EDMC hosts ‘Ignition on the Beach’

Last Thursday, the University of New Hampshire’s Electronic Dance Music Community (UNH EDMC) vied to “keep summer alive,” by hosting its first event of the school year, “Ignition on the Beach,” a beach-themed electronic dance party held in the Strafford Room. 

DJ Rhyot, DJ Ash0t and DJ Lushous, all UNH students, performed sets during the night, while DJ Frydae, a Manchester native, headlined the event. The night reflected a diverse range of electronic sub-genres ranging from top-40 to moombahton, a fusion genre of house music and reggaeton. Over 200 students attended the event, nearly doubling the attendance of EDMC’s first dance party held last April. 

With electronic dance music artists such as David Guetta and Avicii pulling impressive crowds to the Whittemore Center last year, the genre is in an ever-increasing demand by UNH students. With such a receptive student audience, UNH EDMC strives to bring the excitement of the electronic world to campus by offering accessible yet affordable shows. 

Only formed last March, UNH EDMC has a current team of around 25 members, a number that the organization hopes will grow exponentially over the next year. 

Rather than an interest-based student organization, UNH EDMC considers itself a community that aims to spread love for electronic music. Many members of the organization produce and perform their own EDMC music. The club serves as a great way to discover new music, learn about music production and well as meet other electronic music enthusiasts. 

Being an independent student organization, the club faces adversities in raising the funds needed to bring big names in the EDMC world to UNH. The organization is trapped in what Curtis Lush, the technical director, calls the “circle of death.” 

“We can’t get the money to get a headliner until we start having bigger shows and then get a budget,” Lush said. “But we don’t get a budget until more people show up at our shows, and they’re not going to show up until we bring a bigger show.” 

With the end goal of being a self-sufficient organization, the group hopes to attract larger audiences this year by hosting its very own radio show on WUNH 91.3, “EDMC Launch Pad,” as well as a wide array of electronic dance music events. 

Although co-president and marketing director of EDMC, Nate Seguin, feels the organization was not “going in the right direction” last year, he is very enthusiastic with the group’s current direction and aims to continue “to spread love of EDMC.”

UNH EDMC meets every Wednesday night at 9 p.m. in room 336 of the Memorial Union Building.