and it slightly switched to electronic music. I was young by then.  My first electronic vinyl was from Basement Jaxx.

3.      What’s the most annoying part about being a Picasso?

Being a Picasso is not a job. It’s a double edged thing, sometimes it helps sometimes it doesn’t! It’s a lot of stuff to name about the annoying part. I didn’t chose to be part of the family…life did. Now it’s up to me to make good music and use the name the right way.

4.      What’s your creative process? Any special rituals or places you feel the most creative?

Yes, I made a little plastic toy of myself in 3d.  I start with kissing it and saying the following words “Dear Florian may this day be productive” Haha.

No actually, the environment is key to creativity but I must say that it’s very subjective. My studio is at the same place where my great grand-father used to create all his pieces of art and I really feel something there.

Now I know some crazy records which were made in random places so that’s why I say this is really subjective…

5.      If you could master a different form of creative release, which one would it be and why?

I am the master of arts.

6.      How do you define sexy?

Sexy is classy and slutty at the same time it’s all about the right mix.

7.      What do you think is the sexiest city? Club? Hotel? Beach?

Sexiest city is New York ; it’s like a small Europe inside the USA.

Baoli in Cannes is for sure my best pick whether it’s for the music or the location of the place, if there’s one club you should go in Cannes it’s Baoli.

Nimb hotel in Copenhagen is really sexy.  It’s in the Tivoli amusement Park  and it’s some next level thing.  You open your curtains and you have the view of the rides.  The design is very Scandinavian influenced and uncluttered if you know what I mean.

Mauritius island is a top destination for me beautiful landscapes.

 

8.      Which musician do you respect and look up to the most and why?

It’s a tough one.  There’s no such musician to me.  There’s some I respect but don’t look up to and vice versa.

9.      What three musicians – dead or alive – would you like to collaborate with and why?

Collaborating is very special to me.  There’s of course a musical and marketing purpose but friendship comes on top of that. I make collab with people I get along with rather than just for the profile.

10.  If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?

Music is a dark business.  People can give you a big hug on Monday and talk shit about you on Tuesday… When I mean dark it’s just that there’s a minority of people controlling the market now it’s up to you to make your own conclusion…

 

11.  What’s your favorite thing about being on the road?

Being on the road is fantastic.  Traveling is learning and learning is living and there’s no greater feeling than being alive.

12.  What advice would you give to a DJ trying to make it in the business?

I don’t give advice. I’m an asshole.

13.  What are the 3 things you always have with you when you travel?

Me myself and I.

14.  What’s next for Florian Picasso?

Working on a few tracks and an album which will be…surprising. Expect the unexpected!

15.  What are your three simple luxuries?

I have one luxury which is comfort in the end.  Luxury is equal to comfort.  I’m not talking about money at all just simple human comfort…

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DJ Danny Avila has earned the right to say he is the youngest, international DJ ever! And not only that, but he is also the youngest DJ to ever have bragging rights to a DJ club residency in Las Vegas, this summer next to Deadmau5 and Calvin Harris at the Hakkasan! He must be some child prodigy, huh? Not so, says the almost 18 year old mega-star, who defines himself as just a “young guy who’s passionate about music”.  And we believe him.  We can hear it in his beats and the music he mixes and remixes, taking us to another level of music superiority.  We love this kid, so we had to find out a little bit more about him.  What follows in our interview with Danny is the lessons to being just an average International, Teenage DJ!

1. Who is Danny Avila in 7 words or less?

Young guy that’s passionate about music.

2. You’ve been following electronic music forever.  What do you think attracted you to it at such a young age?

Before I started DJing or listening to electronic music I played the piano for 4 years and the guitar for 2 years, so basically I spent so many hours listening to different music styles… I don’t think it’s something that I ‘discovered’, I’ve had so much passion for music since the beginning. When I was around 12 years old, I can remember that I used to exchange music with my friends at school, so I was like… why don’t I start mixing it?

3. How has growing up in Spain shaped your showmanship?

I’ve had to move around the country and take chances to follow my passion so I think more than anything that’s made me realize that this is the right path for me and that the energy I put into every show and every mix comes right from my core – I definitely give it my all! I moved from Marbella to Madrid 2 years ago because I wanted to have more access to music and clubs and the whole electronic world, and that’s still where I’m based right now. EDM is not so strong in Spain as it is in other countries, which is why I always play out of Spain a lot. Of course Ibiza is different, there is so much going on in Ibiza every summer that it’s more like a country in its own right when it comes to electronic music.

4. How does it feel to be the youngest DJ to be on the cover of DJ Mag?

It feels incredible. When I saw the cover I just couldn’t believe it, I just sat there grinning for ages. But at the end the age is just a number, what counts is the effort and hard work because no one is going to give me any awards or vote for me to enter the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs chart just because I’m 17. We are all the same. And that’s what keeps me working every day to try to reach the next level.

5. What is your favorite Spanish dish and why?

Paella! Because there is nothing comparable to a proper Paella on a Sunday afternoon.

6. If you would work with 3 musical legends, dead or alive, who would they be?

Michael Jackson, Madonna and Jamiroquai.

7. What is the strangest thing you have ever been given by a fan?

You don’t want to know! I will tell you the second most strange thing which was when a girl gave me a letter while I was playing that said she would give me $500 if I went to dinner with her. That felt pretty weird, and NO I didn’t do it. 

8. When you’re not being a DJ, what do you do for fun? 

Hang out with friends, do some sports and spend time with my family!

9. You’ve won many awards with your wakeboard skills.  When do you have the time to practice for championships?

I don’t have so much time right now to practice wakeboarding to be honest. Also it’s freezing in Madrid during the winter so I’ll wait till summer. But I’m not doing competitions anymore. It takes so much time and a lot of effort that I don’t have right now. So I just do it as a hobby.

10. What is the sexiest city, hotel, club, DJ?

Ibiza, Nhow Hotel in Berlin, Pacha Ibiza and NERVO!!

11. When touring, what are the top 5 things you always have with you and why?

Laptop: Because love to make music on the road.

Phone: Because I can’t live without my iPhone.

Headphones : basically cause I need them to play lol

Shoes in every color: I love Vans and Nike shoes and I love them in every color.

Danny Avila stickers: to stamp them to all the girls in the booth.

12. Where do you see electric dance music heading in the next 5 years?

You never know what’s going to happen. It has changed so much in the last couple of years. Maybe a fusion of Dubstep with big room stuff and hip hop, all mixed up.

13. What’s next for Danny Avila? 

I just released my track called BREAKING YOUR FALL. There is an incredible remix package coming out in a couple of weeks for it. And after that, I’ll just keep making music and touring as crazy!!!

14. What are three of your simple luxuries?

Rekordbox, Logic 9 and my lovely Pioneer CDM-2000. Don’t think I need anything else. Those are what I consider my luxuries.

 

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WARNING: We allow 100 words or less of content per interview to be taken, with a link to our original interview, and used without our authorization. Content larger than 100 words or copying our entire interview without our authorization to be used in ANY manner will result in our taking legal action per copyright infringement.

*Images provided by Danny Avila