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Hercules & Love Affair returns with Someone Else Is Calling, a new EP on StrataSonic Records that marks a full-circle reimmersion into the dancefloor for founder Andy Butler.
After the stark, introspective world of In Amber, Butler’s move to Belgium opened a wellspring of inspiration—Belgian surrealist art, early ’80s dance-punk hybrids on labels like Les Disques du Crepuscule and Crammed Discs, and the enduring dialogue between Belgian, Detroit, and Chicago scenes. Surrounded by a younger generation of fearless producers he befriended (Lipelis, Orion Agassi, Kris Baha), Butler felt his passion for club culture reignite.
The EP was sparked unexpectedly in Iceland while Butler was producing indie/country/rock material for Elín Ey’s Hips & Lips project. A spontaneous decision to “crack out some dance music” led to an immediate creative surge. Though Elín had appeared on past Hercules records, this was the first time the pair wrote explicitly for the dancefloor, resulting in a batch of songs ranging from the roaring title track to the emotional release of “Crossed Lines.” Their chemistry is matched by Butler’s new collaborator Quinn Whalley (Paranoid London, Decius), whose mischievous, detail-obsessed co-production style helped push the EP into a zone that nods to early techno, classic vocal house, and the acid-driven rawness Butler first fell in love with at age 17, buying amongst other things…Whaley’s very own Different Gear 12”.
Lead single “Someone Else Is Calling,” paired with a Mexico City–shot video from rising artist-director Tatsumi Milori, set the tone for the EP’s themes of movement, appetite, and self-possession. The video’s portrait of queer nightlife and communal resilience echoes Butler’s long relationship with Mexico, a place whose fighting spirit and deep warmth have profoundly shaped him. Across the EP, these personal histories and creative exchanges crystallize into a revitalized Hercules & Love Affair, one that honors the underground’s past while fully committing to the ecstatic possibilities of the present.
