Lagos just got louder in the best way. Mainland House Music; an unapologetically underground, rave-loving electronic collective born in the margins of the Afrobeats cityscape has just bagged £10,000 (that’s about ₦20 million) from Studio Monkey Shoulder to bring its ambitious “See The Sound” project to life.

This isn’t just another grant. It’s a declaration: that voices outside the mainstream Afrobeats wave are being heard and amplified. They beat out thousands upon thousands of hopefuls around the world. In Nigeria alone more than 122,000 applications came through. Finalists included Group Therapy NG, RAWA Funk, House × House × House, Honey Pot FM, among others. But Mainlanders took it.

So what’s “See The Sound”? It’s multi-sensory storytelling, immersive audio-visual installations, deep cuts from DJs, and creative talks. Lagos’ electronic soul, fermented in warehouse raves and desert-inspired dancefloors, will get to breathe and be seen, heard, felt.

Mainland House Music has made it their mission to carve out spaces that are inclusive, experimental, and outside the Afrobeats treadmill. It’s a movement defined by artists and dancers like Etté, Fāëm, Earth Surfing, and Codename: KND. Their sound is deeper, rawer, pushing boundaries.

The “See The Sound” event drops on September 27, 2025, in collaboration with Worldwide FM and Monkey Shoulder. Expect moments of audiovisual wonder, stories from the DJs, and a spotlight on Lagos as more than just Afrobeats capital but as a hub for electronic innovation.

Gilles Peterson said it best, Mainland is building something exciting. Their sound, their community deserves global recognition. This grant is exactly that. A stage. A lens. A loudspeaker. Lagos as origin point for new music is no longer fringe, it’s front row.