Q&A: Australia’s electro-pop duo ‘The Presets’ talks about style, the touring life and musical maturation

Since its first studio album debut in 2005, electronic duo The Presets have emerged from Australia’s underground techno scene to become one of the nation’s popular dance music groups. Comprised of Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes, the group creates techno and dance beats familiar to fans of the club scene and also experiments with sound and mood to create a lush electro-pop vibe. In 2008, the band became the first electronic group to win an Australian Recording Industry Association, or ARIA, Award for “Album of the Year.” The Presets are currently on a tour of North and South America in support of their 2012 album, “Pacifica.” Daily Bruin’s Shreya Aiyar spoke with Hamilton and Moyes about enjoying life, having a sixth sense, and the group’s musical maturation over the years.

Daily Bruin: You’re on tour to promote your album, “Pacifica”. How do you feel this album and tour differ from your previous ones?

Julian Hamilton: In heaps of ways. Hopefully, there’s a common thread and it still feels like us, like The Presets.

Kim Moyes: But, you know, it’s like life. You’re not the same person you were a few years ago, and it’s the same with the album. It’s like when we made “Apocalypso” and “Beams.” “Beams” was when we were still trying to figure out what we were doing with the album. With “Apocalypso,” we were touring furiously and playing in festivals, and so we made an album that really honed in on an aggressive club sound. Then, we went in to make “Pacifica.” We had a little bit of time off to calm down – we were about to become dads. This album is … of a higher production level and a lot more personal, a bit more honest. But it still retains those elements of fun and dance from our previous albums. It’s actually got nothing to do with where we are right now.

JH: It’s a document of our time, like every album is.

DB: What’s the inspiration behind the album title, “Pacifica”?

JH: Ironically, and this sounds kind of unromantic, but we didn’t have an album title for a long time, as is often the case when we’re making music. We got the album artwork back … and it was this beautiful picture of us in front of the water. So we started throwing ideas out about the water and the ocean, and “Pacifica” was one of the words that came out that we liked and it fit. And then, of course, once it’s named you can add all these associations about refreshing feelings and cleansing yourself in the ocean and the freedom, vastness, blueness and the beauty of the ocean.

KM: This was natural, and in terms of the overall feeling of the album, it was really nice.

DB: The songs in “Pacifica” span a wide range of sounds and genres from dance-based techno to ballads. What was the most difficult part of piecing all the songs together to make a seamless album?

KM: We don’t think of it in terms of styles, we think about how much we believe in it and how convincing it is. We’re just trying to make an album that flows really well and starts punchy, takes you somewhere else, and ends nicely.

JH: In terms of a particular style, we’re not trying to make a techno track or a house track … we’re just trying to make The Presets’ track, which is why a lot of the time people sort of feel that there are a lot of different styles in the album because we like to try to utilize many different ideas in our songs.

DB: When composing, when do you know a song is truly finished and ready to record?

KM: You sort of just know through a sixth sense, in a way. All the moments are taken care of, and there are only so many ingredients you need in a pop song anyway. When you’re a professional musician, everyone has that sense of knowing when a song’s perfect, and that’s what gets them to that level.

DB: What was the funniest or most entertaining moment to happen to you on any tour so far?

KM: We had a pretty fun day once. We’d all been drinking one night and we decided to go for a swim and everyone was a little, you know, drunk. We were all paying way too much for drinks, and it was in the middle of a tour and everyone that day could’ve just lasted forever. It was a really nice moment, and everyone just keeps reliving it.

JH: There were so many good moments and so many great shows. We’ve been doing this for ten years, and I remember the first time we played which was in Los Angeles. Our history’s dotted with so many entertaining stories and moments.

DB: If you could do a collaboration with any musical artist, alive or dead, who would it be?

JH: That’s always a tricky question. We could get (Dmitri) Shostakovich to orchestrate some strings or something like that … Most of the artists that we really admire, we kind of just want them how they are. We’re constantly working with other people separately and often they’re all of different styles and acts. We get a lot out of all those things and they help inform what we are and what we’re not.

KM: They offer a unique perspective, and that’s the thing that we like about them.

DB: What’s been your favorite country to perform in so far?

JH: You can’t really choose. To be honest, we’ve really enjoyed playing in the States. When we were young, we really looked forward to playing in the U.K. because we love the bands from over there. But to be honest, they didn’t really receive us all that well. But when we came to the States, it was really happening, so we’ve always enjoyed playing in the U.S.

KM: They like the Aussies over here.

JH: There’s no place like home, of course … it’s always been the best for us for shows and the energy. But then, the States have always been heaps of fun. It’s always been about the people, not about the country.