Tag: Hercules & Love Affair

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New Music: Hercules & Love Affair “Rejoice” Feat. Rouge Mary

Pump up that bump in your step as you boogie through hump day with the new track from Hercules & Love Affair, “Rejoice.”

Stereogum says the track is “exultant and ominous, a thumping industrial-tinged gospel-dance banger.”

Via press release:

“Rejoice” does exactly that. Taking things back to the dancefloor, this celebratory song marks four years of sobriety for Butler after years of serious drug addiction. Hercules regular Rouge Mary “a gender non-conformist” of Algerian heritage takes on vocals – a fitting choice given Rouge once found shelter in a church, finding his/her musical voice there, and given how, after Andy’s life was shattered by drugs, Rouge played a key role in helping him rebuild his life.

Rouge Mary explains – “The lyrics to ‘Rejoice’ were written in a day. It’s so obvious when you look around, that we all have so many reasons to be sad and we are so used to complaining about sticky situations. So much that we forget the ancient secret. ‘Rejoice’ highlights the importance of gratitude and the power of positive thoughts. ‘Smile though your heart is aching,’ Charlie Chaplin once said. I interpret it in a very powerful way, to symbolize the urgency of the message. I feel this song is like a solution to face problems of all kind. It truly is an ode to positivity.”

The song is from the disco-house project’s upcoming album, Omnion. Release date September 1.

Check it out below.

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New Music: Hercules & Love Affair “Fools Wear Crowns”

Hercules & Love Affair drops the “insanely personal” new song “Fools Wear Crowns” from the upcoming album Omnion just in time for the weekend.

As he celebrates four years of sobriety after years of serious drug addiction, Hercules’ Andy Butler explains that “Fools Wears Crowns” is “insanely personal” and as such is indicative of Omnion as a whole.

“It’s literally an apology, an attempt at amends,” says Butler. “A few years back I was in the grip of a brutal drug addiction that saw me overdosed in hospital every weekend. I was really decimated. My family said they couldn’t be around me anymore unless I spent a long haul in rehab, but at the height of my addiction I went to Europe and didn’t talk to them for over a year. My mother and my sister were in tears the moment I played them that song.”

Butler explains further to Pitchfork:

“Fools Wear Crowns” was an opportunity for me, in a small way, to express some remorse. It was a little attempt at [making] amends for a specific relationship, but also many of the relationships in my life that suffered during that period. The lyrics acknowledge that we as humans enjoy, in a weird way, watching people fumble. But it’s not always buffoonery that you’re seeing. In my case, I think there was an illness at play. The song examines lens through which we look at people’s messiness. It’s like saying, “I’m vulnerable, prone to mistakes, and I’ve made some.”

The chill vibe paired with the sparse electronic arrangement and melancholy lyrics lays the groundwork for an emotionally open, pensive musical landscape.

I’m a fool when I’ve been drinking
I’m glad that I didn’t today
It was foolish to lie to you
To think I could wish all the clouds away
Why yell at the sky if it’s going to rain?
It’s going to rain, don’t be foolish

Listen below.

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Music Video: Hercules & Love Affair “Omnion”

Set against a journey of seemingly endless staircases, the music video for the title track of Hercules & Love Affair’s upcoming album Omnion is described by the directors as “a story of rebirth. Perspective play, scale, and negative space is used to reflect the complexity of identity.”

Frontman Andy Butler calls the title track, which features Sharon Van Etten, “an appeal to the divine for help and healing.”

The video is visually stunning in the director’s use of color, light, and shadowy texture.

I wrote about the band’s first music video for the album, “Controller,” here.

The album is set to be released on September 1st.

For tour dates and more on Hercules & Love Affair, head over to the official website here.

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New Music: Hercules & Love Affair – “Omnion” Feat. Sharon Van Etten

Hercules & Love Affair drop their new single release “Omnion” ft. Sharon Van Etten today, and the electronica collaboration is clearly the result of a mutual admiration society between the artists.

Balancing lithe and soothing vocals with a crackling rhythmic texture, “Omnion” is the title track of the act’s forthcoming fourth studio album, scheduled for release on September 1st via Big Beat Records.

Featuring vocals from New York singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten, the track is, according to Hercules front man Andy Butler, an ode to “a childlike dialogue with a higher entity voiced through the filter of a broken adult male.”

Speaking of Van Etten, Butler says, “I feel so blessed to have had Sharon Van Etten sing ‘Omnion.’ She is an artist of incredible depth and authenticity and her voice is so inviting yet truly has a mystery about it. Those qualities rendered a beautiful interpretation of a song that is ultimately an appeal to the divine for help and healing. With such a generous spirit and kindness about her, she was a joy to work with.”

Van Etten clearly shares the sentiment: “This song is so vulnerable, but strong. Coming to terms with identity and finding community… It’s a very important time to share in that sentiment. I really appreciate Andy reaching out to collaborate. His heart beats in his songs.”

Check out “Omnion” below.

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Music Video: Hercules & Love Affair “Do You Feel The Same”

Hercules & Love Affair team with dance artists at Forsythe Company for their new single “Do You Feel The Same” from the album The Feast of the Broken Heart.

Set in a desolate, post-apocalyptic landscape, the video features performances from contemporary ballet dancer and choreographer Josh Johnson.

Hercules & Love Affair’s Andy Butler drafted renowned fashion designer Bernhard Willhelm, who has previously worked together with Bjork, to give the video its distinctive fluorescent tribal look. Think “Mad Max” meets “couture.”

Directed by AlexandLianne, the video was shot with infra-red cameras, giving this party at the end of the world a strange but vibrant hue.