Whether seamlessly mixing curated playlists or creating new tracks and remixes, the Santa Clara DJ community has a shared motivation to bring new life to off-campus nightlife. Student-led groups like SCU House and Litness Events have been hosting parties in their off-campus houses and venues in downtown San Jose, cultivating community and good music.

“A lot of DJs here say the same thing, that they’re just playing the same music every time, and it gets a little repetitive,” said junior Sam Anderson, a usual host of SCU House events.

This boredom sparked the idea to host events inspired by the London-based series “Boiler Room.” In the SCU House version, student DJs come together to perform back-to-back sets showcasing their unique styles.

“I think House is having a pretty big moment right now, but everyone has their own kind of style,” said junior Matthew Tran, who is involved with running the SCU House Instagram page. “I think people really enjoyed listening to something fresh, and something apart from the typical frat playlist.”

The mission for SCU House is to promote and unite Santa Clara artists, DJs and the community under one roof. As they continue to grow its image, the group faces the challenge of hosting events in a residential neighborhood.

“I don’t know if they understand, but if neighbors call on us twice, they can get us kicked out super easily,” said Anderson. “They can get us fined $500 out of nowhere. Everyone talks about Santa Clara pushing people back on campus, which sucks because it just feels like there’s no real way to connect with people on a large scale like that anymore.”

Looking forward, SCU House is hoping to expand its reach by collaborating with other Santa Clara groups while still maintaining the homegrown, DIY feel.

“KSCU does great things for the indie pop and rock scene, and I think working with them could help a lot with EDM representation,” said Tran.

This past Thursday, Feb. 15, SCU House’s Boiler Room joined forces with Litness Events for a Valentine’s Day party. SCU House is hoping to continue this momentum and engage with more off-campus venues and groups in the future.

Their collaborators, Litness Events, are also making waves in the Santa Clara social scene. Junior Tyrone Kirunda and senior Emilio Esteban, who DJ for Litness, have been working with San Jose venues to host 18+ club experiences.

Moving forward, Litness Events is planning on hosting more events before the end of the school year, with hints at a St. Patrick’s Day theme and a third installment of their “Back Outside” series after spring break.

Kirunda emphasized that the goal of the Litness Events schedule is to do as much as possible while still leaving enough room for it to stay fresh.

“We have to schedule it so it's appealing,” said Kirunda. “It’s this moment or you’ve missed it. You’ve got to have that sort of build-up.”

The overall message from the Santa Clara DJ movement is that there is a lot of potential for growth. Student DJs are cultivating platforms for creative expression and community with very few resources, but the more they grow, the more they have to work with.

“I feel like there’s been a recent explosion of people who want to get into DJing on campus that’s really cool to see,” said Esteban. “Litness is going to keep rolling. We want to continue building that reputation and potentially translate it into something more.”

These events are created by passionate students who want to expose Broncos to new and upcoming styles.

“I think the best thing for us to do would be starting the foundations for a Santa Clara DJ club,” said Kirunda. “If that could act like a base, even if there is no academic side to it, it would be amazing.”

Correction

A previous version of this article incorrectly identified Tyrone Kirunda and Emilio Esteban as co-founders of Litness Events.