GoodLuck

With their unique brand of electro-swing or “intelligent dance music of the most sublime kind” as they call it, GoodLuck is aiming straight for your heart (and feet) with their acclaimed and intoxicating live shows that have earned the Cape Town-based crew a devoted following.

Since opening 2010 with a headlining New Year’s Eve gig at Cape Town’s Greenmarket Square, GoodLuck, consisting of Ben Peters and Juliet Harding and now augmented by Raiven Hansmann on sax and keyboards, has been leaving music fans smitten from Durban to Dubai, Grahamstown to Cape Town, and beyond! Among the highlights was performing alongside Lira and HHP at the J&B Met, showcasing at the Design Indaba, playing Splashy Fen, opening for Paul Oakenfold and, “our ultimate,” says Jules, supporting the band’s musical heroes, Basement Jaxx, an English house duo known for its eclectic approach and daring on-stage and in-studio presence.

GoodLuck earned further attention through some well-placed sync deals (including slightly recasting “Sixteen66” for a JC Le Roux commercial and working with Liquideep, Teargas and Zamajobe on the “Hennessey Artistry” campaign), and with the release of their self-titled debut album, an irresistible 12-track record which is radio friendly as well as dancefloor ready, this group’s position on the national stage was affirmed.  The single “Taking It Easy” has been a firm favourite on stations like 5FM, 94.7 Highveld Stereo, Good Hope FM, OFM, Metro and East Coast Radio.

GoodLuck has collaborated with some of the country’s most interesting talents, including Sean Ou Tim (who contributed songwriting to “The Vision” and “Kissed In Soho” with Jules and Ben handling writing duties for the remainder of the album), Lee Thompson (trumpet), Ross McDonald (trombone), Dave Ledbetter and Carl Wegelin  (guitar) and Monique Van Willingh (flute). There’s also a spread of tremendous vocalists joining Jules in the studio - among them Mathew Moolman, Antony Oseyemi, Lisa Kekuala (a regular vocalist for Basement Jaxx and handling the unforgiving “Harlem” with ease) and Nathan Woodman.

The group has also worked with some of the world’s leading dance and electronic producers on their debut album, who have added their touch to the single remixes. These include: German producers Lissat & Voltaxx (Stealth Records, Toolroom, Ministry of Sound + remixing the new Milk & Sugar single); Italian Stefano Noferini (Toolroom, Hed Kandi, Spinnin, Joia, Azuli); Russian production team Swanky Tunes (Spinnin, CR2, Size. Mixmash) and one of 2011’s biggest new names: the Italian David Jones (Hed Kandi, Ultra, Superstar, Kontor & Time).

The result of this all-in music making are songs that take in the full range – from blissed-out (the flute-infused “Electro Thing”) to melancholy (the mournful “Kissed In Soho”, with its ringing brass and Louis Armstrong-esque vocals) to dirty-edged (the unmissable “Dirty Boys”) to the supercharged pop hit (the enormously catchy “Taking It Easy”) and the “quietly massive” track (as Raiven puts it) in “The Vision”.