The project of producer Andrew Butler, Hercules & Love Affair combines disco, house and techno in ways that bridge the gap between indie and dance and highlight the passion behind his music. Butler began DJ'ing at a leather bar as a teen in his native Denver, Colorado. After a move to New York, he became further immersed in club culture as a party promoter and began to make his own music. Butler's first 12" for the DFA label, 2007's "Classique"/"Roar" -- a co-production with Tim Goldsworthy -- featured vocals from close associate Kim Ann Foxman and friend Antony Hegarty, bearing his deep affinity for electro-disco and early Chicago house. "Blind," an early-2008 follow-up, preceded a self-titled full-length released on DFA that March. A year later, Butler assembled Sidetracked, a DJ mix heavy on late-'80s and early-'90s house favorites, for the Renaissance label. His group's second album, the relatively low-key Blue Songs, was issued on Moshi Moshi in early 2011. An expanded version featuring a bonus disc of remixes followed that August. Butler then provided a mix for !K7's long-running DJ-Kicks series, released in November 2012. After taking second album Blue Songs on tour, Butler decamped to Vienna and found himself an analog studio to put down ideas for his third album. Opting this time for a dirtier sound -- by mixing elements of rough house and techno -- Butler joined forces with Haze Factory and Blue Songs collaborator Mark Pistel (Consolidated) to complement the raw direction that he had decided to take. The Feast of the Broken Heart, featuring lead vocal turns from the likes of John Grant, Krystle Warren, and Rouge Mary, was released in May 2014. A handful of remixes -- for Sylvan Esso, Róisín Murphy, and Citizenn, among others -- appeared the following year. For Hercules & Love Affair's fourth album, Butler drew inspiration from his struggles with substance abuse and his path back to sobriety. The result was 2017's Omnion, which featured collaborations with Sharon Van Etten, the Horrors' Faris Badwan, and Icelandic vocalist Sísý Ey. ~ Andy Kellman & Rich Wilson