Last Monday, I caught up with Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes of The Presets on their tour bus, to talk about their new record, their creative process and their spot in mainstream culture. The boys were thankful that I wasn’t video-taping the interview because they seemed to be dealing with the flu. We chatted for about 20 minutes before their sound check.
LR: Modular [Records] was super accommodating in getting this interview together. It seems like you guys are pretty busy…
JH: It hasn’t been too bad has it? We just sort of have been driving every night and a show in the afternoon or whatever. Yeah, not that much press, so it hasn’t been too bad.
LR: Oh, well, I guess that’s not too bad then.
JH: Yeah, you know.
LR: So, as far as Modular goes, did you find them, or did they find you?
JH: We kind of found each other.
KM: A friend of ours knew someone at the label when we were doing demos as “The Presets.” And they said that we should come and meet this guy from this record label that “The Avalanches” are on. So, we played him some of the demos and I guess he really liked it, and he kept calling and hunting us down until we signed a deal.
LR: Wow, that sounds pretty cool. It seems like the fans must have loved it too because you did so much touring once Beams came out.
JH: Oh Yeah.
LR: You both seem to have a pretty interesting live show. You consciously engage the crowd, and translate a very special live energy. How is that different from your contemporaries…?
JH: I think it’s becoming more common. Traditionally, dance artists or electro artists would have been pretty boring things to watch. Generally, it would be guys standing behind their computers. It was like that in the past. So, we didn’t want to do that. We consciously… I guess we wanted to put on a show that was fun for us to perform as well as for the audience to jump around to. There are more and more bands that are doing that kind of thing as well. You know, like Hot Chip or LCD Soundsystem, or Klaxons, sort of put on a really rocking live show. It’s really cool to watch because I think people are really responding to that. Even Justice, which is even more electronic on-stage and they aren’t playing anything like guitars, yet the show is such a spectacle. I think dance artists are becoming more and more conscious of knowing how to be entertaining.
LR: Well, I’m also coming to see the show again in Brooklyn, because it’s my birthday…
JH: Oh, that’s great! That’s so awesome that we’re playing on your birthday.
KM: Right on.
LR: So, as a follow-up, have you guys met anyone else that sort of like follows you around the country? (laugh) You know, like any crazies?
JH: You’re probably the first. (Laughs)
KM: (laughs) You’re the first fan in the back of our van.
JH: You can travel with us. But, seriously, we don’t really have anyone, have we?
KM: No. Sometimes, like in Minneapolis the other night, these kids we knew, from Austin, came to see us. Or when we were in Atlantis City… wait, is that right?
JH: Atlantis City is mythical. (Laughs)
KM: Oh, whatever. You know then, Atlanta… I think I’m confused. In any case, there are quite a lot of people that do the really long drives. Especially on this tour because we haven’t gone down south yet. So a lot of the hardcore fans will drive up and come and see the show.
LR: So, are there any favorite cities that you’ve played yet?
JH: They’ve all been pretty good, you know. I mean, we obviously have the ones that we look forward to. Places like San Francisco and stuff. I guess we played there a few times, and we always know it’s gonna be fun. But, you know, places like Salt Lake City, places where we didn’t know quite what to expect, they end up being really wild. Places, in the past, like Cleveland, I guess you’d expect the show to be a little bit smaller, but they end up being one of the most fun shows along the road, and those are really in your face.
KM: There are places where people don’t get that much attention from bands. The fans really love it. So, it’s always more rewarding. I hate it when bands say that, but it’s true. Places like L.A. or New York, they’ve got fucking everyone coming through, so the smaller cities, it means so much more to them and us.
LR: Being from a bigger city, you kind of expect every act to come through. I guess as a fan, you can get jaded a lot quicker. So, let’s talk about the new album. Apocalypso seems to have a darker, more sinister and mature feeling to it. Was there anything going on that sort of incited those changes? Anything socially, or political issues…
JH: There was a few things like that. Well, I guess it was us growing up and becoming a bit more mature.
KM: It was time for us to start worshipping Satan. (laughs) It’s interesting. A lot of people ask about this… the album being darker. But, I guess for us, I don’t feel dark about it. I think we just have a different look on things, and we really stripped all the shit away from before and were more mature about putting it together. It became more truthful and maybe that’s what is coming across as being dark?
