Hercules and Love Affair | |
|---|---|
 Hercules and Love Affair performing in 2012 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | New York City, United States |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Labels | |
| Members | Andrew Butler |
| Website | www |
Hercules and Love Affair is adance music project created by AmericanDJ, singer, composer, musician and producer Andy Butler in 2004. Consisting of a rotating cast of performers and musicians, the band work within the genres ofhouse music,disco,techno andnu-disco.
Originally based inNew York City, now based inGhent, Belgium, Hercules and Love Affair were founded following Butler's collaboration withAnohni to produce the song "Blind", which was a hit single and becamePitchfork's song of the year.[1][2] Their 2008 debut albumHercules and Love Affair received widespread critical acclaim. The band recordedBlue Songs in 2011, and thenThe Feast of the Broken Heart in 2014 which featuredJohn Grant as guest, on the single "I Try To Talk To You". Their fourth albumOmnion in 2017 featured singerSharon Van Etten on the title track.[3]
In 2022, they released their fifth albumIn Amber 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" byThe Arts Desk.
Andrew Butler was born and raised inDenver,Colorado, and has described growing up in "a violent household without any role models".[4] He developed an early love forGreek mythology, which later inspired him to name his band after the mythological hero ofHercules.[4][5] Interested in music, he played the piano, and began composing classical pieces from the age of thirteen.[4] Butler's interest switched to focus on dance music after buying a record by the bandYazoo.[4] He went on to give his first DJ set aged fifteen, in a Denverleather bar run by a hostess called Chocolate Thunder Pussy; on that occasion, the club wasraided by police, leading him to hide from them in the toilets.[4][6] 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."[4]
In the late 1990s, Butler moved toNew York City to attendSarah Lawrence College.[7][8] In the city, he befriended the musicianAnohni—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"; however, Butler continued to make adjustments to the demo.[8][9]
'Blind' was about growing up a gay kid, my immediate family and social group rejecting me, and asking why I was born into this situation. But knowing that as soon as I could escape, I would, and that I would find freedom and solace. As an adult, however, I found a life full of excess and other wounded people and confusion. Thus, I felt blind.
In 2007, after Anohni had won theMercury Prize for her work withAntony and the Johnsons, Butler approached her with the "Blind" demo, and they agreed to release it.[8] 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" withHylas. According to Butler, "[Hercules] stayed 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."[8]DFA Records agreed to release the song, with DFA founderTim 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."[8] The single was first released in the United Kingdom in March 2007, where it made the Top 40.[8] It was awarded Best Song of 2008 by Pitchfork Media and came in at sixth place inResident Advisor's Top 30 tracks of that year, whileEntertainment Weekly called it the second best song of the year.[10][11]
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.[11] Their debut albumHercules and Love Affair was released in Europe through DFA's parent company,EMI, in March 2008.[8] For the album, Butler assembled a mixed line-up; Morgan Wiley and Andrew Raposo, both formerly of Automato, joined the backing band, whileNomi Ruiz,CocoRosie,Kim Ann Foxman, and Anohni took up vocals.[8] However, although Anohni would appear on five of the album's tracks, she did not participate in the band's live performances.[8] The band made its live debut on May 17, 2008, at the Studio B venue inBrooklyn, New York, before going on a European and North American tour.[12] Appearing at London'sLovebox Festival in 2010, it was there that they were interviewed byVogue.[13] After touring for a year, Butler split with his record company and returned to Denver.[4]
Hercules and Love Affair's second album,Blue Songs, was released in 2011. It was brought out by independent British labelMoshi Moshi.[4] Butler remained in control, joined byMark Pistel, and Kim Ann Foxman returned, however it also featured two new main vocalists, Shaun Wright and Aerea Negrot.[4][14] One of the songs, "Step Up", contained guest vocals fromKele Okereke, the lead singer ofindie rock bandBloc Party.[15] 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.[14]
