A Montreal rave collective is raising funds for Puerto Rico

Montreal DJs and producers anabasine (Danji Buck-Moore) and softcoresoft (Leticia Trandafir), founding members of the local Lagom collective, launched a benefit compilation this week called Power Puerto Rico.

The jam-packed 43-track compilation features artists from all over the world with heavy representation from up and coming Montreal artists active in the local scene, including UMFANG, Beta Librae, Jesse Osborne Lanthier, Pelada, Ciel, revlux, Jaclyn Kendall, unromantic, Buffalo MRI, gonima, Stefana Fratila and GRKZGL.

All of the proceeds from the compilation will be donated to help Puerto Rico recover from the devastation caused by hurricane Maria two weeks ago — the worst storm damage on the island since 1928. The money raised will go to The Hurricane Maria Community Relief & Recovery Fund, a grassroots organization housed at the Centre for Popular Democracy and paired with local feminist organization Taller Salud.

Puerto Rico’s already fragile electrical grid was completely destroyed in the hurricane. Half of the island’s 3.5 million residents remain without access to clean water and there are widespread food and fuel shortages. In the face of this growing humanitarian disaster, the Trump government has repeatedly misinformed the public while carrying out a grossly negligent distribution of aid. On Thursday, Trump suggested he might soon fully abandon aid efforts in Puerto Rico (which is a U.S. territory).

In a statement, Buck-Moore and Trandafir wrote, “We believe we have a role in creating a better future world through music, and hope this compilation can be a small help in redistributing resources to those who need them most. Making music in a vacuum in 2017 makes no sense.” ■

The compilation is available here.