It remains a very undertold story, but Orlando does in fact have world-class cred in dance music history. Even more than just being a scene of international renown back in the 1990s rave boom, Orlando has the rare distinction of birthing its own music subgenre. Although sometimes generally called “Florida breaks,” Orlando was, without question, the epicenter of breaks and our DJs were its pioneers.
The influence of Orlando breaks was widespread by the mid-1990s, enough to reverberate across the pond to influence a whole new school of U.K. breaks artists far funkier than their legendary breakbeat predecessors. The excellent British DJ Nick Newton even released a 1996 record titled Orlando.
One of the most auspicious signs of any legacy is when young practitioners pick up the torch and carry on the heritage. In recent years, some new artists have taken up the mantle and released tracks that directly reference Orlando breaks. Well, the latest local notable to follow in these hallowed footsteps was born a world away and years after the original breaks era.
DJ-producer Arina Krondeva has been spinning around town the past several years,
but she’s originally from St. Petersburg — that’s Russia, not Florida. After coming to the Sunshine State for college, the 25-year-old joined the electronic music scene and was drawn into the native sound.
“I actually got into breaks after a couple of years of being in Orlando,” says Krondeva. Once bitten, she was smitten. As soon as she linked with Averina Singh to become queer DJ duo Rinas, Krondeva says, “We went heavy on breaks, bass, electro because that was the sound that we both really enjoyed.”
Once Rinas dissolved in 2024, Krondeva stayed on the breaks train, steering it in fresh new directions with her own original music. After a couple of single releases, she’s now dropped her debut solo collection, the six-track Scattered EP.
From the liquid bass kick that pumps through- out, it’s clear that Krondeva is a breaks disciple. But unlike the booming anthems of DJ Icey, her minimalist odysseys tunnel down an alternate IDM path. “A big part of that is because of my wife and her love of experimental music,” Krondeva says. “I also just like to experiment with sound design and see what comes out of it, layer those weird blips on a beat.”
While Krondeva’s beats thump with enough funk and groove to hook any true basshead, her instrumentals tend toward outer orbits. With detailing that’s minimalist and otherworldly, her neo-breaks are a cerebral spin on a classic style known more for jacking pulses than plumbing the mind.
The Scattered EP provides the most robust composite of Arina Krondeva so far, and the picture that’s already emerging is of a new breaks hope that’s one of the most forward-thinking of her class. Scattered now streams everywhere and sits atop TLU’s Spotify playlist.
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This article appears in Jun 11-17, 2025.
