After close to two decades spent as one half of iconic Sydney electronic duo The Presets, Julian Hamilton has gone solo, sharing his debut single “City Of Love” today.
Premiering on triple j overnight, the new single sees Hamilton with his foot firmly planted in the world of The Presets, yet with a look towards his own musical evolution. Having been inspired to put the band’s maximalist energy aside during some COVID-inspired downtime, Hamilton was left with the chance to explore other musical outlets; seeing just where these paths may lead.
One of these routes found himself discovering the sound showcased on “City Of Love”. Still featuring the same electronic professionalism he’s spent his career refining, the track feels custom-made for the club, stripped back somewhat but embracing the classic songwriting and compositional skills Hamilton has become renowned for.
While “City Of Love” is Hamilton’s first solo single, it’s not set to be his last, with a press release noting that it will be “followed by a series of new songs” in the coming months and into summer.
Most recently, The Presets teamed up with Golden Features to deliver their latest EP, Raka, which Hamilton explained was something akin to new ground for the duo, who had previously maintained overall control of their projects.
“On our previous album, Hi Viz, we did a lot more collaborating with others and some instrumentalists, but in that case Kim and I were still in control,” Hamilton told Tone Deaf in 2019. “We were driving that and doing our shit. That was kind of our baby that we had to land and finish ourselves.
“But when working with Tom [Stell, Golden Features], he’s such an amazing producer in his own life that Raka was his baby, as well, so this one wasn’t like just having a producer and a guest artist, it was three producers working together. It was really nice to have another offer their expertise, and to also have someone else to take some of the load of carrying the project in his head.”
Julian Hamilton’s “City Of Love” is out now.