Hercules and Love Affair is a

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...

project created by American DJ, singer, composer, musician and producer Andy Butler in 2004. Consisting of a rotating cast of performers and musicians, the band work within the genres of

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...

and nu-disco. Originally based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, now based in

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, Hercules and Love Affair were founded following Butler's collaboration with Anohni to produce the song " Blind", which was a hit single and became '' Pitchforks song of the year. Their 2008 debut album '' Hercules and Love Affair'' received widespread critical acclaim. The band recorded '' Blue Songs'' in 2011, and then ''

The Feast of the Broken Heart ''The Feast of the Broken Heart'' is the third studio album by dance music group Hercules and Love Affair, released on May 26, 2014, by Moshi Moshi Records internationally and the following day in the United States by Big Beat Records and Atlant ...

'' in 2014 which featured John Grant as guest, on the single "I Try To Talk To You". Their fourth album ''

Omnion ''Omnion'' is the fourth studio album by Hercules and Love Affair, released on September 1, 2017. Track listing Track listing adapted from Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned ...

'' in 2017 featured singer Sharon Van Etten on the title track. In 2022, they released their fifth album ''

In Amber ''In Amber'' is the fifth studio album by Hercules and Love Affair, released digitally and physically on 17 June 2022 by Skint Records/BMG. The band's founder, singer and musician, Andy Butler worked again with singer Anohni (previously of Antony ...

'' with Anohni, featuring on several songs; the lead single "Grace" featured Icelandic singer Elin Ey. ''In Amber'' received widespread critical acclaim and was named "Album of the Year 2022" by ''

The Arts Desk ''The Arts Desk'' (theartsdesk.com) is a British arts journalism website containing reviews, interviews, news, and other content related to music, theatre, television, films, and other art forms written by journalists from a variety of tradition ...

''.

History

Origins

Andrew Butler was born and raised in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, and has described growing up in "a violent household without any role models". He developed an early love for

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

, which later inspired him to name his band after the mythological hero of

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

. Interested in music, he played the piano, and began composing classical pieces from the age of thirteen. Butler's interest switched to focus on dance music after buying a record by the band Yazoo. He went on to give his first DJ set aged fifteen, in a Denver leather bar run by a hostess called Chocolate Thunder Pussy; on that occasion, the club was raided by police, leading him to hide from them in the toilets. As he later related: "I started DJing because I needed to get out of the house. I was, like, 'Take me to the club or there's going to be a really ugly situation at home today!' I found a lot of freedom in the nightclub to express myself and not be judged as harshly as I was at home. I am a gay man and I grew up with a certain struggle and because of that, I have a story to tell." In the late 1990s, Butler moved to

to attend

Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York. The college models its approach to education after the Supervision system, Oxford/Cambridge system of one-on-one student-faculty tutorials. Sara ...

. In the city he befriended the musician Anohni—then working under her birth name of Antony Hegarty—and in 2004 convinced her to perform vocals for a song he had written, titled " Blind". At the time, she simply described it as "curious", but Butler continued to make adjustments to the demo.

2007–2011: Foundation and debut album

In 2007, after Anohni had won the

Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...

for her work with

Antony and the Johnsons Antony and the Johnsons is an American music group presenting the work of Anohni and her collaborators. Career British experimental musician David Tibet of Current 93 heard a demo and offered to release Anohni's music through his Durtro label ...

, Butler approached her with the "Blind" demo, and they agreed to release it. Butler decided to do so under the name of Hercules and Love Affair because it reflected his interest in Greco-Roman mythology; it referenced Hercules and his "love affair" with Hylas. According to Butler, " erculesstayed on the island, looking for his boyfriend. I just thought this was super-beautiful: the strongest man on earth looking for his lost love, at his most vulnerable. Strong men can have strong feelings. And they can experience those feelings and experience pain and express pain — and be gay."

DFA Records DFA Records is an American independent record label founded in 2001 by Mo' Wax co-founder Tim Goldsworthy, musician James Murphy, and manager Jonathan Galkin. They previously had a production team called The DFA, consisting of Goldsworthy and ...

agreed to release the song, with DFA founder Tim Goldsworthy stating that "We had slight reservations that 'Blind' would be a one-hit wonder. But then he played us some bits he had been playing around with at home." The single was first released in the United Kingdom in March 2007, where it made the Top 40. It was awarded Best Song of 2008 by Pitchfork Media and came in at sixth place in

Resident Advisor ''Resident Advisor'' (also known as ''RA'') is an online music magazine and community platform dedicated to showcasing electronic music, artists and events across the globe. It was established in 2001. ''RA''s editorial team provides news, musi ...