JH: Yeah. Beams was a real party record. A lot of the songs are about partying and having fun. I don’t really feel that anymore. I don’t lead that life from the Beams world. So, I guess production-wise the record is a lot colder and starker. And like, lyrically, it’s more considered or thoughtful.
KM: It had something to do with the political climate in Australia.
LR: What was that all about?
JH: I guess I never really considered at the time when we were putting together the record, but the last 4 months of it was just a pretty horrible time to be in Australia. The same kind of thing you have here with Bush. [Former Prime Minster John] Howard was a pretty horrible man. You’d see things that were going on in the country, and on the news, that you weren’t happy about. I mean, it is a beautiful place, don’t get me wrong. Beautiful people live there. But, some of things that were happening… like the way we were treating refugees, or the disparity between aboriginal health and the rest of us, and the war that we’re fighting along with you guys… things were just upsetting. It wasn’t a very nice place to be. But, the flipside is that we’re still playing really fun shows and the kids can still dance and have a good time. So, it still feels like a party for us in spite of the world that we were kind of living in. I guess the record kind of evolved that way without us thinking about it too much. Especially lyrically, it was sort possible to be in a cold place, but still have a good time. A lot of songs might feel that way, stark and bleak sounding but still quite luscious and romantic at the same time. Uplifting.
LR: Oh yeah! You can still dance to a lot of the songs!
JH: Yeah, exactly. We kind of championed that. Our shows always seem to create a fun atmosphere in spite of what is going on outside. It’s hopefully easy to have a really good time.
LR: Was there anything on the record that you kind of left off that you wish you left on, or B-sides or anything like that?
KM: We cut it really fine with the amount of tracks we made. There was one that didn’t make it, and there was one B-side.
JH: It was a very fast and intense writing period for this record. We sort of noodled around for a few months while we were on the road doing a few bits and pieces and formulating ideas in our heads. Then we sat down and said, “Let’s really make this record.” It took about 3 or 4 months of real solid working, so everything that we started and decided to finish made it on the record, apart from that one song and that one B-side as well.
LR: So, did you start writing the album while you were on tour with Beams or did you just go into the studio?
KM: We started writing towards the end of Beams tour, then we had a couple more tours to finish and kind of took a few things on the road with us. We can’t really do much work while we’re on the road. It’s pretty difficult, but we could if we really needed to. I guess it’s just about getting into that frame of mind and finding the time.
JH: There were a few of those moments when we were supporting The Rapture in L.A. Once, during sound-check I had a certain sound of my synthesizer that I really liked, and Kim started playing drums to it. It ended up being a riff for “Kicking and Screaming”.
LR: Wow! That’s really cool!
JH: I guess some things are really born that way. Like, some of the programming was done in Berlin for “My People” on a certain day just because we were inspired to do something. But those days are very rare. Usually it comes just from studio time.
KM: It’s so much better that way—when you’ve got nothing in your mind, when you’re in the studio just getting inside that world. It’s so hard when you’re on tour because you’ve got all this shit going on.
LR: Do you feel like you’re part of a support system in Sydney? Is there a music community that you’re really a part of?
KM: Not really. We’ve got a lot of friends that do music and that are working in the industry in the studios or bands… all this shit. But it’s not really like we’re calling people up and going, “Can you help me? I can’t figure out how to get this chord to B-minor.”
JH: [As The Presets,] we’re kind of like an island on our own. We work a lot on our own; it’s not like a team sport at all. But I imagine it’s that way with all of us guys. For instance, with Cut Copy and Midnight Juggernauts, we’re all mates. It’s just not related to music.
KM: It’s such a weird, private little thing when you have a band. It takes a long time to get it right because you’re constantly refining it, and moving and growing with each other, then growing as people and as a band. It’s a weird organic little thing that’s hard to tap into. Sure, you can go off and work with anyone else. But, certain people, like us, don’t want to work with other people. You can write songs or help other people produce records, but the actual getting to make your own world while recording, you want to make it your own. You don’t want anyone to fuck with that.
