The Presets: In the House
There’s a reason why The Presets are one of Australia’s most enduring electronic acts. Ahead of their exclusive DJ set at Gluttony for Adelaide Fringe, Julian Hamilton – one-half of the multi-award-winning Sydney outfit – lets loose about their craziest shows, cracking Adelaide’s music scene and what country has the best salt and vinegar chips.
Interview Tobias Handke // Photo Ben Sullivan
We're stoked to see you’re at Gluttony for a one-off show this March 15! We’ve heard one of your most memorable Fringe appearances was a free street party that descended into chaos. Tell us about that show…
We have very fond memories of that! That was the first proper big show we did there because until then, Adelaide was always such a tough nut to crack. We would play at Jive or the UniBar and four people would show up. That show went crazy and flipped everything on its head. My enduring memory from that night is people throwing wheelie bins in [the] air like beach balls. It was crazy.
That sounds pretty nuts. What’s the wildest thing that you’ve ever seen at a show?
We got invited to play at Folsom Street Fair – a pride party in San Francisco. That was pretty intense. We saw a lot of stuff. You wouldn’t be bringing your kid to the show…
Where will you find the loosest fans in Australia?
We used to think it was the Gold Coast because they always used to go nuts. But honestly, random shows just explode in ways we didn’t realise. We’re always discovering new places. We did a show in Jindabyne, which was an insane party. Hobart was fucking crazy, really fun. It’s hard to predict where the parties are going to be.
How do Aussies stack up against international audiences?
Whether you’re playing in Adelaide or Darwin, Barcelona or Chicago, [if] people are jumping around dancing to the music and singing along, that’s all that really matters. And we’ve been lucky that people have always done that, no matter where we play.
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You’re playing The Fantail at Gluttony – an open-air venue. What can fans expect from your DJ set?
We keep it pretty lean. It’s just Kim [Moyes] and me – your old pals – throwing down a party.
How do you go about curating a DJ set? What influences your track selection?
It’s always changing. Depending on how well the audience responds, we can be more adventurous in the stuff we select. At DJ shows, it’s fun because we can chop and change as we move along, whereas at a band show, it’s playing the same material every night. We pick songs we think people would like to hear but, more importantly, that we love. We can present a bigger picture of The Presets world. There’s a lot of freedom to be had at the DJ shows – we really enjoy doing them.
Do you guys have a pre-gig tune that gets you in the mood?
Not really! But back in the day, before we started The Presets, I used to play keyboards for Silverchair. They would always have a James Brown track they'd play before to get them in the zone. [Kim and I] give each other a hug and walk out there – we don't need any kind of warm-up music!
Can you let slip about the must-have items on your rider? Anything wild?
We’re pretty tame with the riders! Salt and vinegar chips are the only thing we insist on. We have the beers and the vodka – standard things people ask for. But there always has to be two packets of salt and vinegar chips. And it’s interesting, around the world, there are different quality salt and vinegar chips – I think Australia definitely punches well above its weight.
Noted! Finally, how would you describe seeing The Presets in five words to someone who hasn’t before?
Oh, gosh… I’ll just say it’s a really, really great time!
See The Presets DJ set at The Fantail at Gluttony on March 15. Tickets on sale now via adelaidefringe.com.au.
