As more than 100 people gathered inside Simons nightclub Wednesday night, sounds of pop songs with amplified beats and heavy instrumentals filled the room.
Swamp Records and Strike Magazine Gainesville collaborated to host the electronic music show “Tempo,” which aimed to build anticipation for Strike Magazine’s Issue 13 launch party scheduled for Dec. 6.
The organizations combined electronic music and fashion for a Boiler Room-themed night featuring futuristic, rave-inspired outfits and low lighting. The event featured four DJ sets and vendors selling Strike and Swamp Records merchandise as well as jewelry curated by Rings by Ryan.
By 9 p.m., the nightclub had filled with guests, and a line outside continued to build as the first set began. Ben Robinson, a member of Swamp Records who helped organize the event, recalled seeing the venue for the first time without anyone in it.
“We were here a couple days ago to scout it out and everything,” Robinson said. “And it's gonna be even crazier once it's all full with people, but seeing it fully empty, and being like, ‘This is gonna be packed with people in a couple days.’ It was so cool.”
Sophia Johns, the 21-year-old editor-in-chief of Strike Magazine Gainesville, said the event provided a great opportunity for the organizations to collaborate.
“We're both large Gainesville student-run organizations who both emphasize professional development and creativity and value-creating community, not only on our staff, but within the community of Gainesville,” the UF criminology and family, youth and community sciences senior said.
Johns and the Strike staff witnessed the rise of electronic music fashion over the summer, as Charli XCX’s Brat album trended and the Sweat tour started. Johns explained that Strike wanted to play off of the cultural fascination with electronic music and emphasize the fashion trends it sparked.
Strike Magazine used these trends to create its style guide for the show, highlighting combinations of leather, mesh and metal.
Dalton Lain, the 21-year-old styling director for Strike Magazine Tallahassee and an FSU textile and apparel master’s student, said he gets his clothing style from the underground music scene, specifically from the 90s “Club Kids” in New York City.
Lain, who DJed during the night, began playing music during his sophomore year of college after discovering the underground music scene. At first, he was disappointed with the “very frat-coded, very house-based” nature of the electronic music scene in Tallahassee and felt there was no space for LGBTQ+ students.
There are very few gay bars in Tallahassee, he said, and the underground music scene emerged as a way for gay students to express themselves and feel safe in a party environment.
“I think it's super important to have these spaces for people to feel comfortable being completely themselves,” he said, “allowing themselves to dance freely without judgment of who else is around.”
Swamp Records’ goal for the event was to introduce people to a new style of music. The organization has not previously featured electronic music artists like Lain, but director of bookings Sammy Vaserstein and Ben Robinson said they have been hoping to branch out to new genres.
Vaserstein, a 21-year-old UF business administration senior, said a collaboration with Strike seemed like the opportunity to seek out new talent.
“Finding talent was not a challenge, but it was something new to us,” Vaserstein said. “Usually we know all the bands that are in the area, so finding talent in the EDM scene here was something we haven't done before.”
Vaserstein said the event was an opportunity to broaden Swamp Records’ reach in the community beyond its usual focus on indie and punk bands in Gainesville. As Vaserstein and Sophia Johns explained, Swamp Records and Strike Magazine wanted to reach out to the Gainesville community to create a space for self-expression.
“I hope people get out of this that there are communities and spaces and events in the Gainesville area that celebrate the idea of authenticity and celebrate creativity and open expression,” Johns said.
Contact Juliana DeFilippo at jdefillipo@alligator.org. Follow her on X @JulianaDeF58101.
Juliana DeFilippo is a freshman journalism major and General Assignment reporter for The Avenue. In her free time, she loves to read and work on crossword puzzles.
