Ready, set…

Violence really isn’t the norm when you’re out to see a dance act. Revelers prefer to make peace not war, however this was hardly the case recently for hot exports, The Presets. Currently zigzagging their way across the top half of the US and parts of Canada, Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes aka The Presets rocked up to their San Francisco gig only to begin electro whirlwind dance show when commotion in front of the stage broke out.

“These great big hairy gay bears (we’ve got a huge gay following in San Francisco) came down the front to watch us, and these two girls were in front of them and one of them ended up punching the other in the face,” Kim said. “Then two of the bears tried to get in between them to break them up and one of the girls, bit one of the bears on the arm, and he came up after the show and showed us the massive teeth marks in his arm,” he continued.

The Presets known to us here for well over five years are in the midst of their fifth tour to the States showcasing their second album Apocalypso and aren’t sure whether it’s Australian or Americans crowds who are more fun to perform in front of.

“It’s hard for us to tell it’s the same kind of reaction,” considers Moyes. “We aren’t as afraid for our lives over here I guess as some of the audiences back home, we’re never sure if they’re going to be your best friends or kill you,” he laughed.

“There is a saying in America that they say to us ‘I really appreciate that’ and it feels like they really mean it where as in Australia you’d get people saying: ‘that was f**king sick man or yelling at you: Presets guys!”

Whether in North America or Australia the boys have a massive and always growing following for the particular recipe of futuristic, sometimes alien, sometimes retro, dance music they create. Their EP “Girl from the Sea” featuring the title track delivered them in 2004 into the spotlight as the eerily mesmerising love song was noticed by certain listening audiences. But Julian and Kim both djs getting about from Sydney knew to employ a specific tactic if they were to drive their success.

“We always had the intention to push this as far as we could, get as many people into it as we could. That is why we started playing with bands that weren’t in the same style,” Moyes said. “People thought we were pretty crazy when we toured with Little Birdy and bands like that but it worked at getting us in front of so many people’s faces,” he continued.

Moyes acknowledges the rise and rise of an energised dance culture supported by other acts of a similar ilk, friends, Midnight Juggernauts, Cut Copy and Sneaky Sound System has helped them along the way as previously this culture wasn’t really in existence.

“We’ve had the ability to build something from the ground up that has come through very organic processes and ends up coming out through the mainstream and that doesn’t happen very often,” Moyes said. The lyrical content of their music is what Moyes considers too be a big part of their success, specifically due the subtext they are so clever for interweaving through their songs.

“The thing I’m really proud of is that we aren’t ramming too much of a point down your throat in our songs.” He said.

“If there is one it’s not so spelled out, it’s not so blatant and the thing is with good music and good art it should have a myriad of meanings and mean something different to someone and will mean something different again to someone else,” he added.

Kicking back and chilling on the tour bus for the sound check of their Minnesota gig to be completed, conversation turns to what’s coming up for this super duper dance duo.

June will see them continue to ride the tour bus wave, this time back home - the Australian tour completely sold out and as well a headline performance for Australia’s darling festival – Splendour in the Grass. Not since 2002 have the lads performed at Splendour. Recollection of festival memories from this gig have come flooding back to Moyes as he recalls his and Julian’s antics.

“F**k it was a fun night, we were dj-ing, touring with The Dissociatives and it ended up Cut Copy were there too and the Bang Gang boys, it was a pretty spontaneously, insane night.”

The Festival’s house bar was the location Kim and Julian were the DJs on the decks and it’s one of the most memorable sets I’ve ever seen. Memorable too according to Moyes because it was about that same time they came up with a novel idea which has stuck.

“That was actually a pretty special moment you were witnessing there,” he said. “We just sort of came up with the idea of being the guys with masks.”

The lads with masks they still are and fast paced, craziness with fantastic beats is what they deliver. It’s unlikely though another dj set is likely because says Moyes ‘they’ll have too much to lose’.

Catch The Presets when they tour Oz this month and in August for Splendour. Visit www.thepresets.com or www.splendourinthegrass.com.

Posted: October 11th, 2008 under INTERVIEWS.
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