Two saxophones, live drums and a few effects—that’s what New York City band Moon Hooch uses to conjure up the deep bass lines, catchy melodies and pounding rhythms of dance music. “We feel like the saxophone sound emulates synthesizers in electronic music pretty spot-on, though, ‘cause it’s got a very strong foundation in the sound, and there’s lots of overtones that can be manipulated by changing the embouchure and doing weird ‘extended’ techniques,” explains Hooch drummer James Muschler. Formed in 2010, Moon Hooch, who re-released their driving first album earlier this year, started on the subway platforms of New York but later graduated to opening slots for Galactic, Mike Doughty and They Might Be Giants. Muschler admits that there are significant acoustic disparities between subway stations and traditional music halls, but the percussionist and New School grad sees an important connection between those venue types. “In a club or in a subway, it’s a bunch of people getting together, having a good time and dancing, so that’s pretty consistent.”