Shortly after the album's release, Butler attracted the attention of the music press when he informedOut magazine thatMadonna should "make an age-appropriate record that still appeals to young people" while being scathing ofLady Gaga, asserting that she was producing "children's music... It's middle-aged gay men dancing around to music for 11-year-old girls."[16] 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 toVienna in Austria. As he told a journalist fromThe Guardian: "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."[17]
In August 2012, Hercules and Love Affair played at theMeltdown Festival at London'sSouthbank Centre, 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.[18] At that performance, they were also joined onstage by singerJohn Grant, who publicly stated for the first time that he wasHIV positive; Butler later stated that "I thought it was one of the bravest things I've ever seen a person do".[17]
The band's third album,The Feast of the Broken Heart, was released by Moshi Moshi in May 2014.[19] 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".[19] In a conscious change from the previous two albums, he did not make use of organic instrumentation.[20] 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.[21] 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.[17][19] Also singing on the album were Rouge Mary,Gustaph, and Krystle Warren,[19][20] with Butler informingThe New York Times that that line-up constituted "the best ensemble of vocalists I've had."[20]
In July 2014, the band performed at East London'sLovebox Festival.[22] 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 likeHoney Dijon andJuliana Huxtable. 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".[23] In December 2014, Hercules and Love Affair performed in Thailand atWonderfruit festival.[24]
In February 2017, Hercules and Love Affair released "Controller", a new single featuringFaris Badwan ofThe Horrors. It is the first music from the band's fourth studio albumOmnion, which was released on September 1, 2017, throughAtlantic Records.[3] The title track features a collaboration with vocalistSharon Van Etten.[25]
Butler heavily worked in 2021 to finish off the recording of the albumIn Amber. Hercules and Love Affair released "Grace" in February 2022. It featured Icelandic singer Elin Ey with Butler on vocals: it was promoted by a video[26] it was the lead single ofIn Amber. The album was made in collaboration ofAnohni, 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 drummerBudgie previously ofSiouxsie and the Banshees, who was asked "to participate, to derailing some of the arrangements for more impact" on a suggestion of Anohni.[27]
In Amber was finally released in June 2022 on CD and vinyl.[28] The album received glowing reviews.AllMusic rated it four and a half out of five stars.[29]Rolling Stone reviewed the album as "a bracing, at time beautiful, LP of dark art-pop abstraction",[30] andMojo considered it as "frequently beautiful".[31]The Arts Desk named it "Album of the Year 2022".[32]
Describing the band's 2011 lineup, Elizabeth Day ofThe Observer 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."[4]
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.[33]
Rob Ledonne ofThe New York Times asserted that Hercules and Love Affair have a "distinctly Continental sound" in that they are influenced by European dance music.[20]
Best Art Vinyl
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | "Blind" (ft.Anohni) | Best Vinyl Art[34] | Nominated |
GLAAD Media Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Themselves | Outstanding Music Artist | Nominated |
Ibiza Music Video Festival
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | "Omnion" | Best Colorist | Nominated |
| Best VFX |
International Dance Music Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Themselves | Best Breakthrough Artist (Group) | Nominated |
| 2015 | Andy Butler | Best Indie Dance/Underground DJ | |
| The Feast of the Broken Heart | Best Full Length Studio Recording | ||
| "Do You Feel The Same" | Best Indie Dance Track |
MTV O Music Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Themselves | Best Remix | Nominated |
Music Video Festival
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | "I Try to Talk to You" | Best International Video | Nominated | [35] |
Rober Awards Music Prize
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Themselves | Best Electronica | Nominated | [36] |
| "Blind" (ft.Anohni) | Single of the Year | Nominated | [37] | |
| Best Dance Anthem | Won | [38] |
UK Music Video Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | "Blind" (ft.Anohni) | Best Pop Video | Nominated |
| 2014 | "I Try to Talk to You" | Best Dance Video | |
| Best Choreography |
The Arts Desk: Album of the Year
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | "In Amber" | Best album | Won |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
