Midnight Magic are a 9 piece nu-disco act from Brooklyn, taking the principle members of Hercules & Love Affair and bringing in Tiffany Roth on lead vocals. Finding praise from their 2010 release "Beam Me Up" on Permanent Vacation and having released their second full length LP Midnight Creepers this year. The band are now touring as a four piece and have been championing the disco genre for some time now, with the current resurgence of the disco genre being pushed into the mainstream by releases such as Daft Punk's Random Access Memories we caught up with the Brooklyn outfit to find out what makes Midnight Magic tick.
You have been described as a disco act, a funk act, an electro act and a soul act. How would you describe your sound ?
There are many different aspects to Midnight Magic (and it's always hard to answer this question)—One thing that has been consistent is the influence of soul, funk, and the psychedelic and that our music is always dark and dubby.
How did Midnight Magic form and what inspired the decision for so many members ?
Very organically; we all met over the course of the last decade through friendships that formed in New York and Los Angeles. It wasn't intentional to have so many members it just worked out that way with who was around and who wanted to participate.
What is the usual writing and recording process for Midnight Magic?
The process usually begins with simple ideas in the studio outlining chord progressions and riffs using drum machines and synthesizers and then we deconstruct, rearrange, add, subtract—whatever I meets our goal of a fully rendered and realized final product.
You have a huge roster of musicians in Midnight Magic, how do you think this affects your sound?
Everyone's personality effects the sound–how Jason, Nick, and Carter play their horns–how Max plays the drums–how Caito and Andrew (Frawley) play percussion–this drastically alters the color and shape of our music.
How do you approach remixing and how does that differ from writing original tracks?
The difference with remixes is the vocal is already there–the song is already written–building a new track comes easy with those elements already established.
You only use live instruments in your live show, how do you think your live show differs from your record material?
The biggest difference with live is that every we attempt to do something new every night different whereas the recording is just that—it’s solidified. With our performances, we strive to push our songs into different territories and give them a life unique to the live experience.
Which do you find more satisfying, the studio or the stage?
They are equally satisfying.
How do you go about choosing tracks for a DJ set and what inspired the mix featured below?
This mix features all the remixes we’ve made as Midnight Magic so the selection was pretty easy! When we DJ, we play the music we like “to the crowd”–there’s never a set plan for any of it; we go where the night takes us.
What's next for Midnight Magic?
Making a new record in New York and hopefully more DJ sets and live shows around the US and abroad. We’re hoping to start a residency early next year in New York—something we’re very excited about doing.
Midnight Magic have also provided us with a 42 minute long mix full of rich pulled back grooves and classic disco stabs and featuring all of the bands remix work such as Azari & III's "Reckless (With Your Love)" and their take on Cut Copy's "Take Me Over".