JH: Yeah man, “Don’t fuck with my world, man.” (in a perfect American accent)
KM: Hey, I just want to rock your world. (laughs)
LR: Is there anyone that you’re getting into while on tour now. I’m sure that you listen to yourselves a lot, but, any contemporaries that you’re listening to?
JH: Yeah. We sort of killed the MGMT record [Oracular Spectacular] in like 2 days. It was really good, then like after 2 days it wasn’t that good. It’s a great record, but we killed it. We just listened to it way too much.
KM: I’ve been watching this movie every night for like the past week… Grey Gardens. I don’t really listen to much music.
LR: So, you just watch movies and hang out?
KM: I totally just listen to The Presets all the time. I found my favorite band. (laughs)
LR: That’s good! (laugh) I mean, if you can listen to yourselves, self-promote and not get sick of it, go for it! … I’m sure that you get this question all the time, but what is the weirdest/funniest/craziest story that you’ve ever had on-stage or while on-tour? Any standout moments?
JH: I guess you have to understand how things happen to us all the time. Really odd things. On this tour though, all the shows have been really good.
KM: It’s weird for us because this is a brand-new set that we’ve only just begun to start to get into. So every show is a new level of discovery. It’s all fun and comfortable now.
LR: So, it’s the same set?
KM: Oh yeah, because of all the technology that we use.
JH: We’re not just like a jazz-fusion band or something where we can just jam.
KM: We blend a lot of the songs as well. It’s like a seamless set. So, having that makes it pretty rigid as to what it’s gotta be. It’s hard to mix it to make everything work beforehand.
JH: Yeah, this is a good time to see the show. We’re just feeling it now.
KM: Next time we come back you’ll all be like, “Oh you guys are playing that set again?”
LR: Well, I saw you guys a bunch of times when I lived in Chicago, and the shows were a couple of months apart, and it was a totally different experience each time.
JH: Well, that’s good.
LR: It wasn’t a different set?
JH: No, maybe. I guess we had a lot going on then.
LR: I know it’s early in the tour, and you probably don’t have any set plans yet. But, do you expect your future endeavors will be in the same vain or do you want to do something else like a jazz-fusion record?
KM: For The Presets it’s beyond style. (laugh) We’ll keep moving forward with what we do, but, it’s never gonna be anything else other than The Presets.
JH: We’ve definitely found a theme that helped us get this music out of us. The Presets is like this funnel that gets all this shit out and it’s a good because we can sort of adapt it to what we want. It’s original enough that it doesn’t feel like we’re ripping off anyone. For the next record, we can change it to what we’re feeling then, and so on for all the other records. We’re at a good place where we’re quite fulfilled.
LR: I guess there’s time for just one more. Do you feel like you would rather remain just under the radar or infiltrate pop culture and become huge MTV stars?
KM: I guess there’s certain elements of that pop world which are pretty horrible, but at the same time, we don’t make music for certain people. We make this music for as many people that want to get into it. It’s not like this is for you, and not for you. It’s really about making this for everybody. Obviously, the more people that get into it, it’s that much better for the band.
LR: Yeah, don’t mince words or anything! (laugh)
KM: (laughs) Yeah, like even in Australia it’s become this sort of mainstream music. It came from this underworld hipster place and over a couple of years being this Top-20 kind of stuff. It’s even this sort of mainstream culture now. Hopefully, it’ll keep going like that for a little while. If that happened here, I wouldn’t be saying like, “What?” I mean, can you imagine how rich we’d be? (laughs) I mean, we’d be backstage doing our makeup like all these emo bands, but still doing what we do. We would take that opportunity to be as freaky as possible just to screw with everyone. But, if all the sudden there were a hunger or desire for it… fuck yeah, we’d do our part.
LR: Thanks so much for taking time out for this interview and good luck tonight.
JH: Thanks for braving our stink and hopefully you don’t get sick.
As an aside, The Presets remained ill throughout the tour. I just read a post that they had to cancel the last spot due to illness. I haven’t come down with anything yet, so I think I’m in the clear. Although, being the fan-girl that I am, I would probably be more than happy to tell everyone that The Presets got me sick.
