Presets hit reset for Groovin' the Moo

Australian electronic duo The Presets will launch a brand new show to celebrate almost a decade in the music industry at this year’s Groovin’ The Moo festival.

“It’s just another progression, ” one half of The Presets, Kim Moyes said.

“There will be live electronics, no drum kit, just beats off the computer — we’re getting back to basics and it’ll be upfront, fun and energetic.”

The Presets have had much the same life-span in Australian music as Groovin’ The Moo.

Moyes and his partner in crime Julian Hamilton played the festival in 2008, when there were only two shows in Maitland and Townsville.

“It’s always fun to play regional towns, ” Moyes said.

“I remember very clearly the crowd at Maitland being a little unhinged.”

In the same breakthrough year that Groovin’ the Moo secured Silverchair and American rock duo The Black Keys to headline the festival, The Presets were touring the country supporting electronic heavyweights Daft Punk.

At the time, neither Moyes nor Hamilton knew they were on the verge of releasing the longest-charting single in Australian music history.

My People was a heavy, industrial sounding 2008 protest song about the Howard government’s treatment of asylum seekers.

Though many would not have recognised the meaning of the song when it blasted across dancefloors all over the world, it certainly got the duo some attention.

They released material infrequently in the years to follow, unleashing their second album four years after the debut of Apocalypso.

Now back and launching new music and projects such as the VIVID Live tour with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, they are choosing to focus on releasing singles rather than producing entire albums.

“There are interesting new expectations around music, ” Moyes said. “Before albums people would just put all the singles together on a record back when the Beatles were around.

“So it’s come full circle really.”

Having dropped their latest single Goodbye People in January, they are set to release a series of tracks throughout the year.

Releasing tracks on music sharing sites like Soundcloud is now common for most music artists, at least in many genres including electronic dance music.

“Most radio stations now follow what is happening online, ” Moyes said.

It is a long way from the days when local record stores stocked gold records and dictated much of the music played on local radio stations.

“Once upon a time regional areas had their own charts promoting local talent, ” Moyes said.

“Commercial radio is not really very supportive of Australian music, it’s sort of watering down the identity of it.”

With plans to continue collaborating with fellow Modular artist BENI and desires to work with up and coming Sydney band Jack Ladder and the Dreamlanders, Moyes and Hamilton have their schedules tied up well into 2015.

In the meantime though, they’ll be hitting the road.

The Presets will play Groovin’ The Moo at Hay Park on May 10.