In 2009, Hamilton and Moyes won an APRA Award for Songwriters of the Year[3] and another ARIA Award, this time for Best Dance Release for "Talk Like That". They released their third album, Pacifica, in Australia in September 2012. It reached No. 3 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Their fourth album, Hi Viz, was released in June 2018. The Presets are known for their dynamic live shows.
Aside from the Presets' extensive performance work, the duo has remixed tracks for several other artists including Kings of Leon, Silverchair and Lenny Kravitz.[4][5] The Presets are recognised as key players in the dance music explosion in Australia in the late 2000s.[6]
The Presets' founders, Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes met in 1995 at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music where they were both studying classical music.[7][8] They shared an interest in 1980s pop music and became members of the Sydney-based electronic group, Prop, with Jeremy Barnett on marimbas, Hamilton on keyboards, Moyes on vibraphone, David Symes on bass guitar and Jared Underwood on drums. This group released two albums, Small Craft, Rough Sea in 2001 and Cook Cut Damage Destroy in 2003. Hamilton and Moyes broke off from Prop when they remixed a track, "Magnetic Highway", with "harder electronic edges" under the name The Presets.[7][9]
2003–2004: Early EPs
The Presets formed in Sydney in 2003 with Hamilton on vocals, keyboards and production and Moyes on drums, keyboards, production and programming.[7] The band recorded a demo which drew the attention of Modular Records. They signed with the label and released a seven-track extended play, Blow Up, in November.[9][10]Daniel Johns (Silverchair) provided guitar work and co-wrote the track, "Cookie" with the duo.[7] The EP was favourably compared to work by Depeche Mode, Soft Cell and Cabaret Voltaire.[9] The Presets supported the EP with gigs in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane; and issued a 10" single, "Beat On / Beat Off", on Rex Records.[9] In November 2004, as a follow-up, a second EP was issued, the five-track Girl and the Sea. Its title track was eventually featured on The O.C. – the United States teen drama TV series in March 2006.[7] Tim Colman of The Sydney Morning Herald described them as having "successfully fused pop, techno, electro and rock. They've even stripped the live rig down to drums, keyboards, microphones and an iPod."[11] In the same month the duo ventured out on their first interstate shows, performing as part of a Modular Records night which also featured Cut Copy, Colder, and BRAINS (The Avalanches in DJ Mode).[12]
2005–2006: Beams
The Presets released their debut album, Beams in Australia on 12 September 2005. The first commercially released single from the album was "Are You the One?", backed with non-album tracks "Truth and Lies" and "Midnight Boundary", as well a remix of "Girl and the Sea" by Cut Copy.[13] The UK version of the single (which appeared in early 2006) featured remixes by Simian Mobile Disco and Van She.[13] A remix of the song by French DJ, Lifelike, was commissioned in 2008 to feature in a BMW 1 Series commercial in Australia.[14] The Presets played their first shows in the United Kingdom and Europe, opening as special guests for fellow Australian band The Dissociatives as well as two shows of their own in London.
Throughout the second half of 2005, the duo toured Australia nationally several times, playing shows with Little Birdy, Paul Mac and Regurgitator, and their own headline tour in October. 2005 also saw the band make their first Australian festival appearances, DJing at Splendour in the Grass, Byron Bay and Come Together Festival in Sydney, as well as closing off the year playing at Falls Festival in Lorne, Australia.
The Presets kicked off 2006 with their first-ever national Australian festival run, playing in the Boiler Room for the Big Day Out. The first half 2006 saw The Presets begin to promote their music more heavily in the UK, Europe and the US. They opened for Australian band Wolfmother on several UK dates in February 2006. They then travelled over to the US in March to play their first New York shows before a handful of showcases at SXSW, Austin, Texas and on to Miami for Winter Music Conference. It was in New York that DJ Hell saw the band play and subsequently licensed Beams to his label International Deejay Gigolo Records for a European release mid-2006. The duo returned to the UK and Ireland as special guest of Soulwax on several dates, before heading back over to the US to open for Ladytron on an extensive national tour. "Down Down Down" received an official release in the UK with remixes by Digitalism, Bumblebeez and Midnight Juggernauts (the song has previously been a promo only single in Australia in 2005).[15]
The next single released for the band was "I Go Hard, I Go Home", again released in the UK only with remixes by DJ Hell, The Juan Maclean and Ascii Disko.[16] As many of the mixes of "Are You the One?", "Down Down Down" and "I Go Hard, I Go Home" had not been readily available in the US, Modular Records released Resets, a bonus disc available only with Beams in limited quantities. It was subsequently released physically and digitally in Australia at the end of the year.
