Hercules & Love Affair

Hercules and Love Affair
Hercules and Love Affair's first live show, 2008.
Background information
Origin	New York City, United States
Genres	Disco House Nu-disco
Years active	2004-present
Labels	DFA, Moshi Moshi, Mute
Associated acts	Jessica 6
Website	MySpace Page
Members	Andy Butler DJ Whitney Fierce Kim Ann Foxman Mark Pistel Aérea Negrot Shaun Wright
Past members	Nomi Ruiz Anohni Morgan Wiley Andrew Raposo Jason Disu Carter Yasutake Guy Licata

Hercules and Love Affair is a dance music project created by American DJ Andy Butler in 2008. Consisting of a rotating cast of performers and musicians, the band work within the genres of house music, disco, and nu-disco.

Originally based in New York City, Hercules and Love Affair were founded following Butler's collaboration with Anohni to produce the song "Blind", which was a hit single. Signing to DFA Records, early members include Butler, Kim Ann Foxman, Mark Pistel, Aérea Negrot, Shaun Wright and Nellyphant. In 2008 they released their self-titled debut album, which received critical praise and charted in the top 40 in several countries.

A second album, Blue Songs, followed in 2011. Butler subsequently moved to Vienna, Austria, and in 2014 the band's third album, The Feast of the Broken Heart, was released, featuring guest vocals from John Grant as well as new primary vocalists Rouge Mary and Gustaph.

Andrew Butler was born and raised in Denver, Colorado, and has described growing up in "a violent household without any role models". He developed an early love for Greek mythology, which later inspired him to name his band after the mythological hero of Hercules. 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."