Hercules And Love Affair will always be ruled by Butler’s encyclopedic knowledge of 40 years of New York dance music, from disco to house and beyond to the DFA era; the effortless way he distills that knowledge into timeless grooves; soulful, classic house-inspired vocals (whoever happens to be singing them); and that bittersweet, delicious nocturnal melancholy that all the best dance music has always tapped, the joy of dancing away a broken heart at 4am. Butler contributes to our benchmark DJ mix series, ‘DJ Kicks’. It’s only his second commercial mix ever, the first being 2009’s excellent ‘Sidetracked’ for Renaissance.
Butler started DJing when he was 15 and it’s in his blood. There are few people who know more about dance music history than him, but he combines it with an approach that’s bang up to date, recontextualizing classic tracks with disco that sounds like it’s been beamed in from the 22nd Century. In short, it’s a rivetting prospect. It is released in October 2012. Its exclusive track ‘Release Me’ (featuring Whitney Fierce), meanwhile, sound like a forgotten Haçienda classic, the lost follow-up to ‘Baby Let Me Love You For Tonight’ by Kariya, and will be the first new music for almost 2 years. Butler has also overhauled Hercules And Love Affair’s live show, working in new songs alongside highlights from the previous records. He’s one of the most colourful characters in dance music and, likewise, Hercules And Love Affair are a hugely entertaining proposition on stage, as varied and vibrant as the New York night life that nurtured them.