Six weeks after the Nepal earthquake struck, and Mitchell Pineo and J.R. Loeb are still processing their good fortune and feelings of intense guilt. They're survivors of the earthquake that killed more than 8,000.

"You kind of see that there is no fairness to the world at all," said Pineo. "The person who has it the hardest will still get it the hardest, even if you're like a block away from each other. There's no reason behind any of it and you feel so helpless to the world around you."

The Halifax dance DJs had just played their first of three planned gigs in Kathmandu on their first international tour. The self-described partyers were living the dream of many 23-year-olds, when it quickly turned into a nightmare.

The 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit. On the first night after the quake, the pair and their friends slept on the streets of Kathmandu. Their deep connection to the country was about to be forged through the sights, sounds and spirit of the Nepalese in the aftermath of the disaster.

Loeb recalls the eerie scene of birds acting strangely in the sky and dogs barking wildly in the seconds before the quake. Then, for what he estimates was 45 seconds, he and his friends clung to each other as the ground shook violently. Dead bodies were strewn everywhere. He says he tried not to look but the sounds were inescapable. "Just walking though alleys and hearing screams of family members and stuff. It definitely sticks with you," said Loeb.

And they stuck with the people of Nepal for seven more days, opting not to flee the country on the first Canadian airlift. Instead they set out to help.

"You want to put yourself out there. You're so desperate, like I need to help. I need to do something," said Pineo, who was on his first trip outside of the maritimes.

It turned into a crash course in disaster relief.

The men quickly sent messages out on Facebook to send money fast. They raised a couple of thousand dollars in donations which they say they gave away in supplies and cash.

On the streets, they saw convoys of trucks delivering aid. Once they hopped onto the back of a truck. On a drive that stretched for hours, they watched an endless stream of collapsed buildings before finally reaching a village up in the Himalayas. Along the way, Pineo says they passed Canada's Disaster Assistance Response Team, the United Nations and other military teams.

"I remember as soon as we jumped on and held to this thing, this may have been the stupidest decision I've ever made. I may be putting my life in so much risk here just to do this. But you have to, you don't think about that (danger)," said Pineo.

But what Pineo struggles with the most was having to say goodbye to the people who sheltered him in spite of their own deep tragedy. He says leaving them was like losing a loved one.

"People who have literally lost their whole family, they shaved their head, they shaved off their eyebrows, they're grieving. But they're smiling at us. They're helping us stay safe and get food and stuff like that. We have it so easy, we feel like we need to be helping them," said Pineo, his gaze drifting off.

Six weeks after the quake, the pair say they are changed men. Problems at home in Halifax now seem so insignificant to Loeb. "Any minor small problem is just so meaningless."

And they are both very aware of their "white privilege" and demanding more of themselves. They had just signed a contract with Warner UK to produce a remix before the trip.

"When this happens, you look at your privilege in a different way. I had finished that song that I'd written for that major label. That was a huge thing for me. But after the earthquake, you (feel) you can do more than this, you have to do more than this," said Pineo.

That energy extends into pouring more emotion into their music, say the pair. And organizing a benefit gig, a night of party music for a good cause. They say it will likely be held at Pacifico, a downtown nightclub, sometime in August.

"A lot of emotional stuff was seen but it made us stronger people at the end of the day," said Loeb. "We (brought) that positive outlook back to Halifax. And we're trying to make a difference and keep on sending donations to Nepal."