Goldfish: “It’s our job to harness and push out positivity.”

Formed in Cape Town, South Africa in 2006, live electronic DJ duo Goldfish have since swum into the waters of global popularity. For a seven-year period, David Poole and Dominic Peters took residency at one of the world’s most famous dance clubs in Spain: Pacha Ibiza. Once the residency concluded, the pair made their way to San Diego, a place they’ve called home for the past seven years. “We love it here,” says Peters. “I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else in America. We are close to Los Angeles. We can get to anywhere in the U.S. in six hours. When we lived in Cape Town, it was thirty hours just to get to LA. It was a no-brainer. Now, you’re stuck with us.”

Musically, the duo creates a fusion of dance beats and jazz, mixed with effects and synths. Peters holds an upright bass and does keyboard duties, while Poole blows an unhinged saxophone. The intention is to craft a sound that brings people up up up. “Our music has always been about making people feel good,” says Poole. “It’s our job to harness and push out positivity. If there was any one thing that’s a core principle of Goldfish, it’s that. That flows through to the event, because the event is about happiness, musical escapism, and having a good time with your buddies and meeting new people.”

Both Poole and Peters are jazz musicians who started out making live music. But they found they also loved watching DJs do their thing. So they sought to combine the energy of live jazz with that of electronic music — as Peters puts it, “Smash those two things together. A lot of the time with dance music, it can be a little sterile. We wanted to bring that organic, human element to it. That’s where those live elements come into it in a way people can feel it. It’s not just playback. I always think of music like nutrition for your soul. Do you want to have packaged food, or do you want something cooked fresh off the grill?”

Even after eighteen years of party-pumping, the duo continues to evolve. “We’ve only ever done music,” says Poole. “We’ve only ever wanted to do music. That’s why we’re still around. We’ve luckily been able to develop our sound over the years. It doesn’t stay exactly the same. If you continue to do the same thing, it’s boring.”

Part of the reason the duo has consistently maintained global popularity over the years is by staying true to where they are in their lives. Says Peters, “Dave and I can look back at some of the songs we’ve made and think, ‘Wow, we were in such a different headspace.’ But there’s still the link and DNA through all of it. What’s been amazing for me personally, coming to America and moving to a new country, making new friends, settling into a place, is that your songwriting — and all the skills accrued through epic experiences, and hard experiences — have to come through now. Right now, I think we’re in our most dangerous phase, and I’m really excited to see what we do next.”

One challenge Peters faces as a professional musician and jazz DJ is a condition called synesthesia. His brain routes sensory information through multiple unrelated senses, causing him to simultaneously experience more than one sensation. “People experience synesthesia in different ways,” Peters explains. “For me, it ties into another thing I have, which is perfect pitch, which means I can hear a note, and I know what note it is in the scale. And for whatever reason, the note correlates to a color on the color wheel. C is blue, D is red, E is purple, A is yellow. Nobody can tell me that A is not yellow. It’s like a smell to me.”

They’ve recently returned from a multi-country tour, and are now back on the shores of Southern California. Along with a slot at this weekend’s Coachella festival, the duo will be pumping the two-story Beach House here in San Diego on May 4. After that, the South African combo will be touring back east and overseas again.