The band returned to Australia mid-year for Infinity 2006, presented by Modular Records featuring The Presets and special guests Digitalism. The tour sold out everywhere and was met with ecstatic reviews.[17] The tour was followed by a triumphant set at Splendour in the Grass, with PopMatters describing the audience's reaction: "It's been a long time since I've seen a crowd go as wild as this."[18]
The touring schedule continued with a run of club dates across the US summer, including playing Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco, then hopping over to Europe for more club dates. The latter half of the year saw the band tour extensively with The Rapture in the UK and the US, including an appearance in New York at Webster Hall as part of CMJ Music Marathon.[19]
After more than four months away The Presets returned to cap off the year, playing Homebake in Sydney and Meredith Music Festival in Victoria.
2007
A major turning point for The Presets was their 2007 Big Day Out Shows. Playing the penultimate slot in the Boiler Room saw the band play to their biggest audiences to date. inthemix described their set as "Pure class! The Presets well and truly earned their promotion up the timetable from last years early afternoon scorcher. The Aussie duo have only improved from a further 12 months of relentless touring and performed with the charisma of seasoned pros."[20] March saw a quick visit to North America with a handful of club dates and appearances at SXSW Music Festival and Miami Winter Music Festival.
In April 2007, the Presets released another single only distributed in the UK, "Truth & Lies", which featured two songs and originally appeared as a B-side to "Are You The One?" in Australia.[21] Around the same time the band spent a few weeks at a farm just outside Bryon Bay, where they began work on what would become their second album. In the middle of the year the band relocated to Berlin for several months. During this time they played across Europe on the festival circuit, including Benicàssim in Spain and Global Gathering in the UK. On the way home they performed at Modular Stage at Summer Sonic in Japan. Back in Sydney they continued to work in earnest on the album. By November the bulk of the album was completed.
In December, The Presets performed as the main support act for Daft Punk during their NeverEverLand tour around Australia. The tour proved highly successful with almost 35,000 people attending the Sydney show alone.[22] Coinciding with the NeverEverLand Tour, The Presets released "My People", the lead single from their second album Apocalypso. Paired with a groundbreaking video by Kris Moyes and several remixes, the song was added instantly to the Triple j network, and saw commercial radio networks in Australia give the band their first airplay. Overseas, "My People" kickstarted a renewed interest in the band, becoming The Guardian's Pick of the Week, who likened the song to "the brutality of Aussie rules football [...] in a good way, obviously."[23]
2008
Apocalypso was issued on 12 April 2008, which debuted at number-one on the ARIA Albums Chart and remained in the top50 for 63 weeks.[24] It achieved the iTunes number-one spot for several weeks.[25] By 2009 it was certified triple platinum (shipment of 210,000 units) in Australia.[26][27]The Guardian described the album as "a giant leap forward [...] Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes have sharpened their pop-poisoned claws and dug them deep into their dark-hued techno."[23]
In May 2008, the Presets released an EP, single and a remixed edition of "This Boy's in Love", with the song of the same name still being played on the radio before its release. In October, the band won six ARIA Awards at the 2008 ceremony: Producer of the Year, Best Artwork (artwork by Jonathan Zawada), Best Video ("My People", directed by Kris Moyes), Best Dance Release, Best Group and Album of the Year. They became the first electronic music group to receive the award for Album of the Year.[28] In December, Apocalypso was awarded the J Award for Australian Album of the Year. The Presets appeared in Triple J's Hottest 100 for 2008 three times, with "Yippiyo-Ay" at number56, "This Boy's in Love" at number8, and "Talk Like That" at number6.
