"My People"
Single by the Presets
from the album Apocalypso
Released4 December 2007
Genre
Length
  • 4:31 (album version)
  • 3:49 (radio edit)
LabelModular
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)The Presets
The Presets singles chronology
"Truth & Lies"
(2007) 		"My People"
(2007) 		"This Boy's in Love"
(2008)

"My People" is the first single from Australian electronic music duo the Presets' second album Apocalypso. The song was nominated for two ARIA Awards, Single of the Year and Best Video (Kris Moyes).[1] It won the latter.[2]

On 26 October 2008—a week after their multiple ARIA Awards wins—"My People" jumped up 38 spots from number 52 to 14 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, surpassing its previous peak of 19. The song spent 27 weeks in the ARIA Top 50. Channel [V] Australia named the song as the second biggest hit of 2008, behind only "Low" by Flo Rida. On 26/27 October 2008, "My People" made its return to the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, peaking higher at number 14. This chart rebound was partly due to the Presets' appearance at the 2008 ARIA Awards a week earlier.

Background

The song was written by Julian Hamilton about asylum seekers in Australian detention centres. "I wanted to write a song about [...] this horrible phenomenon where people come out here in search of a better life and we lock them up. I felt so horrible about the way we treat these destitute people that I wanted to write a desperate-sounding song – the line 'let me hear you scream if you're with me' could be understood to come from the perspective of someone who is locked up, needing to hear that there are people outside who are behind him and supporting him."[3]

Kim Moyes said "In a lot of ways [the song is] a 'mega-mix' of three or four Presets ideas and it's a really glued-together, solid Presets [song]. It's very informed by the touring process and crowd reactions."[4] The song is written in the key of F minor and is in the Phrygian mode, and follows the chord progression of Fm–Gb–Ebm–Fm. The song was mixed by John Fields at Wishbone Studio of North Hollywood, CA.

Legacy

Despite its eventual success, the group initially had doubts if radio would play it due to the track's heaviness. Kim Moyes told Rolling Stone Australia: "I remember when we played it to our record company and they were like 'we love it but how the heck are we going to get this on the radio?' There were even doubts about how much Triple J would get behind it, let alone any commercial stations."[5]

will.i.am from American hip hop group The Black Eyed Peas, in an interview with Billboard magazine about their album The E.N.D, remarked that "the album had been inspired by a trip to Australia, specifically the sound of The Presets' 'My People'. [...] The energy on the Presets' small little stage was crazy energy. That song 'My People' [he sings the chorus] - that [...] is wild. That's the reason why this record sounds the way it does - my three months in Australia."

In 2015, the song was listed at number 2 in In the Mix's '100 Greatest Australian Dance Tracks of All Time' with Nick Jarvis saying "The Presets took Australian indie-dance from the distant corners of the internet and street press magazines, and blasted it onto prime time radio and television, and from the main stages at mainstream festivals. And this was the song that did it."[6]

Track listings

  1. "My People"
  2. "My People" (Kris Menace Remix)
  3. "My People" (D.I.M. Remix)

Australian CD single

  1. "My People"
  2. "My People" (Kris Menace Remix)
  3. "My People" (D.I.M. Remix)
  4. "My People" (Mouse on Mars Acid Pretzels Remix)
  5. "My People" (Music video)

Note: Australia radio stations were issued with a 'radio edit' (3:49) promo CD single.

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[14] 5× Platinum 350,000‡

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Usage and covers

This song's popularity has resulted in it being played frequently across the media.

References

  1. ^ "Cilmi, Presets dominate ARIAs". The Sydney Morning Herald. 19 October 2008. Retrieved 19 October 2008.
  2. ^ "The Academy Has Spoken: Emerging Artists Dominate 2008 ARIA Award Nominations" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. 10 September 2008. Retrieved 19 October 2008.
  3. ^ Duncan, Alasdair (1 April 2008). "The Presets". Rave Magazine. Archived from the original on 13 August 2008. Retrieved 1 May 2008.
  4. ^ Weaver, Andrew (28 April 2008). "The Presets Interview". centralstation.com.au. Retrieved 1 May 2008.
  5. ^ Treuen, Jason. "The Presets: Apocalypso Kings". Rolling Stone Australia. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  6. ^ "The 100 Greatest Australian Dance Tracks of All Time". 2015. Archived from the original on 16 December 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  7. ^ "The Presets – My People". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  8. ^ Top 50 Physical Singles Chart Archived 11 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Australian Recording Industry Association.
  9. ^ Top 40 Digital Track Chart. Australian Recording Industry Association.
  10. ^ Top 50 Club Chart Archived 10 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Australian Recording Industry Association.
  11. ^ Top 20 Australian Chart Archived 16 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Australian Recording Industry Association.
  12. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2009.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. ^ "Official ARIA Charts - Top 100 - 2008 | [VanessaAmorosi.net]". Archived from the original on 24 January 2009. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  14. ^ "Feb Single Accreds 2024" (PDF). ARIA. March 2024. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  15. ^ Clarke, Jenna (27 April 2015). "The Presets provoke fans with Bali execution Facebook posts". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
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