Fusing a lifelong passion for classic myths and legends with a teenage taste for disco Andrew Butler created one of 2008’s finest acts in Hercules and Love Affair. A salacious mix of house, heart and hedonism they are less a “defined musical act” and more a “community spirit” with lots of voices coming together to make the magic happen. As the dust settles on their debut album and Butler himself hears the Liber Pater from dancing feet at Tripod this August, he joins Totally Dublin for a quick shooting of the shit.
There’s been talk in the press about the state of Hercules in the Love Affair’s line up. For the record Hercules and Love Affair is just you and an array of singers people have taken to their hearts but who aren’t actually part of the band?
The project is based around songs I write and then artists I invite to sing on them. The touring band is as close to the recorded version as we can get. The last time round it was inevitable that Anthony wasn’t going to be available. This time round I have new singers, a new cast of characters.
Do you think there is a problem with a lot of dance music at the moment in that she’s quite a shallow beast? In the seventies we had feminists anthems, songs that explored race, gender and sexuality. Now…?
That’s what I love about good music. I wanted to write lyrics that were spread across entire song structure. That posed questions and found answers so that it evokes a response from the listener. I want them to find meaning, to find substance. I wanted to use my imagination and engage in a childlike play and that comes across in the use of the mythology.
What influence does Greek imagery and mythology have on your songwriting?
It’s something I had a passion for as a kid and I rekindled the passion when I started writing the record. One myth in particular interested me, where Hercules brings his lover Hylas along with him on a great journey and he is abducted by river nymphs. And Hercules is devastated. There was something about the strongest man on Earth at the mercy on his heart that spoke to me. It was romantic, poetic.
It says on Wikipedia that you started your career DJing in a Denver leather bar. Is this true?
Like all good DJs I started in my bedroom but my first gig I played was in a seedy, notorious leather bar. I was underage and it was a kind of a kooky night that became more involved than I thought. The police turned up and I almost got caught and dragged home in handcuffs to my parents. I took a lot of cues from an older crowd and learned a lot of from them. They introduced me to this scene. They knew I was fifteen, they were knowingly putting me in harm’s way but I learnt a lot about dance music through them.
Could you tell me about the line up for your new album? Who remains on the record, who new are you drafting in?
Kim-Ann Foxman is somebody who’ll be involved with my creative process for as long as she wants to be. We have a new singer called Daniela who participated in the techno scene in Berlin and has a big, classically trained voice. While the other singer, Shawn Wright, has a spectacular gospel voice. He’s an old time house head and we have a similar aesthetic. He brings a glam chic element to what we’re doing.
At what stage are you with the new album? Will it be in a similar vein as the last album or are you hoping to verge off in a different direction?
It’s very lyrical. It does have slow, pensive moments akin to what Brian Eno was doing, using old analogue gear that was available and used regularly by him. But also it is more aggressive, real dance floor oriented. With Hercules and the Love Affair the feeling was that perhaps it was a little schizophrenic. Eclectic would be a nice way of saying it. This album might be more so.
Andrew Butler DJs at Tripod on the 21st August. Tickets are €15.
