An unexpected yet vibrant DJ culture has popped off in Bentonville, fueled by a growing community of artists, referred to casually as a DJ collective.

Todd Verrone, or “DJ Todd of North America,” helped create a place for local EDM artists to thrive in Bentonville. About ten years ago, Verrone co-founded Bentonville Community Radio (103.3 KOBV), which has since become a hub for local electronic music artists. 

Many of the Bentonville-based DJs have weekly shows on KOBV and regularly play at Loveless Cocktail Club downtown and Backroom Social Club in Springdale.

Their scope is as wide as the range of electronic music, a genre-bending category of music that incorporates elements of virtually every other musical tradition, from classical jazz to hip-hop and techno. DJs use various digital and analog tools — synthesizers, drum machines, samplers, and mixers — to manipulate sound, blending and transforming existing tracks and incorporating their own recordings. 

The DJ collective takes part in “live ambient music” nights hosted by KOBV. Normally, these events take place outside the radio station’s retrofitted shipping-container studio near The Momentary.

At the most recent ambient night on November 9, a cold front prevented the DJs from performing outside, but the artists quickly adjusted to the change, transforming the offices of Movista, a local software company, into an electronic music playground. 

No DJ included lyrics, but each artist presented music with its own unique twist, with performances ranging from simple laptop beat mixes to live, improvised sessions. They often mixed their own music with ambient soundtracks that inspired a hypnotic, relaxing vibe throughout the evening.

Joel Darling, a classically trained musician, mixed pre-recorded loops while strumming an electronic guitar and turning various dials on a custom-built soundboard and tapping on an electronic foot pedal at various intervals. 

A small group of attendees listened intently to the diverse soundscapes while enjoying free beers and chatting about their love of electronic music. It was a chance for the local DJs to experiment with the “infinite possibilities” electronic music offers, Verrone said, noting that the ambient theme allows them to tap into a “more abstract energy” that enhances the music’s storytelling.

The best electronic music, according to Verrone, is a kind of organized chaos, where a deep understanding of the underlying structure gives way to complex layers of tone, rhythm and emotion.  

“You listen to it, you're like, there's not a structure but there's something to it that holds it all together,” Verrone said. “Well, it's like jazz, where you learn to play the music perfectly before you take it all apart.” 

The thriving DJ culture in Northwest Arkansas was on full display in October, with the third year of Momentous, an annual electronic music festival held at The Momentary. The lineup included internationally known headliners like Flux Pavilion, Doctor P and Tycho, as well as local DJs like TruStorey and Big Sugar. 

It’s not always been this way, though. When he moved to Bentonville in 2005, Verrone said “there wasn’t a lot going on” in the way of EDM or dance parties. 

“Occasionally there'd be things that would pop up, but there was really no electronic music,” Verrone said. “And so when we started the radio station dance parties, they were the only dance parties happening in Bentonville.” 

Local DJs are grateful for Verrone’s efforts to create a space for them. One Bentonville-based DJ, who goes by his radio name “Mr. Yoyo,” said he moved here from Memphis about five years ago, after frequently traveling to dance parties in Northwest Arkansas. He was surprised to discover an extensive electronic music community here — one that he has since become deeply immersed in.    

“This place has the most vibrant underground I've ever experienced,” Mr. Yoyo said. “I was kind of called here in a way.”  

Verrone said Bentonville Community Radio plans to continue hosting ambient nights throughout the year, and new events will be posted on the station’s Facebook page. The group also plans to host a fundraiser dance party in early spring. In the meantime, Verrone encouraged residents to tune into KOBV to catch some tunes from Bentonville’s own DJ collective.