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Jun 17, 2009 Hercules & Love Affair By Kyle Lemmon

Hercules & Love Affair are the debut group for Renaissance’s brand new compilation series called Sidetracked. The two-disc comp is a slamming set of house and disco grooves, plus a brand new Affair exclusive, “I Can’t Wait.” This is a perfect match for the New York DJ-turned Hercules frontman Andy Butler. The musician noted in a statement on Renaissance’s site that Sidetracked holds a full-length mirror up to his bifurcated stylee.

“I didn’t want to do something that demonstrated my love of either house or disco, I really wanted to feature both. Over the past year I have been spinning a lot of early ‘90s stuff that playfully reworks disco songs; not so much re-edits, but rather original songs using samples. For example, I might be playing techno but you could hear Rockers Revenge in the mix, or Jimmy Bo Horne, or First Choice. This technique was the primary influence on how I approached the compilation,” the disco-house musician notes.

In addition to the rare, heady trance/disco-house grooves for the purists, Butler also spends plenty of time with the kind of tunes that “have historically made [me] freak out in the club.” Butler’s musical friends/idols Daniel Wang, Todd Terry (and his alias Sax), Dr. Buzzard, Ray Martinez, and easy listening disco maven Gino Soccio also find spots on the eclectic set.

Hercules & Love Affair - Sidetracked is out in North America on July 21st and the rest of the world on July 13th, but you can listen to a 20-minute sample stream right now. The compilation will come as a two-disc set, with mixed and specially re-mastered unmixed format. Pre-orders are now being taken. The tracklist and album artwork are both below. There are no concrete details regarding Hercules & Love Affair’s sophomore album but they are touring Europe and the U.S. in July and August.

CD ONE - MIXED

01. WestBam - And Party

02. Sax - No Pares (Don’t Stop)

03. Hercules & Love Affair - I Can’t Wait

04. In Flagranti - I Never Screwed Around Before

05. Dubwise - Hold me Real Tight

06. Fax Yourself - Sunshine

07. Todd Terry Project - Weekend

08. Daniel Wang - Zola Has Landed

09. Rhythm Masters - Oh Oh Why

10. Los Kings Del Mambo - Studio X

11. Dr. Buzzards Original Savannah Band - I’ll Play the Fool

12. Ray Martinez Jnr - Lady of the Night

13. Gino Soccio - Dream On

14. Rainbow Team - Dreaming

CD TWO - UNMIXED & RE-MASTERED

01. Westbam - And Party

02. In Flagranti - I Never Screwed Around Before

03. Dubwise - Hold me Real Tight

04. Fax Yourself - Sunshine

05. Todd Terry Project - Weekend

06. Daniel Wang - Zola Has Landed

07. Los Kings Del Mambo - Studio X

08. Dr. Buzzards Original Savannah Band - I’ll Play the Fool

09. Ray Martinez Jnr - Lady of the Night

10. Gino Soccio - Dream On

11. Rainbow Team - Dreaming