What started as a dorm room hobby turned sophomores Maddie Schnitzlein and Ari Klein into a dynamic duo at the helm of Ithaca nightlife.

The pair began DJing at the local venues Moonies Bar & Nightclub and Lot 10 Bar and Lounge in October and have since made a name for themselves on and off campus. Despite beginning their practices solo, Schnitzlein and Klein have been perfecting their craft together and performing most Thursday nights all semester.

Schnitzlein, an advertising, public relations and marketing communications major, said her love for house music drew her to the discs. After starting to play around with mixing music for her friends and family at parties, she realized she could take her skills to a crowd.

“I always see videos on TikTok and Instagram of people performing,” Schnitzlein said. “The second I actually started to grasp and understand what to do, I knew I wanted people to hear what I have to offer.”

Klein, a screenwriting major, began his DJing journey a bit differently. The concept turned from a running joke with his friends into a reality with one Instagram DM.

“I just reached out to Moonies about wanting to DJ and they were like, ‘Yeah, can you play Thursday?’” Klein said. “It was so funny because at that point I didn’t really know how to DJ at all. I have a few mutual friends who put me in contact with Maddie; we started working together and we played our first set that week.”

Going from mentor and mentee to partners in just a few days, Schnitzlein and Klein played their first set together at Moonies on Oct. 24.

“The first set that Ari and I did was the most memorable,” Schnitzlein said. “Every single one of our friends came. It was super packed. It was super nerve-wracking in the beginning because it was our first time, but then once we got into it I knew it’s what we were meant to be doing.”

Schnitzlein said the steepest point of the learning curve has been preparing for gigs. Each set requires a balance of creativity and technical skill; from curating playlists tailored to each crowd to fine-tuning transitions between tracks, every detail matters.

“Figuring out what music goes in takes so long,” Schnitzlein said. “If we’re performing Thursday or Friday, I’m going to start thinking of what music I want to play on Sunday. Sometimes we’ll spend the whole week thinking of what we want to play, curating it and seeing what goes well together.”

Not only have Schnitzlein and Klein been DJing at local bars and clubs, but they have also brought their skills to campus-sanctioned events. On Nov. 15, the pair headlined the second-ever boiler room hosted by the college’s Bureau of Concerts.

Boiler room style sets began to explode in popularity in 2023 and reference a London-based music production of the same name. They often feature no separation between the crowd and DJ booth, creating a more intimate and interactive environment for both the performer and their listeners.

Sophomore Kiva Lucero, a television and digital media major and member of the BOC’s Logistics team, said that after Schnitzlein and Klein had made a name for themselves downtown, they were frontrunners to perform at the first boiler room of the semester.

“House music and electronic music is really popular right now among students our age,” Lucero said. “At the time, everyone was kind of talking about DJ Maddie and Ari, so we knew that they would have a pretty decent pool of people that would come to the boiler.”

A DJ himself, Lucero said Schnitzlein, Klein and other student DJs have the potential to change local nightlife culture through their passion for music. By employing younger performers, bars and clubs can remain relevant to the town’s student audience.

“Having students perform and be in those spaces — they bring what students are actually listening to,” Lucero said. “A lot of the time when you go to a nightclub or bar around here, they play stuff that’s kind of — for lack of a better word — not trendy or not popular. I think with students, we bring the music that we’re listening to, songs that kind of resonate with our age group.”

As a new DJ, Klein said he is still experimenting with mixing different kinds of music and reading the crowds. The more events he is able to perform at, the quicker his skills and confidence are growing.

“It’s just a lot of practice, practice, practice,” Klein said. “DJing and playing more places has let me learn how to go with the flow and feel the vibe, essentially. I’m still figuring it out as I go.”

Sophomore Chayse Shamleffer, a television and digital media major and Klein’s roommate, has attended many of Schnitzlein and Klein’s sets downtown and on campus. With a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into Klein’s process, Shamleffer said he most enjoys watching the technical work pan out on stage.

“I get to hear some of his steps or song ideas,” Shamleffer said. “Sometimes, before he’s actually going to add them to his set, he’ll be playing them out loud in our room. It’s definitely interesting to see it going from that to then seeing him actually performing at the boiler room and other gigs that I’ve been to.”

However, the journey has not been without its challenges. As young creatives, Klein said there are always people who doubt the pair’s abilities or disrespect boundaries at performances. Schnitzlein and Klein block out the noise by making more of it.

“People will always be pushy about requests, which can definitely be a little difficult and frustrating,” Schnitzlein said. “It’s just something you have to get used to. It’s a reality of DJing and doing what we do.”

With enough time, effort and passion for music, Schnitzlein said anybody can find themselves in her and Klein’s position.

“I think [DJing is] whatever you want it to be,” Schnitzlein said. “For me, it was just a hobby for a super long time. I didn’t know if I could make this into a career. Then Ari and I met, and I feel like a career looks more realistic now. I feel like it can sometimes just be everything.”

As the semester draws to a close, the pair said they plan to hit the ground running in the spring. Klein said that although he is still still new to mixing, the gig has been too much fun to take his foot off the gas.

“As I keep doing this for longer and longer, I do really enjoy it,” Klein said. “It’s very much something I could see myself doing for a while.”