TLOBF Interview // Hercules & Love Affair

Formed in 2004, Hercules & Love Affair is the project of one Andy Butler, a man who’s as prominent on the New York DJ scene as he is in contemporary music circles. Using an amalgamation of skills isn’t the only trick up Butler’s sleeve; he collaborated with the likes of Antony Hegarty and Nomi Ruiz to bring the band’s self-titled debut to the limelight in 2008. Two years later, Butler et al are back. This time they’ve recruited the help of Shaun Wright and Kele Okereke, and are set to release second album Blue Songs on Moshi Moshi at the end of the month.

The Line of Best Fit’s Tiffany Daniels talks to Butler about Denver, finding the fine line between life as a DJ and as a musician, and learning to appreciate the power of friendship.

Hello! Are you in Denver at the moment?

I am in Denver, Colorado!

All I know about Denver is what I’ve learnt from Things to do in Denver When You’re Dead. What can you do when you’re alive?

There’s a place called the Mountains, and a lot of people go there. There are a lot of recreational activities to do, so if you’re that way inclined there’s tons of skiing, and rock climbing, and hiking. There are more parks in the State of Colorado than in any other State in the United States. You can do a lot of exercise and things like that!

But then if you only did that kind of stuff you’d be an extra healthy person, and I’m not exactly that kind of person! There are some great vintage record stores and there are amazing thrift stores. There’s a wealth of that here.

What are you doing there?

It’s quiet! I’m very close to my family. I was touring for almost two years straight after the first record, and I got back to New York and my heart rate just didn’t slow down. This hectic tension that I experienced when I was travelling didn’t end. I also purchased a big record collection – about five thousand records – and New York apartments are notoriously small. The one I was living in was actually pretty big, but it was…

…Crowded with records!

Yeah! I basically would have been climbing over things. It was a culmination of things really. My Mom would talk to me, and she could hear in my voice that I wasn’t calming down, and then when I bought the big record collection she was like, “Well guess what! I have this huge two bedroom apartment that’s not rented right now. Come to Colorado!” So my Mom’s my landlord!

Now I have a separate room for a studio, which I’ve never had before…

Do you record in there?

Yeah! I record a lot of remixes I sketch mostly in there. That’s my creative room, you know?

Hercules & Love Affair is quite influenced by house music, and as you just mentioned you do some remixes as well. Do you find it hard to draw the line between being a solo DJ and being a band member?

It’s become more and more of a balancing act. I’ve had to more frequently flip from DJ to producer. For me, I want to use my own unique, compositional voice when I’m song writing, and I don’t want to be too heavily influenced by the music that I’m playing. If you’re DJing all the time, it’s kind of hard, you know?

Before I was as successful and travelled as much, I was able to literally not listen to other people’s music, not put a CD on for months. The only music that I’d hear – other than music coming from the sidewalk – would be the music I was writing. Then I’d get a bug, and I’d DJ all of this obscure music.

Now I have to switch between the two far more quickly, and it’s hard. It’s being aware; you don’t want to lose your authenticity.

Do you find that the people you’re working with influence the direction you take Hercules & Love Affair in?

Definitely, definitely, definitely! I think having Shaun Wright, one of the new members of the band, come into the picture really allowed me to go full on with house music. He grew up in Chicago listening to Hot Mix 5; his mother was a singer; in High School he was writing papers on house music. For me, I was working with this person who has this deep, deep love for house music, so I could collaborate with him and explore my own love for house music.

Similarly with anyone else who has been involved. Mark Pistel who co-produced some of [Blue Songs], was in bands like Meat Beat Manifesto – I was a huge fan of his as a teenager. Being around Mark would be like – let’s try and play around with sound and do it in a really controlled and dance orientated way. They’re definitely people that have provided inspiration, and came at the right time to create the albums that we’ve created.

When Hercules & Love Affair started out you said that there would be a rotating line up of members. Who do you consider as permanent, now?

Well Shaun, Aerea , Mark and myself.

Do you think the band has become more solid than it was on the first album?

I had my entire life to write that first record. ‘Blind’ was written when I was about 22, and it didn’t come out until I was 28. I literally was chasing down record labels trying to get my stuff out there. Anthony was just a friend really pursuing a career, and in his off time was doing these creative projects with me. That kind of drive to have a band and to put out music wasn’t something I really experienced. Anthony was incredibly generous, and then Nomi was a friend of a friend. She almost operated like a session musician – she just came in and did her thing. Then Kim of course, she’s my best friend. There wouldn’t be a Hercules & Love Affair record if Kim wasn’t in the picture.

For the next record…Anthony’s put out two records in the past couple of years, he’s in the midsts of producing a film; he’s putting out a book. He has a huge career. I knew after his first involvement he wouldn’t be reappearing on this record, and that it was time for him to return to his own career. All of these people went off to focus on their own careers, and it meant that I had people like Aerea Negrot in mind. I’d seen her years ago and found her fascinating, really wanted to work with her, and there came the opportunity.

It’s kind of turned into this thing where I write the songs, and my friends help.

Do you find that most of the artists are friends, or do musicians that you’ve not met before get in contact to work with you?

For the Hercules & Love Affair stuff it’s pretty personal. A friendship has developed, or was developing with everyone who’s appeared on the records so far, including Kele . I’d hung out with a little bit before we’d recorded, so it wasn’t like I went into the studio wanting to work with “Kele from Bloc Party”. Kele and I knew each other, knew each other’s personalities, and had a couple of nights out with one another.

I think that’s a really important aspect of the project – it has to become personal, because then there’s a sufficient amount of emotion that’s gone into the recording and material.

Hercules & Love Affair are due to play Heaven on January 19. Their second album, Blue Songs, is due for release via Moshi Moshi on January 31.