The D&B community has done itself proud once again and united to help those in need….

Released last Friday, October 7, Floodlight: DnB For Pakistan, is the latest example of the global drum & bass community pulling together to raise vital relife. The compilation album has seen over 100 artists donating a total 93 tracks, including heavy hitters like Etherwood, Jame Thieves, Paul T & Edward Oberon, Digital & Outrage and Riya. 

A devastating mix of heavier than expected torrential monsoon rains and the continued global impact of melting glaicas has led to a flood crisis in Pakistan. Since June this year the country has seen more than 190% more rainfall than usual, leaving one third of the country underwater, with more than 50 villages being completely submerged. The tragedy has displaced 33 million and over 16,000  people have died including more than 600 children. 

On top of these heart-wrenching figures infrastructure has been hit hard. 350 bridges have been destroyed increasing the difficulty of getting aid into some areas. And with 2 million acres of crops and orchards being lost and more than 1 million livestock dead, the agricultural effects of the floods will continue to present a threat to life for many months to come. As the water begins to subside the extent of the damage being slowly revealed is beyond catastrophic.

Within four weeks of the distatster, pyxis & IYRE together with Sagar Dashmukh and artistic wizard Sinjini Ghosh gained the support of the drum and bass industry who donated tracks which culminated in the stunning charity album Floodlight: DnB For Pakistan. The release is available now, exclusively on Bandcamp.

While the album comprises a mammoth collection of tracks from renowned UK and European acts, Floodlight: DnB For Pakistan also includes South Asian, Indian and Chinese artists such as The Nasha Experience Crew, OX7GEN and the label Unchained further solidifying the link between this release and Asia, proving once again that drum & bass is a truly global movement, centered around peace, love and unity.

The album is out now and can be found here. Minimum donation for the album is £10, however you are welcome to pay more if you can afford. Each and every single penny will help to aid humanitarian relief supplies including emergency food, drinking water, sanitary supplies and equipment, portable shelters, bedding, hygiene supplies and kitchen sets. 

We spoke to two of the incredible forces behind this worthy project, pyxis and IYRE.

pyxis: “When I heard about the devastating floods in Pakistan, I couldn’t rest, or stop thinking about how awful it is. I knew immediately if I mentioned how I was feeling to IYRE, he would come up with something we could do. He’s so empathetic but also so close to that part of the world. As producers with a good reach, we knew we could do a charity album. It’s been done before and Bandcamp is the quickest way to get the money and back out to those who need it. We enlisted Sagar in India too, he’s also got his ears to the ground and closer than we are. We spent four weeks and got 93 tunes in the bag, everyone was so lovely, not everyone had music or could make it in time, but they still supported – by buying the album, playing the tunes, sharing on socials etc. We just want to thank everyone who chipped in and helped us because as three people, with jobs and families, we had a lot to do and there was a lot of people from various labels also helping us out, so just a massive big up to everyone”

IYRE: “We’re bringing back a few of the OGs from the South Asian Drum and Bass scene namely the Nasha Experience crew, Osmani Soundz with 2 tunes and Ges E, along with Shandy have teamed up to create a really beautiful tune. We also have the Krunk Collective contributing with some exquisite tunes with the likes of EZ Riser, OX7GEN, Ukato, Crash Comet, Smokey, to name a few from India, AND we have tunes from one of the major regional labels in Asia, ‘Unchained’ all the way from China. There’s Janaka Selekta, Dushi, Nigel Perera, myself and Noiyse Project as Sri Lankans involved with this project. We’ve also had Chef, Qwirk, and Somatic with sublime tunage from the UK representing the resident South Asian community. 

Floodlight is a beautiful representation of music, and how far genres such as drum and bass have reached across the globe. I’m incredibly proud of the representation this compilation comprises. It’s a rare occurrence to see South Asian and Asian labels meeting together with the renowned labels from the UK. In that sense, I call this a truly legendary compilation and I’m super grateful of the entire community for responding to our call for help. The compilation is well received so far, and we couldn’t be happier with what we could put together in such a short span of time.”