Disco Magic
Brooklyn, NY


Who says one gig can’t make a difference? Keyboardist Eugene Cho and guitaris Dan Balis had been producing authentic-sounding disco tracks to augment their Escort DJ sets since the mid-aughts, when they were asked to play Long Island City’s popular PS1 Warm Up concert series. The show was a huge success, and Time Out New York named it as one of the best of 2007. This kicked off the current phase of Escort’s existence, and with the addition of bassist/singer Adeline Michèle—you may recognize her from The Meredith Viera Show—Escort became a true live band in 2009. “That’s when the whole sound of the band really took shape,” says Cho. “With Adeline’s personality, voice and ideas, the music really started developing an identity.” And her impact on the group is evident both sonically and visually— her aesthetic informs Escort’s current stage show, which is a circus of colors and lights. She elaborates, saying, “We were being called a great live band, which was flattering, but we really wanted to live up to that title. We brought a choreographer in and started dressing up more and it really became a conscious effort to have a great live show.” Escort are still focused on the studio too, though, as their recently released sophomore full-length, Animal Nature, clearly demonstrates. “When we first started making records, we were trying to imitate something that we liked,” explains Cho of the band’s disco-magic sound. “Now that we’ve done it a few times, we can develop a sound that’s a little bit more sophisticated.”