Midnight Magic

A nine-member act based in New York City’s Brooklyn borough, Midnight Magic are heavily inspired by ’70s and early-’80s dance music, from similarly large funk bands to post-disco producers. The group features Andrew Raposo, Morgan Wiley, and Carter Yatusake — all of whom were members of the like-minded Hercules & Love Affair — along with vocalist Tiffany Roth, Jason Disu, Andrew Frawley, Max Goldman, Nick Roseboro, and Caito Sanchez. They debuted on Germany’s Permanent Vacation label in July 2010 with “Beam Me Up,” an A-side somewhere between Hercules & Love Affair and animated late-’70s ZE Records projects like Aural Exciters’ Spooks in Space. A five-track EP titled What the Eyes Can’t See — led by the taut and rubbery title song — was issued on Scion Audio/Visual in August 2011. “Drop Me a Line,” their second Permanent Vacation single, followed three months later; it coasted on a relaxed groove informed by peak-era Giorgio Moroder, and it came with a relatively busy mix from fellow travelers Holy Ghost!, who pushed the original into 1983-1984 terrain. In 2012, they expanded What the Eyes Can’t See and re-released it on Sound Sculpture. The same year brought the album Walking Through the Midnight Streets on Midnight Sun. Despite the large membership, the band continued to record at an impressive rate as they put new twists on disco and post-disco sounds for Midnight Creepers (Permanent Vacation, 2013) and Vicious Love (Soul Clap, 2014). Midnight Magic have also remixed the likes of Corinne (“Dream a Little Dream”), Azari & III (“Reckless with Your Love”), Cut Copy (“Take Me Over”), Holy Ghost! (“Bridge and Tunnel”), and La Roux (“Uptight Downtown”). ~ Andy Kellman