The Presets
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Flicking through the alphabetised racks of your local CD emporium you'll find that releases from Australian electro wizards The Presets fit snugly between Pet Shop Boys and Elvis Presley. Could there be some weird universal synergy to this? The strident beat of the heart and the swagger of the hips: it's at this musical cross point of emotive technological peaks and primal caveman rock that one finds The Presets.
In 2008 The Presets (Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes) came rocketing back into the fray with their sophomore album, 'Apocalypso'. Ranging from expansive, emotive techno, to future pagan house and choral space funk, 'Apocalypso' demonstrated the band's undeniably canny knack for welding hook-laden pop to some of the most singular and exciting sounds of tomorrow. In less than four years Julian Hamilton (vocals, programming and keys) and Kim Moyes (drums, programming and keys) worked their way up and out though the musical quagmire of Sydney's club scene to become Australia's foremost proponents of twisted electronic pop. They're now one of the most talked about and in-demand live acts today with a catalogue of dance smashes to their name.
Julian and Kim had first met a decade earlier as tearaway students at Sydney's Conservatorium of Music: by day they were battling Beethoven, by night sweating it out in seedy clubs to the strains of New Order, Bjork and The Smiths. They'd also collaborated in the largely experimental band Prop, specialising in highly impractical exotic instrumentation and non-vocal excursions in noodle.
Signed in 2003 to Australia's Modular Recordings (on the strength of demos which became their debut EP, the dark 'Blow Up') The Presets planted seeds throughout their hometown Sydney scene, which within 18 months began to reach germination internationally.
Things warmed up substantially for The Presets with subsequent releases 'Girl And The Sea EP' (2004), and their full-length long player 'Beams' (2005), which spawned the dance floor monsters 'Down Down Down', 'Are You The One?' and 'I Go Hard, I Go Home'.
So began two years of non-stop touring. From playing to clubs kids in Barcelona, New York and Istanbul, then to thousands of S&M leather daddies at the Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco, to over one hundred thousand people at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and every imaginable key festival in-between, Julian and Kim have covered almost every corner of the globe with their take no prisoners live show.
Along the way the band has remixed and been remixed by many of the modern dance music alumni. Additionally songs were picked up for use in hit TV programs such as The OC, CSI: Miami and CSI: New York as well as appearing on dozens of compilations.
All the touring, the music they've heard, the people they've met along the way, the parties and the tears, the trials and tribulations have borne their sophomore release, 'Apocalypso'.
'My People', is clearly a call to arms party, and unmistakably Presets in its sentiment. Tracks such as 'Anywhere' and the new single 'This Boy's In Love' are clean hits of pure, emotive techno that blossom with Technicolor ecstasy in their choruses. 'Talk Like That' and shoots straight for the pop heart while 'My People' and 'Kicking and Screaming' aim squarely for the dance-floor jugular. These unabashedly sharp pop songs are offset with tracks like 'A New Sky' and, which nudges the balance of the record ever so slightly towards a more abstract future utopia.
'Apocalypso' trips across a cosmos of sound, and self-assuredly succeeds in its ability traverse the belting soundsystems of the clubs of the world while also sounding like liquid moonjuice coming out of the speakers in your lounge room.
'Apocalypso' has taken Australia, and the world by storm. Accolades for the band and the album include six ARIA Awards (Album of The Year, Band of The Year, Best Dance Act, Best Video, Best Artwork), Triple J Network's 'Album of The Year', the inaugural SMAC Awards Album of The Year, APRA's Songwriters of the Year, Best Video for 'If I Know You' at the UK Video Awards as well as Triple Platinum Sales in Australia for 'Apocalypso', Double Platinum for 'My People', Platinum for 'Talk Like That' and Gold for 'This Bo's In Love'.
