Uncovering what the industry won't tell you about success in electronic music - the hard truths, the mindsets, and the misconceptions. Hosted by N1NJA (curator at IMS, TED speaker, and artist).
Ranked in the Top 2% of Podcasts globally.
Follow us at:
@missionmakers
@dj.n1nja
For show notes + more visit: www.mission-makers.com
IMS Special: South Asians In Electronic Music, From Influence to Ownership
South Asian influence in electronic music is undeniable, from underground club movements to global stages. Yet influence does not always equal ownership. The next chapter is about authorship and narrative. Who tells the stories? Who curates the spaces? And how can cultural impact translate into lasting leadership and a defining role in the future of electronic music?
Recorded live from the International Music Summit (IMS) - one of the leading conferences for the electronic music industry, held annually in Ibiza. Founded by Pete Tong, it has become the defining forum where the global dance music community gathers to catalyse sustainable growth and inspire positive change from the boardroom to the dancefloor.
Featuring Ahadadream, founder of Dialled In; Kunal Merchant, co-founder of Indo Warehouse; Meedy, founder of DESCENDANTS Records, and our host, Farah Nanji. Moderated by BBC broadcaster and artist Amber Haque.
"Indians and Pakistanis, supposed enemies, all dancing together. That's what the dancefloor does." - Ahadadream
Join us as we explore:
✅ The real cost of being South Asian in the electronic music industry
✅ Why creating Indo House as a genre is an economic argument, not just a cultural one
✅ Why the dancefloor has always solved what politics refuses to
✅ What it takes to back yourself when the industry doesn't believe in your vision
✅ What the next generation of South Asian artists inherits, and what they still have to fight for
➤ Follow us at:
Instagram: @missionmakers (https://www.instagram.com/missionmakers/%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0)
Instagram: @dj.n1nja (https://www.instagram.com/dj.n1nja/%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0)
TikTok: @dj_n1nja (https://www.tiktok.com/@dj_n1nja%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0)
Soundcloud: @dj-ninja (https://soundcloud.com/dj-ninja)
➤ Credits:
Music: Mission Makers - N1NJA (Unreleased)
Producer: Farah Nanji
https://mission-makers.com/ (https://mission-makers.com/%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0)
https://www.dj-ninja.com/ (https://www.dj-ninja.com/%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0)
20 May 2026
IMS Special: The Future of Afro Electronic Music
The rise has happened. The stages are bigger, the residencies are multiplying, and the numbers are undeniable. The sounds that emerged from the African continent over the past three decades represent one of the most extraordinary waves of musical innovation the world has seen.
But every genre that goes global reaches an inflection point where scale brings pressure, identity gets tested, and the question of who holds the keys becomes the most important one in the room.
As multiple Afro-rooted genres move from momentum into long-term cultural movements, we look ahead to what comes next. How do scenes resist imposed narratives? Where can cultural growth continue with intention and integrity? And how is leadership in this next chapter defined by those carrying the culture forward, taking risks, and holding space for the generation coming through?
Recorded live from the International Music Summit (IMS) - one of the leading conferences for the electronic music industry, held annually in Ibiza. Founded by Pete Tong, it has become the defining forum where the global dance music community gathers to catalyse sustainable growth and inspire positive change from the boardroom to the dancefloor.
Featuring Culoe De Song, MoBlack, Cleido (Sondela), Raphael Pujol (Vice President of Global Curation at Beatport), and Shanae Dennis (Booking Agent at The Team)
"The only way to survive is to evolve. If we stayed where we were eleven years ago, Afro house would already be dead." - MoBlack
Join us as we explore:
✅ The scale and stakes of what Afro-Electronic music represent
✅ How five simultaneous Ibiza residencies are redefining what artist power looks like
✅ Why evolution and dilution are the most dangerous mistakes the industry can make right now
✅ How the Middle East's exit from the touring circuit may be the unexpected catalyst that finally redirects money and attention toward the continent
✅ The scenes across East and West Africa that are already ahead of the conversation
✅ Why London remains one of the hardest places to grow Afro-electronic music
➤ Follow us at:
Instagram: @missionmakers (https://www.instagram.com/missionmakers/%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0)
Instagram: @dj.n1nja (https://www.instagram.com/dj.n1nja/%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0)
TikTok: @dj_n1nja (https://www.tiktok.com/@dj_n1nja%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0)
Soundcloud: @dj-ninja (https://soundcloud.com/dj-ninja)
➤ Credits:
Music: Mission Makers - N1NJA (Unreleased)
Producer: Farah Nanji
➤ For show notes + more on our host visit:
https://mission-makers.com/ (https://mission-makers.com/%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0)
https://www.dj-ninja.com/ (https://www.dj-ninja.com/%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0)
8 Apr 2026
In the Zone of Mastery with Zakes Bantwini
When the door gets shut, what kind of artist do you become?
From growing up under apartheid to becoming one of South Africa’s most influential dance music exports, Grammy award-winning artist and entrepreneur Zakes Bantwini joins Mission Makers to reflect on a journey defined not by moments, but by mastery. This conversation traces a path from township beginnings to global dancefloors, where visibility was once limited, but the vision was not.
Zakes unpacks the truth behind his "overnight success" - a story that begins not with Osama, but with two decades of groundwork laid long before the world was listening. He shares the philosophies that carried him through industry gatekeeping, shifting sounds, and the years of building in the dark before the breakthrough finally came. At the centre of his work is Mayonie, not simply a label, but an incubator designed to develop artists from the inside out, grounded in one principle: pass it forward.
“No one has the power to stop your greatness. They can only delay it." - Zakes Bantwini
Join us as we explore:
✅ The mistakes he believes most rising artists make too early ✅ Why South Africa's dancefloor has always been ahead of the curve
✅ Navigating gatekeeping at every level of the industry
✅ The mindset required to create work that lasts beyond trends
➤ Follow us at:
Instagram: @missionmakers (https://www.instagram.com/missionmakers/%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0)
Instagram: @dj.n1nja (https://www.instagram.com/dj.n1nja/%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0)
TikTok: @dj_n1nja (https://www.tiktok.com/@dj_n1nja%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0)
Soundcloud: @dj-ninja (https://soundcloud.com/dj-ninja)
➤ Credits:
Music: Mission Makers - N1NJA (Unreleased)
Producer: Farah Nanji
➤ For show notes + more on our host visit:
https://mission-makers.com/ (https://mission-makers.com/%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0)
https://www.dj-ninja.com/ (https://www.dj-ninja.com/%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0)
Who has been a guest on Mission Makers
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Nhii
Kakura
Amber Haque
Sean Crowther
BoT
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
222,348
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
15 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
9 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 79 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
74
Social presence
94
YouTube
86
Engagement
77
Contact Mission Makers
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