Going for Gold

He understands that simply standing and singing well on stage is not enough. He loves his songs, he loves to dance and he loves his fans. It’s contagious, really, watching him having a good time; you can’t help but get on that dance floor and let your hair down.

As a child, the smooth-voiced electronic artist from Cape Town couldn’t resist the pull he felt towards music. Having grown up in a musical family – his mother a vocalist and his father playing piano and guitar Gold was inspired mostly by his older brother, a drummer.

“I noticed the response females have to talented musicians,” says Gold.

“I’ve been playing musical instruments since primary school, but the moment that stands out was seeing Pharrell Williams perform live. The level of control he had over the people blew my mind.”

Gold possesses the same mesmerising flair. Once a top 12 Idols SA contestant, Gold has come a long way, distancing himself from his competitors. His appeal is one of those things that cannot be explained or even heard, but must be seen in person and his songs are merely a teaser for the full package.

“Music came naturally to me,” he explains.

“I thought everybody was learning how to play seven instruments. My parents tell me I’ve always enjoyed the attention of being on stage from as young as five years old. Standing in front of random people, making them dance, as well as feeling and understanding your music is priceless.”

Wanting to create a sound unique to a solo artist, Mathew combined his talents and crossed over genres by intertwining electronic pop with hip-hop. Best known for the dreamy vocals that propelled Goodluck’s Taking It Easy to mainstream success in 2011, Gold says that it had been a lifelong dream to work with Ben Peters (Goodluck producer).

“I knew once they heard me and what I’m able to do, not just vocally but musically as well, it would be a no brainer. The success of Taking It Easy was all we needed to convince ourselves that if we can make a Record of the Year-nominated track in three hours, we could make an amazing album.”

As bold as his statements may be, Gold’s self-assurance doesn’t come across as overly narcissistic or in-your-face. Granted, many of the instruments on his debut album The Rush were played by Gold himself and the acoustic versions of the songs feature guitar, keyboard and even a ukulele.

Gold adds: “The Rush is my best work yet. It is a collaboration of music put together perfectly and unintentionally. The album has less of a sound direction and more of a feel, capturing more of the emotion in the story than in the selection of sound. We wanted to create music that spans multiple genres and appeals to a wide audience. We even went so far as using an out-of-tune upright piano for a drum and bass track to get some vintage sound into the song.”