Interview: The Presets

ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY OSCAR RANGEL

Los Angeles is known for having great shows night in and night out. But the city is also notorious for having people attend these shows preoccupied with anything BUT the music. Concertgoers on cell phones or Sidekicks text back and forth to find out where the afterparties are, if there’s a hipper place to be at, or what celebutant just happens to be at the venue. People sometimes are at the show just to build their indie rep and say they went to the show of a blogosphere-hyped band. But most of the time, they just stand there with their arms crossed, barely nodding their heads and only singing along to the hits. There are only a few up-and-coming bands that can come to our town and break fair-weather Angelinos out of that trance and get them moving. One of those bands happens to be Australia’s The Presets.

My first experience with The Presets was last year at Club NME at Spaceland. The day before, The Presets had blown the roof off of Cinespace. Though I knew a few songs from the Beams album, it didn’t prepare me for the experience of seeing The Presets live. Although the band consists of only two members—Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes—they definitely put on a show bigger than the sum of its parts. The Presets had the entire Spaceland crowd moving to the beat of every song from the get-go. You couldn’t spot anyone with their arms crossed or preoccupied with their phones. The Presets gave the full concert experience of having fun, regardless of how well you know the material. And they brought back that same experience a few months later, opening for The Rapture at the Henry Fonda Theater. The Presets recently had their own headlining gig at the newly opened EchoPlex (below the Echo) with the equally addictive openers The Crystal Castles. The Scenestar had the privilege of interviewing The Presets after their sound check that night.

SS: How did you two guys meet?
Kim: We met at University. Sydney Conservatory of Music.

SS: How did you guys come up with the story you have on MySpace then? (The story states that Kim caught Jules eating out of the dumpster of a restaurant where Kim worked.)
Kim: We got someone else to write it for us. [Laughs]

SS: That was pretty clever! Have you guys played in any bands before The Presets?
Kim: We used to have a band called Prop, kind of like a five-piece instrumental thing. Kind of a little bit like Tortoise. One of those post-rock bands. And then, we sort of realized we wanted to make some music that was more aggressive and rockin’ and energetic, and that’s why we started doing The Presets.

SS: What made you leave the band you were in before, Props?
Jules: You know, it was really fun, and it was something for a certain time. I think it was, I don’t know, accessible? We were around doing it and stuff, but it never had a place in what we were doing, and then we realized one day that why not just do The Presets.

SS: Good move so far.
Kim: Thanks. Fuck yeah! That other band had a lot of heavy instruments in it. Definitely was a smart move.

SS: What kind of musical influences do you have to the music you’re doing now?
Kim: Chemical Brothers, Daft Punk, Trans Am, funky dancey bands, Nine Inch Nails, The Pet Shop Boys…
Jules: Really kind of happy, camp, fun bands, some really aggressive rocking dark things, you know, and dance music…

SS: Which is your favorite band to have toured with? Any bands you’ve played with in festivals?
Jules: Playing with Soulwax was really fun. It was a really good experience to play with them. The Rapture was actually really fun, you know?

SS: Do you have a favorite place you like playing back home in Australia? UK? U.S.?
Kim: Playing home in Australia! [Laughs] We really love playing somewhere where you can drive home.

SS: Oh really? Is that what you miss about playing in Australia?
Jules: Yeah…
Kim: Yeah, I mean, you know. We’re just happy to return home.

SS: So how’s the music scene in Australia right now?
Kim: It’s really good! Some really great bands coming out of Australia like Cut Copy, Midnight Juggernauts, and Silverchair just came out with a new record...
SS: Yeah, Silverchair just had some sold-out shows here (at the El Rey Theatre).
Kim: Yeah, they’re mates of ours!

SS: What do you guys like about playing here in L.A.?
Jules: The crowds here are great. Lot of energy in the shows.
Kim: It’s really nice and warm here. It sort of reminds us a little bit of Sydney.
Jules: When you’re on the road, all you have is fast food. In L.A., you can finally go have a drink, fruit, vegetables. Ridiculous selection of food. Tex-Mex. You can go to a cafe and see some kind of celebrity. It’s pretty silly.

SS: Really? Any celebrities you’ve run into?
Kim: We saw Dennis Quaid at the airport!
Jules: Yeah. [Laughs]
Kim: We saw Dennis Quaid just standing at the airport. It’s really our favorite L.A. celebrity.
Jules: We like playing all over America, and we find that we tend to bring out audiences in each city that we like. People that we like and can relate to. L.A. or New York or wherever it is, there are always good kids that come along.

