Hercules and Love Affair - Sidetracked Review

Not enough of what's written about Hercules and Love Affair talks about how they've managed to carve out two different narratives for themselves in parallel. On paper, and to many trainspotting DJ types, they're the sole invention of Brooklyn-based producer Andy Butler; this arrangement-- wherein interchangeable parts orbit around a single driving force-- is one we all recognize and understand. In the live environment, though, that dynamic isn't so clear cut. On stage, Hercules and Love Affair's many moving parts combine for a theatrical re-imagining of late-1970s and early-80s disco. That music was loaded with sexual identity politics, reclamation cries, and, ultimately, an overriding inclusivity; H&LA's forceful live configuration emanates those aspects so totally that one might leave wondering whose show it really is.

This push-pull, of course, is no bad thing. More than anything, it allows for a level of dialogue between producer and live performers that most crossover dance acts frequently aim for and miss (cough, Basement Jaxx, cough). It adds dimension; Butler may be the creative force, but it's the rest of H&LA who provide the sense of community and surprise that ratifies and contextualizes his output. He's the DJ, they're the party. He's Hercules, and... yeah, you get the point....full text