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Live Review: Hear why The Presets are club connoisseurs with their deep guest mix

13 July 2018 | 8:52 am | Caitlin Medcalf

You'd be hard pressed to find an Australian electronic group as lasting and influential as THE PRESETS. With their 2005 debut record Beams, they solidified themselves as frontrunners in the beginning of the indie-electronic surge. I'd even go so far as calling them pioneers of this era.

With choppy vocal hooks that became club anthems, modular synths and a great ear for programming percussion, their debut honestly remains one of the reasons I and probably a lot of other producers and DJs here in Australia, really got into electronic music.

They followed up Beams with one of Australia's most seminal dance records, Apocalypso. Released in 2008, singles like 'My People', 'This Boy's In Love' and 'Talk Like That' became club anthems. Characterised by its gritty take and more of a techno influence, it's no surprise that these tracks still get absolutely rinsed in clubs across Australia.

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Their third studio record, Pacifica, took four years to craft. They dropped this one in 2012, and what's most interesting about it is how they found ways to shift their sound to suit what was being played in clubs at the time, yet still found ways to make it holistically them. 'Youth In Trouble' and 'Surrender' spearheaded the charge of more club-oriented singles, whilst 'Ghosts' and 'Promises' fulfilled the more anthemic aspect to this record, giving the people the duality of both club and pop all at once.

They've continued to deliver this duality on their fourth studio record Hi Viz, however they've worked hard to really blur the line between the two. Each track on the record could just as easily be played in a club as it could through your headphones, on your bed, late at night.

What's most apparent throughout this whole record is continuity. Each song belongs right where they've put it, and the most satisfying thing is listening through this record from start to finish because it's structured so meticulously that it flows. The smooth transition from glitchy bop 'Martini' to the deep, bass-laden 'Beethoven' catches you off guard -  I thought they were part of the same song for a good while.

If there's one thing you should be taking away from Hi Viz, it's the experience. This is, after all, both a pop record and a dance record. Give this a spin at your house party, rinse it on the dancefloor if you're a DJ or better yet, just dance to it.

The Presets have just finished up their massive national tour in support of Hi Viz, so to celebrate, we got them to jump on the guest mix this week for our radio show on FBi Radio.

If you missed them on tour, this mix will curb your upset. It kicks off with an epic 'Downtown Shutdown' remix that really draws you in and then from there, continues to go deeper. This mix really is one for the club, something The Presets are absolutely no strangers to delivering.

You can hear the mix below, or tune into our radio show this Saturday from 5-6pm on FBi Radio to hear it live. Turn your dial to 94.5 DAB+ if you’re in Sydney, or tune in anywhere at fbiradio.com.

Tracklist

Downtown Shutdown (The Revenge Remix) by The Presets

On Off by Cirez D

Volumes (The Mole's MMD Mix) by Zero Percent

Image via Facebook

Words by Caitlin Medcalf

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