2009–2011
The Presets played at the festival Good Vibrations, which made its way around Australia in February 2009. In the following month, The Presets performed for Sound Relief at the Sydney Cricket Ground.[29]Sound Relief, which took place on 14 March 2009 was a benefit concert for victims of the Victorian bushfire crisis and the Queensland floods.[29] The concert welcomed 80,000 punters into the Sydney Cricket Ground.[30]The AU Review described the Presets' performance as "the moment that will define Sound Relief". The Presets "tore through favourites such as "My People", "Yippiyo-ay" and "This Boy's in Love" providing a moment of pure euphoria".[31] Their performance was enhanced by the thunderstorm overhead showering down over the 80,000 person crowd.
In April, the Presets performed at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and in May the duo embarked on their national tour of Australia. Along with their support act Architecture in Helsinki, the band performed for around 70,000 people across Australia.[32] At the 2009 APRA Awards in June, Kim Moyes and Julian Hamilton won Songwriter of the Year, "Talk Like That" won the 2009 ARIA Award for Best Dance Release and "If I Know You" won the UK Music Video Award for Best Dance Video (directed by Eva Husson.)[33][34][35] On New Years Day 2010, the Presets played at the Sydney dance music festival, Field Day, and on 3 January the duo headlined the Summadayze Festival in Perth.
In February 2011, the Presets headlined the MS Festival at Inveresk (Launceston) and in March they performed at Future Music Festival, which took place in five separate sights around Australia. They also played at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April for the second time since 2009. During the same month, the Presets performed as one of the headlining acts at Festival Estereo Picnic in Bogota, Colombia.
The Presets have publicly expressed dismay that journalists often rely on the band's Wikipedia page for research purposes. Hamilton stated in a Rolling Stone Australia interview: "We always get the same six questions. We should put on our Wiki page 'we [really] hate it when journalists check this page to ask us questions.'"[26]
2012
In 2012 the band released the singles "Youth in Trouble" (June 2012) and "Ghosts" (August 2012) in advance of their album Pacifica.[37][38] "Ghosts" featured on the official soundtrack of EA Sports' FIFA 13.[39]
The Presets' third studio album Pacifica was released on 7 September 2012.[40] The album received domestic and international acclaim. Pacifica was the ARIA Charts Album of the Week following its release in September 2012. ARIA described the album's stand out tracks: "'Fall'-- Julian Hamilton's vocals at their haunting best, 'Fast Seconds' will be mind-blowing live and 'Promises' a summer anthem with New Order flavours."[41]
Australian publications The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian, and the Herald Sun also labelled Pacifica Album of the Week. In an article review on Pacifica, the Sydney Morning Herald stated "it's fair to say that on Pacifica, Moyes and Hamilton have stepped up and out, unafraid and keen to test their boundaries."[42]
Pacifica was nominated for the 2012 J Award for Australian Album of the Year. Triple J described Pacifica as "an album that constantly surprises- while still proving the Presets know how to rip up a dance floor."[43]
In October 2012, the Presets performed at the CMJ Music Marathon in New York. The CMJ Music Marathon is a music event, which spans over 5 days in 80 different nightclubs across New York City. The Presets performed at the same festival 6 years prior in 2006. They performed at the Treasure Island Music Festival in San Francisco in the same month and headlined the dance festival Parklife, which took place in five cities across Australia in September and October.[44] The Presets were featured in the Hottest 100 of 2012 twice. The single "Promises" was voted in at number 70 while "Ghosts" appeared at number 52.[45] The Presets won Best Live Act in the inthemix Awards for 2012 and the single "Ghosts" was awarded Single of the Year (readers vote) in the Rolling Stone Australia Awards.[46][47]
2013–present
In celebration of Australia Day 2013, the Presets performed at the Australia Day Live Concert on the lawns of Parliament House on 25 January. In February, the band embarked on their national tour of Australia to promote Pacifica.
