In a hot and humid room, strobe lights skim the pictures of cats that adorn the walls. A DJ pumps the latest electro and indie tunes only the hipsters who are present recognize. At a quick glance, the crowd looks like the usual scene of a basement club in the East Village of New York City.

This isn’t the East Village, however, it’s a Thursday night at the Opolis in Norman. Members of the Dance Robots, Dance! DJ collective host the Opolis Party Party dance nights.

John Bourke began the international DJ collective based out of Oklahoma commonly referred to as Dance Robots, Dance! The DJ collective is composed of nine DJs based in Norman, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Hollywood, Brooklyn and Reading, UK. All of the DJs, however, are originally from Oklahoma.

According to DRD member, Bryan “B” Peace, DRD originally started as a music Web site where the DJs would post their music. Eventually the DJs began to play house parties and in 2006 they began playing at Electro Lounge in Oklahoma City on Wednesday nights. In the fall of 2007, the Opolis Party Party nights on Thursdays became another weekly event for the DJ collective.

Since then, the DJ collective has become renowned for its electro DJ style. From mentions in national music blogs and magazines such as “Nylon Magazine” to members touring as far as Europe, DRD has put Oklahoma on the map.

“Oklahoma has the best electro DJs in the Midwest,” Blake Ward, political science senior, said.

Ward, who also DJs, attributed this to a lack of a large live music scene in the Oklahoma City area.

“It’s a combination of people who are really interested in electro and the fact Oklahoma sucks,” Ward said. “There’s not a huge live music scene here like there is in Austin or Denton. In Austin you can go out every night of the week and hear good bands, but there isn’t much of that here. That’s why the nights are successful, mainly because you can count on that there’s not a whole lot going on Wednesday and Thursday nights.”

According to DRD member Dylan Mackay, who moved to New York City after high school before moving back to Norman, many people are unaware of the growing electro-DJ scene in Oklahoma.

“People don’t realize we’re part of this weird little niche of the world where electro music is popular,” Mackay said. “National press is recognizing what we’re doing here and we surpass a lot of other cities. Not New York City or Los Angeles, of course, but we’re at least on par and have a lot more going than most places.”

Candace Wetmore, art history senior, frequents DRD events and said she enjoys the atmosphere of the events.

“It is a fun and energetic escape from school,” Wetmore said. “Since the Opolis is an all ages venue, it’s a fun place to hang out with friends who aren’t 21. It’s also one of the only places in Norman that isn’t crammed full of fraternity and sorority people, no offense. It has a good indie scene and dancing rules!”

Keeping up with new music can be one of the most difficult aspects of being a DJ, and each DJ has their own tricks for staying up to date. Peace and Mackay said they have developed their own ways to keep up with new music.

“I read a lot of music blogs and find out a lot of music through friends,” Peace said. “Some of the best stuff I find is on lesser known blogs, and that’s just one of many DJs’ secrets.”

Mackay said he finds new music by using Java scripts to extract free MP3 downloads from music blogs. Then he creates a playlist that he listens to for about two weeks before picking the songs he likes and deleting several tracks he dislikes.

“Sometimes I will find lots of new music I like and sometimes nothing new pops up,” Mackay said. “As much as everyone wants good new music, it’s not always that way.”

The most important part of DJing, however, is making people dance and reading the crowd you’re playing for, Peace and Mackay said.

“DJing isn’t quite on par with being an art like playing the guitar or playing in a band,” Mackay said. “But take it from a bigger perspective and DJing is quite an art. It has everything to do with how to make a party happen and answering the question ‘How do you elicit an emotional response in an audience?’ As a DJ you win when the parties are good and people have fun, get drunk and dance.”