IYRE – The only Lankan drum and bass sensation nominated as MIXMAG UK’s Top 10 breakthrough DJ’s 2022

Saturday, 25 February 2023 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The sole drum ‘n’ bass DJ in Sri Lanka to play at renowned locus festival in Mexico and hospitality on the beach in Croatia

For those of you who are not in the know, Drum ‘n’ Bass (DnB), is a popular genre that grew out of the UK's rave scene in the 1990s, consisting of electronic dance music characterised by fast break beats with heavy bass and sub-bass lines, samples, and synthesizers. For those of you who do know and haven’t yet heard of Sri Lankan artist IYRE, then consider this article a map on an exciting emerging artist in the realm of drum ‘n’ bass.

Hailing from the metropolitan capital of Sri Lanka – Colombo – IYRE has proven himself to be a rising star in the world of Drum ‘n’ Bass going on to be ranked in the top 10 of 2022’s Breakthrough DJ’s by Mixmag UK – one of the world’s biggest dance music magazines. With over a million plays of his original music on Spotify, IYRE has been booked to play live at the world-famous LOCUS festival in Mexico in March and the Hospitality on The Beach festival, Croatia, happening in July, he is the only Lankan Drum ‘n’ Bass DJ of two of the greatest line up of Drum ‘n’ Bass icons to ever come together.

Through sheer ambition and a fast pace of releases over the past 2 years, IYRE mixes the East with the West, with a unique sound that will transport you to new dimensions through its influences of Arabic and Tribal music with a clever interplay of techy aspects of Drum ‘n’ Bass. With a massive following in UK, Europe, and America, but very little awareness of the Drum ‘n’ Bass genre in Sri Lanka, it has been an incredible challenge for IYRE to be seen or heard by his own community.

In early 2022 IYRE was signed to Boom - Sri Lanka’s leading music management and talent agency who worked hard with him to create more awareness of his music and the genre; overall finally securing gigs with just a few local venues and supporters promoting him as an artist to watch.

Despite the challenges IYRE has been a pioneering artist for Sri Lanka and has led the way by being one of the few DJ’s in the country releasing ORIGINAL music through the top record labels such as Hospital Records, Soulvent Records, Goldfat Records, Pilot Records and Fokuz Recordings, a publishing deal with Songs in The Key of Knife (Hospital Records) and collaborating with famous and talented musicians within the global DnB community - he is now being sought out for more performances at European festivals this summer.

IYRE has been featured in some of world’s most influential magazines, bass music blogs and radio networks like UKF, DJ Mag, Mixmag, Drum&BassArena, Skankandbass, The Ticketfairy, Liquicity, Data Transmission, BBC Radio 1 UK, Reprezent Radio, Goatshed and Trax Magazine; making his claim to greatness that much stronger as the only Sri Lankan Drum ‘n’ Bass DJ being represented.

In just a few years, IYRE has gone from relatively unknown to a rising star in the Drum ‘n’ Bass genre through to extremely well received, standout performances and releases including ‘Raindrops on My Skin’ and his latest ‘Light Of Hope’ EP.