"Some of the songs on the record are about some of the weightier issues, like My People, and some of them are really quite light-hearted and flippant. Some of [them] are about hand jobs or dancing at a techno party."
If the indie-electronica musical genre could somehow be transformed into an event at the Olympic Games, Australia would be blitzing the field. The past few years has seen the rise of a number of outstanding local electronic acts, many of whom have gone on to enjoy huge success on the international stage. Though the amount of these groups is plentiful – and I could spend all day namedropping – at the end of the day there is only one name which stands out from the rest of the pack: THE PRESETS.
It seems as if this pair from Sydney – consisting of singer and synth wiz Julian Hamilton and his partner in crime, drummer Kim Moyes – can do no wrong. Their debut record, Beams, released in late 2005, was a commercial success and had both indie and club kids shaking their booties like there was no tomorrow. Three years and a sophomore album release later, the Presets still receive a frenzy of attention wherever they go. Only now they're experiencing it on a much grander scale. This is largely due to the success of the first single from their second album Apocalypso, entitled My People.
Evoking many a dancefloor riot, the true subject matter of the song often goes unnoticed by oblivious fans. With lyrics such as "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," fans could be forgiven for thinking the song was written with them in mind. Not so, according to Hamilton. The song is written from the perspective of a refugee in a detention centre, although he concedes it is open to interpretation.
"I think that's fine that the song is interpreted in different ways and I know most of the fans think it's about them and that's fine!" Hamilton enthuses. "I'm really happy for the song to work on different levels and I must admit when I'm onstage performing it in a club or at a festival, it's hard not to think of the audience as the people you're singing about."
He's quick to point out that despite delving into deep issues such as the plight of asylum seekers, not all of the tracks on Apocalypso pack such a heavy punch. "Some of the songs on the record are about some of the weightier issues, like My People, and some of them are really quite light-hearted and flippant," he reveals. "Some of the other songs on the record are about hand jobs or dancing at a techno party."
When they're not busy packing political punches with their lyrics, the Presets also like to cause the occasional stir with their video clips. The clip for second single, This Boy's In Love, features stunning slow motion imagery of Hamilton and Moyes banging away at their instruments in a blizzard of glitter, interspersed with shots of two scantily-clad, attractive young males duking it out in what appears to be a giant pool of milk. Homoerotic much?
The clip has inspired a myriad of responses on popular video-sharing website youtube, with punters leaving such comments as "i love the presets.. they wouldnt loose me as a fan or anything just was hoping they wernt gay.... kinda like u hope ur kids arnt born with defects.. LOL!..." – and that's the poster's actual spelling, folks.
Homophobic comments such as this are like water off a duck's back for Hamilton. "The kind of people that leave messages on youtube are usually a small percentage of people, you know? I think if you leave a comment on youtube you've gotta be pretty fired up and angry or really, totally in love with something," he shrugs.
"When we read the treatment that the director sent us, his ideas, it sounded like a really classical thing. A really beautiful thing. Like an old painting... a Rembrandt or something. When you see cherubs and angels in these beautiful Renaissance paintings, you don't think gay. You think just... beautiful," he gushes. "With the video, it's sort of the same thing. I want you to think of ancient Greek statues." He pauses thoughtfully and then adds, "I think it's a classical thing before it's a gay thing. But then it's not as if we shy away from the gay imagery either. A lot of our favourite artists are from that sort of scene."
Hamilton points out that the video shouldn't really be that big of a deal, considering the type of fanbase he feels The Presets attract. "Perhaps back in the day things were a bit more rock 'n' roll and guys didn't care what their hair looked like and everyone just wore black. But people are a bit more open to new things these days and that's the world in which we operate," he explains. "If Cold Chisel came out with a new song and it was the This Boy's In Love video, I think that would be really weird. That would be controversial!"
Ultimately, hit singles and polarising video clips aside, The Presets' real strength lies in their dynamic and exciting live shows. Their ability to turn a shy audience into a mass of sweaty bodies yearning for the next thrilling climax or thumping chorus is second to none. "It is a good feeling when you see everyone jumping around to it and getting into it," Hamilton admits. "It's like 'Fuck yeah! We made this thing and everyone loves us.'" Indeed we do, Julian. Indeed we do.
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