Festival appearances over the last five years include: Los Angeles Detour Festival 2008 (USA), Monolith Festival 2008, Denver (USA), I Love Neon, 2006 Montreal (Canada), CMJ Music Marathon, New York 2006 (USA), SXSW, Austin (2007) SXSW, Austin (2006) Miami Winter Music Conference (2007) Miami Winter Music Conference (2006), Folsom Street Fair (2008), Folsom Street Fair (2006), MTV Liverpool Music Week 2008 (UK), T in The Park 2008 (UK), Creamfields 2008 (UK) Creamfields 2006 (UK), Get Loaded 2008 (UK), V Festival 2008 (UK), V Festival 2006 (UK), Glastonbury Festival 2008 (UK), Indian Summer 2007 (Scotland), Global Gathering 2007 (UK), Oya Festival 2008 (Norway), Festival Pantiero 2008 (France), Electric Picnic 2008 (Ireland), Festival Internacional de Benecasim 2007 (Spain), Famufest 2008 (Czech Republic), Exit Festival 2008 (Serbia), Monegros Festival 2007 (Spain), Opening Party Space Ibiza 2007 (Spain), Festival Quartier d'Ete 2007 (France), Melt Festival 2006 (Germany), Berlin Festival 2007 (Germany), Hove Festival 2007 (Norway), Accelorator Festival 2007 (Sweden, Valkoff Affair Nijmegen 2007 (Netherlands), Les Ardentes 2008 (Belgium), Les Ardentes 2007 (France), 10 Days Off 2007 (Belgium), 5 Days Off 2008 (Netherlands), St Christophers Day Parade Berlin 2007 (Germany), Good Vibrations Festival Australia 2009, Nevereverland Australia 2008, St Jerome's Laneway Festival Australia 2008, V Festival Australia 2008, Big Day Out Australia 2007, Big Day Out Australia 2006 Nevereverland Australia 2007.
The band look set to return with a new album and show in 2011.
AWARDSAustralian Record Industry Awards 2008 Winner, Album of The Year
Australian Record Industry Awards 2008 Winner, Best Band
Australian Record Industry Awards 2006 Winner, Best Dance Release
Australian Record Industry Awards 2008 Winner, Producer of The Year
Australian Record Industry Awards 2008 Winner, Best Artwork
Australian Record Industry Awards 2008 Winner, Best Video
'My People' Australian Dance Music Awards 2006 Winner Best Video
'Are You The One?' J Album Awards 2008 Album of The Year
GQ Awards 2008 Band of The Year
SMAC Awards 2008 Album of The Year NOMINATIONS Australian Record Industry Awards 2006 Nominee, Best Dance Release MTV2 Subterranean 2006 Nominee, Best Video 'Are You The One?'
The Presets
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29 Jul, 2014
The Presets: New Single 'No Fun'
The Presets new single 'No Fun', and it's remixes by Rufus and Lancelot, has been receiving a good share of press attention and radio play.
"No Fun still has robotic hooks and a pulsating groove." - Consequence of Sound
"It s really good and the promise of a remix from Rufus being on the way, is also, a really good thing" - Too Many Sebastians
"This pair sure knows how to make any dancefloor a better place." - Last Gas Station
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02 Jul, 2014
The Presets: New Track 'No Fun' & The Cube
The Cube is an experimental platform for interactive storytelling. The Presets collaborated with Google Play to create a unique six-sided video, for their new track 'No Fun'.
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01 Sep, 2012
The Presets: New Single 'Ghosts'
The Presets have released the video to accompany their new single 'Ghosts', directed by Abteen Bagheri.
The album 'Pacifica' is released on 14th September on Modular Recordings. -
21 Jun, 2012
The Presets: New Album 'Pacifica'
The Presets announce their long-awaited return with their new album, 'Pacifica', to be released on September 14th 2012 on Modular Recordings.
Featuring ten prismatic, synth-laced songs, 'Pacifica' sees The Presets boldly venture into new, uncharted musical territories. Traversing both light and shade in energy and emotion, the album was produced by the band - Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes - and mixed in Los Angeles with Tony Hoffer.
It's been over four years since The Presets captured the nation's imagination with their blitzkrieg of an album, the sophomore 'Apocalypso'.
Spawning five hit singles and exceeding Triple Platinum sales, 'Apocalypso' set dizzying new heights for dance music in Australia. The single 'My People' stayed in the ARIA charts for over 75 weeks, making it the longest charting Australian single in ARIA chart history.The Presets took out six ARIA and ARIA Artisan awards (including Album of The Year - the first electronic band to do so, Best Group, and Best Dance Release) at the 2008 ARIA Awards, and 'Apocalypso' also received Triple J's 'J Award' for Album of The Year.
The following year The Presets were awarded Songwriters of The Year at the APRA Awards and again Best Dance release at the ARIAs that year for 'Talk Like That'. Their last national tour saw them play to over 70,000 people, including three consecutive Hordern Pavilions in Sydney and three Festival Halls in Melbourne. The band have also performed in front of mammoth crowds at some of the world's most popular music festivals including Coachella, Glastonbury, T In The Park, Benicassim and Electric Picnic as well as showcasing at major international music conferences CMJ and SXSW.
The Presets are also confirmed to appear at Parklife 2012
pacifica.thepresets.com
