Australia’s Presets–Julian Hamilton (vocals, programming, keyboards) and Kimberly Moyes (drums, programming, keyboards)–are classically trained musicians–but don’t hold that against them. Open-minded and stylistically voracious, their unpredictable grooves are anything but stuffy. Signed to the forward-thinking Modular label, home of Cut Copy and Muscles, they’re a band on the rise, and 2008 marks their first full US tour in support of Apocalypso, successor to 2005’s Beams. Fuzz caught up with Hamilton by email while he rests up in Sydney before heading out to conquer the world with his duo’s playful brand of electronic pop.
Fuzz: What can you tell me about your earlier band, the Prop?
Hamilton: Prop was a five-piece instrumental band we used to play in. It was made up of Kim and I plus three other mates from university. We had synths and a bunch of tuned percussion instruments like vibraphones and marimbas. Our music was more atmospheric and filmic than the Presets. It was quite beautiful, and a lot more considered, too. We miss that band. It was fun to perform live with those guys (but extremely difficult to tour with those massive instruments).
You titled your second full-length Apocalypso. Have you seen Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto?
I haven’t seen it, although I’m a huge fan of Mad Max I and II (I think they were released in the States as The Road Warrior in the early 80’s). Mad Max has way more similarities to Apocalypso than Mel’s film Apocalypto.
How does it compare to your first record?
I’m not sure, really. I guess as musicians we hope it’s just a step up. Hopefully we’ve retained a lot of the character of Beams, but improved on the songwriting and production and that kinda stuff. Beams explored mostly hedonistic themes (partying, drugs, and sex). I didn’t want to go over those same things again. This time we’ve still made a party record—but hopefully it’s a bit bleaker or starker. “My People,” for instance, is a party song, but it’s a pretty stark, desperate-sounding party song. And “This Boy’s In Love” is an attempt at a nostalgic pop-dance track, but we tried to make it luscious and romantic, yet still ice cold and bleak.
You’re known for your intense live gigs. What’s the worst thing that ever happened to you at a show?
We might experience some technical difficulties one out of every hundred shows. But mostly our shows are a really fun time. I guess the worst thing is when you turn up somewhere, and you’re tired and in the middle of a tour, and the promoter meets you at the door and says something like “Hey guys, it’s still filling up in there, we’ll push the set back a couple of hours. Here’s two drink tickets, go grab yourselves a drink, and have fun,” and we’re like, “Fuck you.”
Mouse on Mars has remixed one of your tracks. How did you hook up with them?
They have been idols of ours for a long time. I used to buy their records 10 years ago. We played a festival in Germany with them last year; then ended up on the same plane the next day to a festival in Glasgow. They checked out our show, and liked it. We asked them if they’d like to remix “My People.” They said yes. They ended up doing two, and we love them.
Your sound ranges from soft and pretty to loud and crunchy. Other songs are so processed they sound almost psychedelic. Do you listen to a wide range of music?
For sure. I hardly listen to dance music at all to be honest (except when I run). On tour, I mostly listen to classical. I’ve been re-discovering a lot of the 20th-century composers I first heard at university—Ligeti, Messiaen, Varèse, Xenakis, Cage—stuff like that. They create some really wild sound-worlds that inspire us.
Since some of your pieces are instrumental, have you considered getting involved in soundtrack work?
Not really—at the moment we only have time to create Presets albums, although TV shows and commercials are forever requesting our music. (We’re happy to sell it to them!) My brother is a well regarded contemporary dancer and choreographer, and we are always promising that one day we will work together when things settle down a bit.
Aside from sleep, what are your plans once you’ve finished with this year’s tour?
Take a break–do some cooking, gardening…fun stuff. Then start thinking about another record.
Apocalypso is released on May 13th.
Following Daft Punk’s iconic performance at Coachella, it seems like the collective ears of American kids were finally open to European dance music, and, to fill the demand, there now seems to be an endless stream of electronic duos coming through the States from all corners of the globe. Take Australia, for example. Melbourne’s Cut Copy just released In Ghost Colors to critical acclaim and sold-out performances in the States; with Apocalypso, Sydney’s Presets sound hungry to do the same.
I don’t know what the Presets mean when they list “schadenfreude” as their sole influence on MySpace. If members Julian Hamilton and Kim Moye find their musical muse through perverse joy in others’ pain, they either are letting their fans off easy this time around or they really fucked up with Apocalypso. Horrible title notwithstanding, this, their sophomore effort, is a mixture of ecstatic and narcotic dance music; taken as a whole, the Presets skillfully present a brand of vocal-driven electronic pop informed by both Daft Punk and New Order that is more dance-oriented than their debut. The result is often blissfully uplifting but, at times, numbingly repetitive. That said, this is an album for the dance floor, and this being a busy weekday, I had only coffee and my imagination for springboards.
First single “My People” opens with a spasm-inducing synth bleat and before the first chorus hits, it becomes clear why the song’s been a club staple for the past few months. It’s anthemic and immediate–shut up and dance. The song is so obvious in its intentions that you can’t hold it against Hamilton and Moye for lines like “I’m here with all of my people/ Locked up with all of my people/ So let me hear you scream if you’re with me.” (Am I a bad person for thinking of the Great White tragedy when I first heard these lines?) The album’s other highlight—perhaps the album’s best song—is also its second single, “The Boy Is in Love.” The song recalls Depeche Mode fronted by the Killers, but then the falsetto chorus arrives, and you have to concede that the Presets have made a great pop song on their own merits.
The rest of the album fares well for what it is: music made for the dance floor. However, Hamilton’s voice becomes aggravating as the tracks progress. “Together” is almost a great song, strutting through the club with MSTRKRFT-like synth loops, bouncy bass that bites the ass, and randy clipped moans that are as sexy as they are startling. But then Hamilton comes in halfway through singing, “Who do we think we are/ Running around all sweaty?” It’s an absurd lyric, even by dance-music standards, and his delivery is so over-the-top that it almost ruins the song. Then again, when it comes to electronic music, I’m firmly a fan of “less-is-more” when it comes to vocals. Thankfully, towards the end of the album, “Anywhere” shows that Hamilton is capable of singing in a detached, lower register. Coupled with the minimalist production, the song is an unexpected treat; fittingly, the song’s refrain is a muted “Surprise, surprise.”
What do you call this vein of music? I’ve heard nu-rave, I’ve heard electro-pop. Well, I’ve also heard it doesn’t matter what you call it. Apocalypso is a good album that will, as the first two singles attest, go over well with fans of this hybrid genre and will no doubt fill dance floors around the world. The Presets have delivered a few great singles, but, as is the problem inherent in dance-oriented music, it’s yet to be seen whether the Presets can maintain longevity once the novelty of this genre wears off. But, right now, the guys just want us to have a good time, and criticism is always in danger of taking itself too seriously. So fuck it. Have your people call my people. Let’s meet up. We’ll dance.