SS: We also noticed that in the different covers of the Beams album and remixes, you’re wearing cool outfits. Do you ever think of incorporating those into the shows?
Kim: What do you mean?
SS: Like the masks and all that...
Jules: What’s wrong with the outfits we got on now? [Laughs]

SS: There’s nothing wrong; it’s all good.
Jules: Sure, we’ve thought about it, but you know...
Kim: Yeah, it would be a bit kind of glam for us.

SS: So it kind of detracts from the music if you actually wore all that?
Jules: Yeah, I guess. You know, there’s so much time that gets wasted when you’re touring and playing shows. Soundchecking and something fucking up, which I’m sure spending another two hours [on outfits] would totally burn us out.

SS: What do you think of people trying to label you as “nu-rave”?
Kim: Oh Jesus, we got to the point of being called electroclash! [Laughs] And now they have started calling us something new again. It’s all good.
Jules: I call us spazz dance fag rock. [Laughs] So watch that label catch on fire!

SS: [Laughs] We’ll see how that goes! Do you have any future collaborations with any other bands?
Kim: Not really. Just The Presets.
Jules: Yeah, we’re just focusing on doing our own thing for a little bit longer before we get back to being Tony Danza. [Laughs]

SS: What’s near the end of the tour? I think you guys go back to the UK and then do a show in Australia right?
Kim: Yeah, we do a bunch more shows in the States, then we do just one in London and a few European dates, and then we go back home and probably do our record, finish it quickly and come back and see you guys sooner than we’d probably like to. [Laughs]

SS: Alright! Is there anything you want to add before we call it a day?
Jules: Just thank you very much for coming to do an interview with us.

SS: Thanks for having me. You guys were awesome during the sound check, and you guys put on a good show tonight like you always do.
Jules/Kim: Oh, thank you! Cheers!

The EchoPlex show was amazing. It was my first time seeing a show at the venue, and it was fast becoming one of my favorites. I like how you have to enter through a little alley off of Glendale Blvd. under the Echo Park Sunset Blvd. bridge, like it’s a cool little speakeasy bar in Hollywood. It has a lounge feel, the bars are very accessible and the sound system is great. And it was The Presets’ first sold-out show of their 2007 U.S. tour. Openers The Crystal Castles put on a good show despite transportation delays and a late sound check. Then The Presets tore up the place with their infectious beats. They had the entire crowd jumping and dancing from the get-go to their hits “The Girl & The Sea,” “Down Down Down,” “Are You The One?” and a track from EP Cookie. The highlights of the show were their rendition of Daft Punk’s “Da Funk” and finisher “I Go Hard, I Go Home.”

Nobody wanted to go home after such an electric set, but it looks like Los Angeles will have to wait until The Presets swing back into town. The band will continue to tour in Europe and then go home to work on a new album. Till next time Kim and Jules.

To the lucky fans who will be in Europe, here are some dates you can catch them while you still can:
June 14: Sonar Showcase @ Nitsa (Barcelona, Spain)
June 17: We Love Sundays @ Space Ibiza (Ibiza, Spain)
June 20: Circolo Degli Artisti (Rome, Italy)
June 21: Tape Club (Florence, Italy)
June 22: Plastic (Milan, Italy)
June 23: Christopher Street Day (Berlin, Germany)
June 23: Sage Club (Berlin, Germany)
June 28: Hove Festival (Tromoy, Norway)
June 29: Accelerator Festival (Stockholm, Sweden)
June 30: Rootsville Festival (Birmingham, UK)
July 5: Neidklub w/ Digitalism (Hamburg, Germany)
July 6: Les Ardents Festival (Liege, Belgium)
July 7: Montegros Festival (Monegros Desert, Madrid, Spain)
July 14: Melt Festival (Ferropolis, Germany)
July 15: Indian Summer Glasgow @ Victoria Park (Glasgow, Scotland)
July 17: De Affaire Habana @ Valkhof Park (Nijmegen, Holland)
July 18: Paradiso (Leidseplein, Amsterdam)
July 20: Festival Internacional de Benicassim (Benicassim, Spain)
July 21: Lovebox Weekender @ Victoria Park (London, UK)
July 22: Lovebox Weekender @ Victoria Park (London, UK)
July 23: 10 Days Off (Ghent, Belgium)
July 28: Global Gathering (Stratford, UK)
July 30: Festival Quartier D’Ete (Paris, France)

Comments

[charlotte]

sweet!

[Oscar]

::beams:: Like the album!

[Jason]

Get the fuck back home boys..lol

We miss ya!