Digital, 27th June

When did the Aussies get so damn good at electronic music? France may have Daft Punk and Justice but snapping at their heels come great acts from the land down under. The Rapture got the ball rolling, White Denim support act Pivet rocked out on laptops at a recent Audio set, you’ve got Cut Copy and now two Sydney-based producers known as The Presets.?The Australian duo rocked Brighton’s Digital like it ought to be rocked on a Friday night.

The Presets are Kim Moyes and Julian Hamilton and share the same label as the aforementioned Cut Copy, Modular. Their debut album ?Beams? came out in 2005. Now they’re out promoting material from their new album ?Apocalypso? which was released in the UK at the end of June.?The night was put on by the renowned Blah Blah Blah DJs, fans of which were warned not to miss this rare UK gig from the Aussie boys.?If you wanted to catch them again here this summer, get your tent out, they’re performing at Creamfields, Bloom, V Festival and the sold out Bestival. The warning was heeded.?

A full dancefloor eagerly awaited the two-piece. Now, you know you going to have a good time when the crowd in front of you starts dancing at the first track. It’s fair to say the majority of the crowd where an acceptable level of end up sweaty and smiling by the encore. Drummer Kim brings to mind a Hot Chip love child, and made rocking out look effortless, whilst singer Julian held court, toying with a dizzying array of synthesizers and other crazy contraptions in front of him. Tracks like ?Are You the One?? from the first album and new track ?All Of My People? were highlights.

Even Digital’s soundsystem struggled with Julian’s distorted vocals, often twisted out of recognition. Shame I didn’t catch one of Kim’s drum sticks.

Words by Andrea Fox
Photographs by Sam Hiscox