Ghent-based electronic and dance outlet Hercules & Love Affair return with a brand new track and video. In the meditative new cut titled “Change”, the collective fronted by Andy Butler sing: “Everything is Changing. Should I feel bad about changing?”. These questions, which can be addressed to micro and macro scales alike, beautifully resonate with the accompanying visuals, which were directed by Butler and multimedia artist Joie Iacono. The Joshua Hubbard-choreographed video represents a group of individuals dancing together in an empty building and trying to fit, one by one, in a very tight space, drawing a metaphor between body contortion and personal adjustment to change.

The track was produced by Butler and Joie Iacono, who also collaborated together earlier this year as Hoarder. Ths single is the first new material from Hercules & Love Affair since the release of their 2017’s album Omnion. Watch below.

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Hercules & Love Affair, the alternative dance collective headed by Andy Butler, have shared a new single from their fourth album “Omnion“. “Are You Still Certain” is a collaboration with Lebanese indie band Mashrou’ Leila also known for their queer positions.

In the video, that Butler co-directed with Joie Iacono and which features Mashrou’ Leila‘s singer Hamed Sinno, they address cultural tensions and the concepts of misconception and prejudice against Islam. Spirituality and tolerance invade the dancefloor.

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If there are any artists who were to be deemed truly necessary within the Queer community, Andy Butler and co. would certainly be among their ranks. Nine years after releasing “Blind”, one of the best dance songs of the past decade, Hercules & Love Affair are back with a brand new album, “Omnion”, which succeeds 2014’s “The Feast of the Broken Heart”.

“Omnion” is a piece of work that sounds like a bit of a turnaround in regards to the sound and recording process we’re used to hearing from Hercules & Love Affair. The titular opener of the album features Sharon Van Etten, and is a beautifully crafted, slow, and vulnerable late-night dance song – perhaps even more vulnerable than we would expect from a Hercules & Love Affair record. Also, this marks the first LP where Andy Butler has worked with people who are not, or who don’t identify themselves as, LGBTQ – as he told Billboard in a recent interview:

[su_quote]This was the first time that I actually ended up working with people who don’t identify as LGBTQ, but rather would put their hands up and say they’re allies.[/su_quote]

Rouge Mary and Gustaph, now full-time members of Hercules & Love Affair, also appear on the album. Additional guest features include Faris Badwan from The Horrors (particularly on the S&M sex-driven first single, “Controller”); Icelandic band Sísi Ey; and, most surprisingly, Lebanese rock band Mashrou’ Leila, whose lead singer, Hamed Sinno is one of the most active and influential gay singers and activists in the Arab music scene. Hamed sings beautifully in the Arab-only song, “Are You Still Certain?”. That track, the stand-out of the whole album, is proof that the sound of “Omnion”, and of Hercules and Love Affair as a whole, is not one-dimensional. “Omnion” is still capable of making us dance with some powerful club banger tracks, like “Rejoice“, but it is more than that!

Hercules & Love Affair‘s new album “Omnion” tells a story with a level of maturity never previously achieved by the group.

Although Hercules and Love Affair’s previous work has touched upon some truly vulnerable real-life situations in the past – such as Josh Grant’s discussion of being HIV positive in “I Try To Talk to You” off of “The Feast of the Broken Heart” – those stories have never felt as real and as personal as they do on “Omnion”. Deep insights, like the tale of Andy’s longheld addictions and eventual recovery told on “Fools wear Crowns”, and the themes of greed and dominance expressed on the sexually charged “Controller”, elevate “Omnion” beyond a standard electronic dance record, as it immerses us in Andy’s mind for the entirety of its 54-minute run-time.

Some of the slower and more melodic tracks of “Omnion” might turn off some die-hard fans who are not used to that sort of subdued sound from the band. And, while the second half of the album is a bit blander than the first, it remains a grown-up album that makes a steadfast statement: Hercules and Love Affair are essential to the LGBTQ community, and to the reality of all those struggles and opportunities taking place behind the scenes. So, as long as that remains the case, long live Hercules and Love Affair.

‘Rejoice’ follows up to the previously released singles ‘Controller‘, ‘Omnion‘, and ‘Fools Wear Crowns’ where Butler was singing about his problems of addiction. On this new single, Hercules & Love Affair are back on the dancefloor with some acid and industrial disco vibes. The track features one of their regular collaborators: Rouge Mary.

Rouge Mary gave some details about the creative process of this Hercules & Love Affair‘s new single:

[su_quote]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, with a belting voice to symbolize the urgency of the message. I feel this song is like a solution to face problems of all kind. Could it be coffee for the ears? I don’t know, but for sure, it truly is an ode to positivity.[/su_quote]

Andy Butler also added:

[su_quote]As with this entire record “Rejoice” was born out of taking detours from a traditional “vocal house” record- I picked up the tempo and stumbled onto a bass line that evoked my favorite early industrial tracks from front 242 or cabaret Voltaire- the stomp is one of exuberance and was begging for “vamping” or “riffing” from a singer- something Rouge Mary is great at- the exuberance just pointed to me to the word “Rejoice” so I asked her to bring that message to the song. It’s a message she brings every day to her life so it was exciting to watch her one again share “the keys to the kingdom”![/su_quote]

Listen to Hercules & Love Affair‘s ‘Rejoice’ below and connect with the band via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. ‘Omnion’ will be released on September 1 via Big Beat Records.

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