's Top 30 tracks of that year, while ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' called it the second best song of the year. At this point, Butler decided to establish Hercules and Love Affair as a continuing musical project, stating his intent to release music with a rotating cast of performers and musicians. Their debut album '' Hercules and Love Affair'' was released in Europe through DFA's parent company,

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

, in March 2008. For the album, Butler assembled a mixed line-up; Morgan Wiley and Andrew Raposo, both formerly of Automato, joined the backing band, while

Nomi Ruiz Nomi Ruiz is an American singer, songwriter, actress, essayist, DJ and producer, who is also known for her work as Jessica 6. Early life Nomi Ruiz was born in 1986 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City and assigned male at birth. Her parents ...

, CocoRosie, Kim Ann Foxman, and Anohni took up vocals. However, although Anohni would appear on five of the album's tracks, she did not participate in the band's live performances. The band made its live debut on May 17, 2008, at the Studio B venue in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York, before going on a European and North American tour. Appearing at London's Lovebox Festival in 2010, it was there that they were interviewed by ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

''. After touring for a year, Butler split with his record company and returned to Denver.

2011–2020: ''Blue Songs'', ''The Feast of the Broken Heart'' and ''Omnion''

2011 saw the release of Hercules and Love Affair's second album, '' Blue Songs'', brought out by independent British label Moshi Moshi. Butler remained in control, joined by Mark Pistel, and Kim Ann Foxman returned, however it also featured two new main vocalists, Shaun Wright and Aerea Negrot. One of the songs, "Step Up", contained guest vocals from Kele Okereke, the lead singer of

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band

Bloc Party Bloc Party are an English Rock music, rock band, composed of Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, sampler), Russell Lissack (lead guitar, keyboards), Justin Harris (bass guitar, keyboards, saxophones, backing vocals) and Loui ...

. The album's title was chosen by Butler to reflect his own "blue period" during adolescence, before he discovered the existence of like-minded people through music. Shortly after the album's release, Butler attracted the attention of the music press when he informed ''

Out Out may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 * ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander * ''Out'' (2002 film), a Japanese film ba ...

'' magazine that

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

should "make an age-appropriate record that still appeals to young people" while being scathing of

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

, asserting that she was producing "children's music... It's middle-aged gay men dancing around to music for 11-year-old girls." As a result of the stress and pressure of the band's success, Butler began making increased use of drugs, and in an attempt to get clean he moved from New York City to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

in Austria. As he told a journalist from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'': "It was a need, because I was going way too fast and I was going to self-destruct. It had to get really bad before it got OK." In August 2012, Hercules and Love Affair played at the

Meltdown Festival Meltdown is an annual festival held in London, featuring a mix of music, art, performance and film. Meltdown is held in June at Southbank Centre, the arts complex covering and including the Royal Festival Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall and The ...

at London's

Southbank Centre Southbank Centre is a complex of artistic venues in London, England, on the South Bank of the River Thames (between Hungerford Bridge and Waterloo Bridge). It comprises three main performance venues (the Royal Festival Hall including the Nat ...

, which was curated by Anohni. For their performance of "Blind", she joined them onstage to provide the vocals; the first time that she had performed the song live with the band. At that performance, they were also joined onstage by singer John Grant, who publicly stated for the first time that he was

HIV positive The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immu ...

; Butler later stated that "I thought it was one of the bravest things I've ever seen a person do". Hercules and Love Affair 2016

The band's third album, ''

'', was released by Moshi Moshi in May 2014. Describing the album, Butler stated that "I wanted nasty basslines, stormy, bleary-eyed sounds, fiery, rough, tough and ragged old school house productions that sounded almost techno. I didn't want polite, I wanted aggressive". In a conscious change from the previous two albums, he did not make use of organic instrumentation. When recording the first songs for the album, Butler had stated his intention not to use any well-known vocalists for the album, because he believed that – as with Anohni and Okereke – they would be too busy to tour with the band. However, when the album was released, it received guest vocals from Grant, who sang on "Liberty" and "I Try To Talk To You", in which he dealt with the issue of being HIV positive. Also singing on the album were Rouge Mary, Gustaph, and Krystle Warren, with Butler informing ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' that that line-up constituted "the best ensemble of vocalists I've had." In July 2014, the band performed at East London's Lovebox Festival. In August, the band generated some controversy with the release of the video for their song "My Offence" which featured excerpts of conversation with figures from the New York City gay scene like Honey Dijon and

Juliana Huxtable Juliana Huxtable (born December 29, 1987) is an American artist, writer, performer, DJ, and co-founder of the New York-based nightlife project Shock Value. Huxtable has exhibited and performed at a number of venues including Reena Spaulings Fine ...

. Butler described the song and its video as an examination of his "relationship to taboo words and the use of 'cunt' amongst NYC's gay community to relay flattery, empowerment and strength". In December 2014, Hercules and Love Affair performed in Thailand at

Wonderfruit Wonderfruit is an annual gathering that explores wonder through art, culture, music, and nature taking place at The Fields at Siam Country Club, outside Pattaya in Chonburi Province, Thailand. With an emphasis on experiences that explore the rela ...

festival. In February 2017, Hercules and Love Affair released "Controller", a new single featuring Faris Badwan of The Horrors. It is the first music from the band's fourth studio album ''

'', which was released on September 1, 2017, through

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

. The title track features a collaboration with vocalist Sharon Van Etten.

