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Lansing DJs hold electronic music event

September 11, 2011
Griz & Muzzy share their electronic sound on Saturday night at the LEAK party at The Loft, 414 E. Michigan Ave., in Lansing. Mo Hnatiuk/The State News
Griz & Muzzy share their electronic sound on Saturday night at the LEAK party at The Loft, 414 E. Michigan Ave., in Lansing. Mo Hnatiuk/The State News —
Photo by Mo Hnatiuk | and Mo Hnatiuk The State News

Glow sticks in hand, Andrea Nelsen made her way to the dance floor Saturday to enjoy a night of electronic music and dancing.

Nelsen, an environmental economics and policy senior, spent Saturday night at The Loft, 414 E. Michigan Ave., in Lansing, for an event called The LEAK Party.

The LEAK Party was organized by the Lansing Electronic Artist Kollective, or LEAK, a group of local disc jockeys hoping to combine their musical talents to bring quality local events to the community. The back-to-school-themed event featured performances by LEAK members Robert Perry, Roque Ybarra, Andy Lynch, Beatloaf and Griz, as well as five guest DJs.

Nelsen said she was mesmerized by the live electronic music featured at Saturday’s event.

“You go into some sort of trance where the music just takes you over,” she said.

LEAK members said they wanted to hold an event in September because that is when a majority of the area’s population returns from summer vacation.

“Basically, Lansing’s population comes back and is ready to party,” said LEAK member Roque Ybarra, who graduated from MSU in the spring.

Robert Perry, a Lansing Community College student who also is a member of LEAK, said the collective aims to provide Lansing area residents with an opportunity to enjoy themselves while listening to local DJs perform electronic music.

“Let’s give people a place where they can experience big sound and a huge crowd,” he said.

Nelsen was accompanied to the event by a friend and fellow electronic music enthusiast, Alexandra Grivas, a media arts and technology senior.

Nelsen and Grivas spent the majority of their night practicing glow stick poi, or glowsticking, which is a type of performance art in which glow sticks are swung from strings to create visual effects.

“I like (music) that I can spin to,” Grivas said. “I like a good beat and that’s exactly what’s here.”

Both girls frequent local electronic music events such as The LEAK Party and said they were thrilled with Saturday’s event.

“I always come to these things looking for fun,” Grivas said. “Tonight was an awesome turnout.”

Perry said most of LEAK’s events feature not only members of the collective but also special guests, allowing them to bring in other local artists to perform.

“We want to showcase other local talent that’s not us,” Perry said. “That’s what it boils down to.”

Group members said the Lansing area provides LEAK with a unique opportunity to connect with fans.

“A lot of people come to school and then leave (after graduating),” Perry said. “It’s cool because then we have connected with people with our music that disperse and go everywhere.”

LEAK members said The LEAK Party is one of several parties they will host throughout the year, and the feedback they receive from attendees will help determine how many future events they will host.

The variety of DJs performing and the large crowd was what Grivas said make LEAK events especially enjoyable.

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“It’s really awesome when there’s good music playing and a lot of people,” she said.

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