Heads up: max your sleep quota now! On June 6-7 D&BTV Live will be celebrating their 200th show with a whopping 24hour live broadcast featuring sets from some of the best names in the game while raising money for an incredibly just cause.
Introducing Rhythmix, a Brighton-based charity whose founding principals resonate with us every single way. Since 1999 the charity has strived to create opportunities for over 40,000 young people via our favourite medium: music. Developing programs that address exclusion, challenging circumstances and young people at risk, their whole existence is based on building the confidence of one of the most maligned section of society.
“The end goal is social improvement, regeneration and the empowering of young people to be more confident and gain more self esteem,” explains Russ Grooms, Rhythmix Campaigns Manager. “Young people are often misunderstood, not given the time to express themselves or given the opportunity to work out their own direction. There’s an incredible amount of pressure on young people many fall by the wayside, suffering mental health issues or getting in trouble with the police. Other young people come from troubled backgrounds or suffer the loss of a parent which leads them to behave in certain ways. We try to be there to say, it’s okay, let’s make some music and talk about the things that are going on for you. It’s easy to forget that these people are children and are vulnerable to many things.”
The charity’s impressive technique allows for all levels of skill, meaning any youth with so much of an interest in music can explore their potential without any pressure or strict educational structure. It’s not about turning young people into the next superstars; it’s about helping people find out more about themselves, raising their confidence and giving them a more enriched set of skills for the next stage in their life.
“We’ve seen a lot of young people who’ve already invested in this whole X-Factor culture of celebrity and think that by doing our workshops, we’re going to make them a big star,” says Russ. “We can forgive them for thinking that, the media is very pressurising and if someone is living in a poor area, why wouldn’t they dream of becoming a rich pop star? However, as much as we would support and encourage this route if the young person genuinely had the talent to succeed, there are many other levels of success. Success could be a young person who’s been bereaved and lost their parents and has now developed an ability to communicate how they feel through writing songs. From being utterly devastated and feeling very angry and smashing things up moving to a position where they’re able to understand the bereavement, understand how they fit in with that and potentially go on and live a healthy life, well, that’s potentially a far greater success than making a track, getting it on the radio and becoming famous.”
A sentiment all of us can identify with; the whole reason you’re reading this, the whole reason I’m writing this and the whole reason Drum&BassArena was founded in the first place is because we’ve all been lucky enough to find music. We all relish in music’s calming, invigorating, stimulating energy. It brings people together and influences us in so many ways. Bottom line: music strikes such a strong chord in us it would be utterly impossible to imagine life without it.
“Rhythmix’s message and hard work is incredible,” says The Risky. “I can’t think of a more suitable way to celebrate this landmark 200th live show than by helping to investment in the future generation of Drum&Bass musicians and help with the scene’s legacy.”
Throughout the 24 hour live broadcast we’ll be raising awareness and funds for Rhythmix to continue their hard work. More details on what we’re doing will be revealed very soon. For now, head here for more details on Rhythmix and keep 7pm – 7pm between June 6-7 free as we broadcast live sets from….
A.M.C B2B Mattix & Futile
Athys & Duster
BMK
Culprit
Fracture & Neptune
Future Cut – 1st set in 9 years!!
Hamilton
High Maintenance
Hybrid Minds
Icicle B2B Alix Perez
J Majik & Wickaman
Joe Syntax B2B Lung
Jubei
Kasra & Foreign Concept
Kwaii
Mikal
Modified Motion
Moving Fusion & Shimon (Classic RAM Set)
Northern Lights & MC’s Mekar & Rafta
Rollz
Snige
UNCZ
See? We did say max your sleep quota… Celebrating 200 live shows and a brilliant cause. More on this very soon!