Midnight Magic

A Brooklyn-based ensemble of nine musicians, Midnight Magic draws deep inspiration from the dance music of the 1970s and early 1980s, encompassing expansive funk collectives and the producers who followed the disco era. Core participants include Andrew Raposo, Morgan Wiley, and Carter Yatusake, each previously active in Hercules & Love Affair, together with lead vocalist Tiffany Roth, Jason Disu, Andrew Frawley, Max Goldman, Nick Roseboro, and Caito Sanchez. Their first release appeared on Germany’s Permanent Vacation imprint in July 2010: the single “Beam Me Up,” whose A-side occupied territory between Hercules & Love Affair and the playful late-1970s ZE Records aesthetic typified by Aural Exciters’ Spooks in Space. August 2011 brought the five-track EP What the Eyes Can’t See on Scion Audio/Visual, anchored by its taut, rubbery title track. Three months afterward came their second Permanent Vacation 12-inch, “Drop Me a Line,” which rode a languid groove recalling peak-period Giorgio Moroder and arrived alongside a densely arranged remix from Holy Ghost! that shifted the track into 1983–1984 territory. In 2012 the band lengthened What the Eyes Can’t See for reissue on Sound Sculpture and simultaneously issued the full-length Walking Through the Midnight Streets via Midnight Sun. Maintaining a rapid release schedule despite their sizable lineup, they continued reshaping disco and post-disco templates on Midnight Creepers (Permanent Vacation, 2013) and Vicious Love (Soul Clap, 2014). Additional production credits include remixes for 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”).