In March the duo played at the Snowball Festival in Colorado, as well as the Sasquatch Music Festival at The Gorge Amphitheatre in Washington in May.[48] The Presets also performed at Dark Mofo in Hobart,[49]SXSW Music Festival in the US,[50]Splendour in the Grass in Byron Bay, Australia,[51] and they headlined the Mardi Gras Festival in Sydney, Australia.[52][53]
The Presets were nominated for Best Live Act in the inthemix Awards for 2013 and in the Triple J Hottest 100 of the last 20 years "My People" was voted in at number 77. The countdown, hosted by radio station Triple J, had 940,000 voters from Australia and around the world. The countdown was a means of narrowing down the top songs released between 1993 and 2012. The Presets were one of 29 Australian artists, which were recognised in the countdown.[54][55]
Two days before Bali Nine ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were executed in Indonesia for drug trafficking, Kim Moyes condemned the death penalty via Facebook and called for their fans to "stop listening to [our] music" if they supported the then-impending executions of the Bali Nine pair. He went on to reiterate that their 2007 single "My People" was inspired by the plight of asylum seekers during the John Howard era.[56][57] The duo later apologised for "getting personal" and posted a tribute after Chan and Sukumaran were executed along with six other prisoners on 29 April 2015.[58]
In October 2023, The Presets featured on 3%'s debut single "Our People", which samples "My People".[59]
The APRA Music Awards are several award ceremonies run in Australia by Australasian Performing Right Association to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually. Songwriter of the Year is voted by APRA's Board of Writer and Publisher Directors rewarding the songwriter who has recorded the most impressive body of work in the previous year.
The Australian Music Prize (The AMP) is an annual award of $30,000 given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award.
The Helpmann Awards is an awards show, celebrating live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Performance Australia since 2001.[70] Note: 2020 and 2021 were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Every year, FBi brings together the finest creative talents Sydney has to offer. The FBi SMAC Awards recognise the hard working and talented people who have contributed something special to Sydney's creative culture: be it music, theatre, visual art, film or food.
Year
Nominee / work
Award
Result
2008
Apocalypso
Record of the Year
Won
National Live Music Awards
The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. The awards commenced in 2016.
The John Butler Trio were an Australian roots-rock band led by guitarist and vocalist John Butler, an APRA and ARIA-award-winning musician. They formed in Fremantle in 1998 with Jason McGann on drums, Gavin Shoesmith on bass and John Butler on vocals. By 2009, the trio consisted of Butler with Byron Luiters on bass and Nicky Bomba on drums and percussion, the latter being replaced by Grant Gerathy in 2013. After both Luiters and Gerathy exited the trio in early 2019, bassist OJ Newcomb and drummer Terepai Richmond joined the band, accompanied by touring musician Elana Stone on keyboards, percussion and backing vocals.
The Dissociatives were an Australian alternative rock band consisting of Daniel Johns of Silverchair and dance producer and DJ Paul Mac, which formed in mid-2003. They were supported by touring members, Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes, and James Haselwood. Their first single "Somewhere Down the Barrel" peaked at No. 25 on the ARIA Singles Chart. The duo's debut album The Dissociatives reached No. 12 on the ARIA Albums Chart. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2004 they won two trophies; Best Cover Art for James Hackett's work on The Dissociatives and Best Video for Hackett's direction of "Somewhere Down the Barrel".
The Cat Empire are an Australian jazz/funk band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1999. For most of the band's duration, the core members were Felix Riebl, Harry James Angus, Will Hull-Brown (drums), Jamshid "Jumps" Khadiwhala, Ollie McGill and Ryan Monro. Monro retired from the band in March 2021, while Angus, Hull-Brown and Khadiwhala all left in April 2022. They are often supplemented by The Empire Horns, a brass duo composed of Ross Irwin (trumpet) and Kieran Conrau (trombone), among others. Their sound is a fusion of jazz, funk, ska, and rock with heavy Latin influences.
Eskimo Joe are an Australian alternative rock band that was formed in 1997 by Stuart MacLeod, on lead guitar, Joel Quartermain, on drums and guitar, and Kavyen Temperley, on bass guitar and vocals, in East Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia.
Hilltop Hoods is an Australian hip hop group that formed in 1996 in Blackwood, Adelaide, South Australia. They are regarded as pioneers of the "larrikin-like" style of Australian hip hop. The group was founded by Suffa and Pressure, who were joined by DJ Debris after fellow founder, DJ Next, left in 1999. The group released its first extended play, Back Once Again, in 1997 and have subsequently released eight studio albums, two "restrung" albums and three DVDs.
