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Arcade Fire's frontman will spin a rare DJ set at an LA Halloween show

He fills a vacancy left by the late synthwave pioneer Kavinsky.

Arcade Fire

Win Butler sings into a handheld mic with one arm flung out, in a black and white brushstroke-print suit jacket and a grey scarf, blue light behind him.
Butler performing with Arcade Fire at Lollapalooza in 2014. Photo: Liliane Callegari from São Paulo, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Win Butler, frontman of indie rock band Arcade Fire, will step behind the decks for a rare DJ set at The Maze, a Halloween block party in downtown Los Angeles' Arts District.

Butler will be joined by Paul Beaubrun, a multi-instrumentalist who tours with Arcade Fire, with the pair blending traditional DJing with live instrumentation, according to a press release. Butler has maintained a parallel DJ career for more than a decade under the name DJ Windows 98, playing club nights and festival after-hours sets that typically blend disco, funk, hip-hop and early electronic music.

The booking follows the death of French electronic pioneer Kavinsky, who had originally been slated to perform at the event. "Kavinsky was an artist we deeply admired, and having him be part of this year's Maze meant a great deal to all of us," event producer Cyril Bitar said, adding that organizers plan to honor him with a special installation and themed areas throughout the party.

Produced by LA nightlife promoters SBCLTR and Minimal Effort, this year's edition of The Maze marks an expansion for the annual event, moving to a larger indoor-outdoor footprint after previous editions at Union Station. The lineup also includes sets from Claude VonStroke and The Blaze.

The facts

  • Win Butler DJs as 'DJ Windows 98' for over a decade
  • Performance fills a slot left by the late Kavinsky
  • Event: The Maze, an LA Halloween block party
  • Joined by Arcade Fire touring member Paul Beaubrun
  • Also features sets from Claude VonStroke and The Blaze

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