The Presets are currently in the throws of a spectacular worldwide tour. Julian Hamilton, one half of the tearaway cultural phenomenon, speaks to Garrett Bithell.

“We definitely play with it. But it’s not as though we try to ram it down people’s throats. Kim [Moyes] and I are really old friends and we get into the studio and the camera comes out and we start getting bored with the usual photos. So we start hamming it up – playing around and being silly. Ultimately the t-shirts come off and we start throwing our arms around each other – and invariably they are the photos we love the best.”

So says Julian Hamilton, one half of Sydney-based electro wizards The Presets – perhaps the most homoerotic Australian outfit since Silverchair. Indeed the video for single ‘This Boy’s In Love’ features two shirtless boys wrestling, Greco-Roman style, in a pool of milky liquid. It’s aggressive, sensual and beautiful – almost classical, like a Rembrandt painting brought to life.

“We got so many treatments for that video from directors,” Julian tells SX. “But they were all very typical – boy and girl running into the forest together, boy and girl running down the street or out of town together – and we thought ‘Oh God!’ Then finally that treatment came though and we were thrilled. But it’s homoerotic, definitely!

“It’s funny, when we’ve got a photo shoot coming up our publicists always say ‘it would be great if we could get some straight shots this time’. Publicists often have to try and get their bands to let loose, but with us it’s the other way around. They ask us to reel it in.”

Nevertheless, The Presets do have a particular affinity with the gay community. Their first gigs were at sundry gay nights across Sydney.

“It was always the gay scene that really jumped on what we were doing before anyone else did, here and overseas,” Julian says. “The gay scene is the tastemaker I think – historically it has always been the gay scene that jumped on cool things before the mainstream.”

But double entendres aside, now the mainstream is really following our lead. The Presets’ sophomore album, Apocalypso, released in April, debuted at Number 1 on the ARIA chart. Lead single ‘My People’, a not-so-hidden swipe at the Howard government’s immigration policies, and ‘This Boy’s In Love’ are already club classics, but this immediate success marks a distinct shift from their debut Beams, which was initially an underground hit that went on to woo the world.

The Presets embarked on a sold-out trans-Australia tour last month, and are currently taking on the UK and Europe before they return to Australia for a selection of rescheduled gigs. They will then hit Byron Bay to play Splendour in the Grass on August 3. Julian has made quite a name for himself on stage – his dramatic, almost theatrical, persona has inspired many into aesthetic contemplation.

“I’ve found a character,” he admits. “The music is so loud and up front and boisterous that you do almost have to create these wild, maniacal characters.” In a way Julian is like a modern-day Michael Hutchence, with a techno edge.    

Nevertheless, it seems The Presets’ music was made for the stage. Their lives gigs have become something many aim for but fail to achieve – a rapturous celebration that defies demography.

Julian and Kim have created a vibrant scene almost by default and have somehow made the mainstream come to them.

“When we first started we used to play to rooms of 20 people,” Julian tells. “But now, whenever we announce a show, everyone gets so excited! The music seems to have its real place on stage.”

For more information, go to thepresets.com or myspace.com/thepresets Apocalypso is in stores now.