End of Fashion are an Australian pop rock band from Perth, Western Australia. The group gained mainstream attention with its 2005 single "O Yeah", which was voted into eighth position of the Hottest 100 poll, compiled by Australian youth radio station Triple J. The group has released three studio albums. In January 2014, the band took a hiatus before reforming for their first show on 22 September 2018 at the Indian Ocean Hotel in Scarborough.
Joshua Jon Pyke is an Australian singer-songwriter, producer, musician and children's book author.
Beams is the debut studio album by Australian electronic dance music duo The Presets, released on 12 September 2005 by record label Modular. The album reached No. 55 on the Australian Charts, and was certified gold in Australia.
Julian Thomas Hamilton is an Australian singer-songwriter and keyboardist, who, with bandmate Kim Moyes, formed the electronica duo, The Presets in 2003. They have issued four studio albums, Beams, Apocalypso, Pacifica, and Hi Viz. Both were previously members of another electronic group, Prop, which released two albums, Small Craft Rough Sea (2001) and Cook Cut Damage Destroy. Hamilton has also worked as a session and touring member of Silverchair (2001–2003) and The Dissociatives (2004). At the APRA Music Awards of 2008 Hamilton and Daniel Johns won Song of the Year and Most Played Australian Work for Silverchair's single, "Straight Lines". In 2009 Hamilton and Moyes won Songwriters of the Year for their work on Apocalypso for The Presets.
Kimberley Isaac Moyes is an Australian musician, producer, mix engineer, composer, songwriter, DJ and one half of the Sydney-based electronica duo, The Presets. Moyes provides synthesizers and drums, as well as engineering, production and songwriting. The Presets have released two EPs and four full-length albums. Moyes also records and performs as a solo artist under the aliases K.I.M. In 2018, Moyes launched his own vinyl and digital record label called "Here To Hell".
Angus & Julia Stone are an Australian folk and indie pop group, formed in 2006 by brother and sister Angus and Julia Stone. Angus & Julia Stone have released five studio albums and a soundtrack album: A Book Like This (2007), Down the Way (2010), Angus & Julia Stone (2014), Snow (2017), Life Is Strange (2021) and Cape Forestier (2024). At the ARIA Music Awards of 2010, they won five awards from nine nominations: Album of the Year, Best Adult Alternative Album, Best Cover Art and Producer of the Year for Down the Way, and Single of the Year for "Big Jet Plane". The siblings have also issued solo albums.
Birds of Tokyo are an Australian alternative rock band from Perth. Their debut album, Day One, gained them domestic success, reaching number three on the AIR Independent Album charts and spending a total of 36 consecutive weeks in the top ten.
Apocalypso is the second studio album by Australian electronic dance music duo The Presets. The album was released by record label Modular on 12 April 2008 in Australia, on 13 May in the United States, and 2 June in the United Kingdom. The album features the singles "My People", "This Boy's in Love", "Talk Like That", "Yippiyo-Ay", "If I Know You" and "Kicking and Screaming".
"My People" is the first single from Australian electronic music duo the Presets' second album Apocalypso. The song was nominated for two ARIA Awards, Single of the Year and Best Video. It won the latter.
The 22nd annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards took place on 19 October 2008. The nominees for all categories were announced on 10 September, while the winners of the Artisan Awards were announced on the same day.
"Talk Like That" is a song by Australian electronic music duo the Presets, released as the third from their second studio album, Apocalypso (2008). The song was written by duo members Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes and released in September 2008. Moyes has described the track as "a calypso house track with these weird cathedral organs, techno tom toms and a ballsy bassline."
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Pacifica is the third studio album by Australian electronic duo The Presets. The album was released in Australia by Modular Recordings on 7 September 2012. It was released the following week by Casablanca / Universal Republic. The album features the singles "Youth in Trouble", "Ghosts", "Promises", "Fall" and "Push". The album was Triple J's Feature Album, Radar Radio's Feature Album and Fbi Radio's Sunset Album. The album was produced by The Presets and mixed by Tony Hoffer. The track "Ghosts" featured on the soundtrack of FIFA 13.
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