Meet the winners of the Club Nothing (R) fund

In an effort to invigorate independent music culture, the Club Nothing (R) fund has recently announced four recipients of its inaugural $40,000 grant, distributed evenly among emerging creatives globally. This initiative, launched by Nothing earlier this year, focuses on supporting innovative club nights, event series, and festivals that serve diverse communities and often operate outside mainstream visibility.

The grant winners—Black Bass Collective, Oroko Radio, Whorechata, and Signal—represent a broad spectrum of musical and cultural expressions from Los Angeles to India, Africa, and New York City. Each collective brings a distinctive approach to nightlife, emphasizing community-building, inclusivity, and the preservation and evolution of their respective musical traditions.

Black Bass Collective, based in Los Angeles, centers its work around the Black-Queer Creative community. The group's members have expressed a commitment to fostering accessible, affirming spaces that celebrate Black culture through dance and music. Their events are designed to offer both liberation and connection, reflecting the historical significance of dance floors as sites of cultural communion within Black communities. The collective aims to expand their cultural and economic impact, supporting Black artists and deepening the intentionality behind their programming.

Oroko Radio, operating with a pan-African vision, curates alternative African sounds from across the continent and its diaspora. The collective's ambition includes bridging regional divides by collaborating with major festivals like Nyege Nyege, fostering cross-continental sonic exchanges. They seek to challenge reductive perceptions of African music by highlighting its rich diversity and innovation. Future projects for Oroko Radio include reviving their radio broadcasts, releasing their first record as a label, and producing a documentary series documenting electronic music communities in Africa and the Caribbean.

In India, the Signal project envisions a transformative nightlife experience that unites local music communities from various regions under a single event umbrella. Spearheaded by New Delhi Community Radio, Signal plans to host multi-venue events featuring selectors from smaller cities, thereby decentralizing India's music scene and providing financial support to grassroots artists. This initiative confronts the underrepresentation of smaller local radios and aims to strengthen the network of emerging music cultures across the country, promoting discovery and connection within the scene.

Whorechata, a New York-based collective, integrates queer, trans, immigrant, and people of color (POC) communities through curated events that blend Latin electronic music with broader underground influences. Built on authenticity and inclusivity, Whorechata challenges conventional nightlife norms by emphasizing representation and artistic innovation. Their vision includes international expansion, particularly to Mexico City, and using their platform to support marginalized Latin American communities facing political and social pressures.

The selection panel for the Club Nothing (R) fund included figures from music, nightlife, and creative industries, such as DJ and producer Manuka Honey and Dazed's music editor Solomon Pace-McCarrick. Their choices underscore a commitment to amplifying voices that are redefining club culture globally, prioritizing projects that not only entertain but also reinforce community ties and cultural narratives.

While the financial support of $10,000 per group is a vital catalyst, the collective narratives emphasize aspirations beyond funding. These collectives seek to create sustainable ecosystems where artists can thrive economically and creatively. Their work challenges dominant cultural paradigms and expands the possibilities of what nightlife can represent in different sociocultural contexts.

The Club Nothing (R) fund thus emerges as a significant player in nurturing independent music scenes at a pivotal moment. By investing in varied cultural expressions and prioritizing community-centered approaches, the fund contributes to a richer, more inclusive global nightlife ecosystem. The projects supported reveal a dynamic landscape where music acts as a conduit for identity, activism, and intercultural dialogue.

Details on the specific timelines and upcoming events for these collectives remain limited, but their shared focus on community empowerment and artistic innovation signals a promising evolution in independent music culture worldwide.