Mosaic Wenrui
New member
Hercules and Love Affair
3 Oct 2012, Wed, 8.30pm
Esplanade Concert Hall
“DJ/Producer Andrew Butler mixes the poetic Apollonian aspects of queer culture with the Dionysian party represented by left-field disco and hypnotic early house, and crafts an unsettling masterpiece that yearns and churns and ultimately pulls the rug from under your dancing feet.” — Spin
Disco demigods Hercules and Love Affair have become quite the legend for their spectacular revival of 70’s and 80’s dance music. The brainchild of New York DJ Andrew Butler, this musical project was born out of a fascination for Greek mythology. "I was attracted by Hercules because it was about embracing the feminine within the hyper-masculine," he says, "there's also a tradition of Greek references in house music.”
Butler is one of the most colourful characters in dance music and Hercules and Love Affair are a hugely entertaining proposition on stage, as varied and vibrant as the New York nightlife that nurtured them. Since emerging out of New York in 2008 with their wildly successful eponymous debut album (named Breakthrough Album of the year by New York Times), the electro nu disco outfit has become one of the top dance acts in America.
Pivoting around effervescent dance jams, intelligently layered tracks and tight 70’s bass lines, the album featured songs such as Hercules Theme, Athene, Raise Me and This is My Love. But the track that became an instant club anthem was their dance epic Blind (Pitchfork’s #1 song of 2008), which starred Antony Hegarty (of Antony and the Johnsons) on guest vocals.
The propulsive 6-minute dance number was described as "a remake of Gino Soccio's 1980 classic, The Runaway, done in the style of Kraftwerk." Butler wrote it around the time he started DJing at 15, spinning classic house and techno in a Denver leather bar run by a hostess with the name Chocolate Thunder Pussy.
As part of his plan to keep things fresh, Butler returned with a sophomore album Blue Songs in 2011 and a new line up. Apart from frontwoman Kim Ann Foxman who remained, the rest of group—Venezuelan singer Aerea Negrot, fan-turned-collaborator Shaun Wright, and Mark Pistel (Meat Beat Manifesto/Consolidated) including a guest appearance by Kele Okereke (Bloc Party)—were new. As Foxman puts it, "We wanted the bump and the thump and the drum machine."
Blue Songs not only features their signature heroic outbursts of modern pop-house bangers, but also softer, stranger compositions. Broadening his musical palette, Butler explains, "there's definitely jacking house and there's definitely even more full-blown disco, but there's also more experimental, softer music".
The latest divas to lend their vocal skills to the group are HowAboutBeth, Stef Gustaph and Whitney Fierce. Their forthcoming album slated to release next year will also include innovative vocal-gymnast Krystle Warren, and John Grant.
Hercules and Love Affair brings their disco revolution to Esplanade this October. Put on your best dancing shoes and get ready for an unabashedly scintillating night of dance workouts.
http://www.mosaicmusicfestival.com
3 Oct 2012, Wed, 8.30pm
Esplanade Concert Hall
“DJ/Producer Andrew Butler mixes the poetic Apollonian aspects of queer culture with the Dionysian party represented by left-field disco and hypnotic early house, and crafts an unsettling masterpiece that yearns and churns and ultimately pulls the rug from under your dancing feet.” — Spin
Disco demigods Hercules and Love Affair have become quite the legend for their spectacular revival of 70’s and 80’s dance music. The brainchild of New York DJ Andrew Butler, this musical project was born out of a fascination for Greek mythology. "I was attracted by Hercules because it was about embracing the feminine within the hyper-masculine," he says, "there's also a tradition of Greek references in house music.”
Butler is one of the most colourful characters in dance music and Hercules and Love Affair are a hugely entertaining proposition on stage, as varied and vibrant as the New York nightlife that nurtured them. Since emerging out of New York in 2008 with their wildly successful eponymous debut album (named Breakthrough Album of the year by New York Times), the electro nu disco outfit has become one of the top dance acts in America.
Pivoting around effervescent dance jams, intelligently layered tracks and tight 70’s bass lines, the album featured songs such as Hercules Theme, Athene, Raise Me and This is My Love. But the track that became an instant club anthem was their dance epic Blind (Pitchfork’s #1 song of 2008), which starred Antony Hegarty (of Antony and the Johnsons) on guest vocals.
The propulsive 6-minute dance number was described as "a remake of Gino Soccio's 1980 classic, The Runaway, done in the style of Kraftwerk." Butler wrote it around the time he started DJing at 15, spinning classic house and techno in a Denver leather bar run by a hostess with the name Chocolate Thunder Pussy.
As part of his plan to keep things fresh, Butler returned with a sophomore album Blue Songs in 2011 and a new line up. Apart from frontwoman Kim Ann Foxman who remained, the rest of group—Venezuelan singer Aerea Negrot, fan-turned-collaborator Shaun Wright, and Mark Pistel (Meat Beat Manifesto/Consolidated) including a guest appearance by Kele Okereke (Bloc Party)—were new. As Foxman puts it, "We wanted the bump and the thump and the drum machine."
Blue Songs not only features their signature heroic outbursts of modern pop-house bangers, but also softer, stranger compositions. Broadening his musical palette, Butler explains, "there's definitely jacking house and there's definitely even more full-blown disco, but there's also more experimental, softer music".
The latest divas to lend their vocal skills to the group are HowAboutBeth, Stef Gustaph and Whitney Fierce. Their forthcoming album slated to release next year will also include innovative vocal-gymnast Krystle Warren, and John Grant.
Hercules and Love Affair brings their disco revolution to Esplanade this October. Put on your best dancing shoes and get ready for an unabashedly scintillating night of dance workouts.
http://www.mosaicmusicfestival.com
