Julian Hamilton on The Presets’ 20 Years of The Presets, breaking out in the industry and playing small venues on their new tour
Back in 2003, the music world was gifted records like Norah Jones’ Come Away With Me and 50 Cent’s Get Rich or Die Tryin’, and the charts saw Eminem, Bon Jovi, and Jennifer Lopez take top spots. But in Australia, Kim Moyes and Julian Hamilton were just getting started and joined forces to create The Presets, a powerhouse act set to be a major player in the world of Electronic Music.
Making waves for two glorious decades now, The Presets have four records under their belt, received international recognition, and won ARIA, APRA, UK Music Video and J Awards. They’re now celebrating 20 remarkable years on their 20 Years 20 Nights Tour – a heartfelt nod to the pair’s early roots and an opportunity to bring festival energy to intimate venues across Australia.
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“The part of why we’re doing this is to throwback to some of our earliest shows,” vocalist Julian Hamilton says. “There’s a lot of venues and a lot of areas we don’t get to perform in anymore, so rather than a few dates across the country, it’s 26 smaller venues.
“Sometimes you’ll go to a small place, and you’re not sure what to expect, then it can end up being one of the most rockin’ parties you play all year.”
The tour sees The Presets gracing stages in Torquay, Mulgrave, and Frankston, often corners of Victoria that don’t receive as much live music as city centres. Opting for a more intimate approach, the venues also are smaller than what The Presets usually play, which brings a different energy to their performance. Recapturing the essence of their earliest shows, the pair will be bringing festival energy to these intimate gigs.
“When you’re playing a small room to 200 people, they’re right in your face. There’s something really immediate and really visceral about that experience. Some of the shows we used to play, we’d set up on the dancefloor, they were fun; they’d be in-your-face wild parties.
“Cut to today where we’re playing on a festival stage; we’re literally situated 20 feet above the crowd and 50 feet away. Over time, you learn different ways to fill the space and we’ve had a lot of experience with being able to do that over the years”.
20 years seems like a tough feat for many artists out there, but The Presets have forged their way in a genre and industry that’s seen a lot of changes across the last two decades. They’ve always kept their distinct sound and what’s made them special.
“I really like where we’ve ended up,” Julian adds, considering whether he would’ve done anything differently. “Along the way, you see others performing in a way that you think ‘Oh, I wish I did it that way, or I wish I tried this’.
“There’s always things along the way that you could have done better, but I love where we’ve ended up, it’s worked out great.”
Reflecting on their incredible 20-year journey, Julian acknowledges that maintaining their distinct sound has been the key to their success. As musicians and perfectionists, The Presets have always held their music to high standards, making sure each song satisfies their creative vision.
“When you’re making a new song or making new music, you’ve always got quality control in your own head, sort of saying, ‘this idea is not good enough’, or ‘this idea sounds too much like another thing’.
“I just always wanted to sort of win the battle of ‘does this music satisfy us’? We’re such tough judges on our own stuff. That might be the reason why over 20 years, we’ve only put out four albums,” Julian adds with a laugh.
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In an ever-changing music industry, Julian recognizes that the path to success has evolved significantly since The Presets’ debut, with what it takes to break out in 2023 vastly different from how it was in 2003.
“Some of my favourite DJs and electronic from overseas, they’ve got their own music out, they put things on Soundcloud, they’re DJing on social media, so it looks like they’ve already made it. It’s such a different climate out there [compared to 2003], there’s so many good acts that are doing amazing things.
“I go through playlists, and suddenly you stumble across 20 artists that have music that’s super dope, they’ve got all this equipment and are doing gigs all over Europe. It’s super cool, it’s certainly something that wasn’t around when we first started.”
As part of the 20 Years 20 Nights Tour, The Presets will be sharing the stage with emerging local clubland talent, with many acts listing The Presets as influences. Julian notes a selection of performers he’s been listening to who are making waves in the industry with their distinctive sound and captivating performances.
“I love DJ Boring, Willaris K, really amazing guys. Also Hi, a girl doing massive things in the UK.”
Kicking off the tour back in July, local fans can expect an unforgettable night filled with nostalgic tunes, electrifying energy, and the unmistakable charisma of The Presets when they head to Torquay this August or St Kilda in September.
As Julian aptly puts it, “Come and have a boogie, you won’t regret it!”
Catch The Presets at Torquay Hotel, Torquay – 19 August, and The Espy, St Kilda on 16 and 17 September. Further four dates and tickets for 20 Years 20 Nights can be found here.