2021–present: ''In Amber''

Butler heavily worked in 2021 to finish off the recording of the album ''

''. Hercules and Love Affair released in February 2022 "Grace" which featured Icelandic singer Elin Ey with Butler on vocals: it was promoted by a video it was the lead single of ''In Amber''. The album was made in collaboration of Anohni, with whom he had already recorded in 2008. Anohni sang on the single "One" and also did vocals on half of the album. ''In Amber'' also featured drummer

Budgie Budgie may refer to: Arts * Budgie (album), ''Budgie'' (album), the debut album by the Welsh heavy metal band Budgie * Budgie (band), a Welsh heavy metal band from Cardiff * Budgie (musician) (born 1957), English drummer * Budgie (TV series), ''Bu ...

previously of

Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. ''Q'' magazine in ...

, who was asked "to participate, to derailing some of the arrangements for more impact" on a suggestion of Anohni. ''In Amber'' was finally released in June 2022 on CD and vinyl. The album received glowing reviews.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

rated it four and a half out of five stars. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' reviewed the album as "a bracing, at time beautiful, LP of dark art-pop abstraction", and ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: *Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * '' ...

'' considered it as "frequently beautiful". ''

'' named it "Album of the Year 2022".

Image and sound

Describing the band's 2011 lineup, Elizabeth Day of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'' described Hercules and Love Affair as "possibly the most disparate bunch ever to come together, call themselves a band and release an album. The five members walk into the room in a blaze of colour and mismatched clothes like a pick'n'mix bag of sweets." Reviewing a live show at the Oval Space in London in 2014, The Guardian asserted that Hercules and Love Affair's current line-up has reached an apex in terms of their vocal virtuosity. Rob Ledonne of ''

'' asserted that Hercules and Love Affair have a "distinctly Continental sound" in that they are influenced by European dance music.

Awards and nominations

Best Art Vinyl , - , 2008 , " Blind" (ft. Anohni) , Best Vinyl Art , GLAAD Media Awards , - ,

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, Themselves , Outstanding Music Artist , Ibiza Music Video Festival , - , rowspan="2" , 2017 , rowspan="2" , "Omnion" , Best Colorist , rowspan="2" , - , Best VFX International Dance Music Awards , - , 2009 , Themselves , Best Breakthrough Artist (Group) , rowspan="4" , - , rowspan="3" , 2015 , Andy Butler , Best Indie Dance/Underground DJ , - , ''

'' , Best Full Length Studio Recording , - , "Do You Feel The Same" , Best Indie Dance Track MTV O Music Awards , - , 2011 , Themselves , Best Remix , Music Video Festival !Ref. , - , 2015 , "I Try to Talk to You" , Best International Video , , Rober Awards Music Prize !Ref. , - , rowspan=3, 2008 , Themselves , Best Electronica , , , - , rowspan=2, " Blind" (ft. Anohni) , Single of the Year , , , - , Best Dance Anthem , , UK Music Video Awards , - , 2008 , " Blind" (ft. Anohni) , Best Pop Video , rowspan="3" , - , rowspan="2" , 2014 , rowspan="2" , "I Try to Talk to You" , Best Dance Video , - , Best Choreography The Arts Desk: Album of the Year , - , 2022 , "

" , Best album ,

Discography

Albums

*'' Hercules and Love Affair'' (10 March 2008,

) *'' Blue Songs'' (31 January 2011, Moshi Moshi) *''

'' (26 May 2014, Moshi Moshi) *''

'' (September 1, 2017,

) *''

'' (17 June 2022, Skint Records/

BMG BMG may refer to: Organizations * Music publishing companies: ** Bertelsmann Music Group, a 1987–2008 division of Bertelsmann that was purchased by Sony on October 1, 2008 *** Sony BMG, a 2004–2008 joint venture of Bertelsmann and Sony that wa ...

)

DJ mixes

*''Sidetracked'' (13 July 2009,

Renaissance Recordings Renaissance Recordings is a British record label, founded by the club Renaissance in 1994. It went into administration in September 2010 and the back catalogue was sold to Phoenix Music International Ltd. After a year of inactivity, in July 20 ...

) *'' DJ-Kicks'' (26 October 2012,

!K7 Records !K7 Music is a music company based in Berlin, Germany that focuses mostly on electronic music. The name is an abbreviation of the company's original Berlin address, Kaiserdamm 7 (it has since relocated, first to Heidestrasse 52, and currently he ...

)

References

External links

*
Official website for ''In Amber''
*
Hercules and Love Affair
at Last.fm
Hercules and Love Affair
interview at MusicOMH.com {{Authority control 2004 establishments in New York City American dance music groups Dance-punk musical groups Atlantic Records artists DFA Records artists LGBT culture in New York City LGBT-themed musical groups Musical groups established in 2004 Musical groups from New York City Mute Records artists Nu-disco musicians