It was always meant to be this way. When Andy Butler started Hercules And Love Affair in the mid ’00s the idea wasn’t to form a band in the traditional sense, but rather something that was in a constant state of flux. A revolving door policy when it comes to singers. Constant change keeping things fresh. Never getting too comfortable with a particular sound. Something that was constantly exciting. People have come and gone. Famously, Antony Heggarty of Antony And The Johnsons sang on Hercules And Love Affair’s 2008 debut single, ‘Blind’, six minutes of future retro disco that was voted the best song of the year by Pitchfork. The same year, Hercules And Love Affair’s self-titled debut album featured singers Nomi Ruiz and Kim Ann Foxman. In 2011, the follow-up, ‘Blue Songs’, saw Kim Ann Foxman return, appearing alongside Aerea Negrot, who sang on ‘Painted Eyes’, Shaun Wright (‘My House’) and Kele Okereke from Bloc Party (‘Step Up’). All according to plan, but, to casual observers, it’s sometimes given the impression that Hercules And Love Affair are fractured. Nothing could be further from the truth: it’s how it’s meant to be, it’s their strength. 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 wayhe 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’.