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May 25, 2022 By Joey Arnone Photography by Niki Moens/ANOHNI

Hercules & Love Affair (the project of Andy Butler) have released a new song, “One,” a collaboration with ANOHNI. The song also features drums from Siouxsie and the Banshees’ Budgie. It is the latest release from Hercules & Love Affair’s forthcoming album, In Amber, which will be out on June 17 via Skint/BMG. Listen below.

“Anohni and I wrote this song with the hope of further empowering young trans, queer and feminine spirits,” states Butler in a press release. “The lyrics speak of being othered, cast out, and voice the incisive clarity that children often have in such circumstances, their accursed magic. The song speaks to the ascent of the child spirit in the face of such adversity, recognizing an integration of their experience as whole embodied and fortunate beings.

“The choruses speak of Nature, now Destroyer, asserting Her rights as the sole authorship of creation. Anohni embraces the volatile power of Nature as a symbolic resource of power that queers and witches have often felt aligned with. The microcosm reflects the macrocosm, and queer and feminine people are called upon to rise up ‘Rise up…seek your truth…remember, no more dying’ in the likeness of Nature, Herself maligned by patriarchal forces as she emerges in full possession of her wrath, forging a brutal renewal.”

Previously Hercules & Love Affair shared the album’s first single, “Grace,” which featured vocals from Butler alongside Icelandic singer Elin Ey and was shared via a video. “Grace” was one of our Songs of the Week. They later shared the album track “Poisonous Storytelling,” another collaboration with ANOHNI, which was also one of our Songs of the Week.

The last Hercules & Love Affair album, Omnion, came out in 2017 via Big Beat.

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