ANTS: NEXT GEN 2025 WINNER ANNOUNCED
Thursday, Jun 19, 2025
Today we can reveal that our expert panel of judges have crowned DARKHORSE & Grouse as the winners of our ANTS: NEXT GEN Artist Program 2025.
Our ultimate winners, DARKHORSE & Grouse were picked out of over 1,500 entrants. Their mix impressed the judging panel of industry experts, talent spotters and accomplished DJs, including Yann Pissenem (Owner, Founder, and CEO of [UNVRS], Ushuaïa & Hï Ibiza and The Night League), Itziar Gonzalez (ANTS Project Manager), ANTS regulars Andrea Oliva, Chelina Manuhutu and SYREETA, plus ANTS: NEXT GEN 2023 & 2024 winners, Us Two and Firza.
They will now get the opportunity to perform for ANTS at Ushuaïa Ibiza this summer. Alongside this incredible opportunity, the talented pair will receive unparalleled artist mentorship from the ANTS team to nurture their creative and professional development, plus an unparalleled suite of prizes and support from our partners at AlphaTheta, DJ Mag, Ibiza Sonica pointblank Music School and SoundCloud.
DARKHORSE & Grouse are at the forefront of the new wave of Australian club culture, founding their event brand, SWITCH, which specialises in beachside warehouse raves. They host their own podcast, The Beat and have released on Moxy Muzik and META.
The Australian DJs will play a set at Ushuaïa Ibiza for ANTS METALWORKS on Saturday 6th September alongside a huge lineup, featuring Andrea Oliva, HoneyLuv B2B TSHA, Melé, KILIMANJARO and Dunmore Brothers.
“We’ve been to ANTS many times as ravers, travelling from Australia and dreaming of one day being up there ourselves. To now be named ANTS: NEXT GEN winners is surreal. Massive thanks to the ANTS mentors for believing in us, and to our friends, family and community who’ve backed us the whole way. This is the start of something we’ve worked towards for a long time, and we’re ready to give it everything.” - DARKHORSE & Grouse
The artist mentorship program will also feature expert career guidance from our music industry experts, their own billboard in Ibiza, a custom marketing campaign powered by SoundCloud, a production masterclass with pointblank music school, an AlphaTheta Session with the latest gear and a pair of headphones, record a mix for Ibiza Sonica, take over the ANTS Apple Music playlist and much more.
Alongside the winners, notable Top 10 entries came from AMAR, Andy Alexander, Anto Zagu, Jenessa Acosta, Loopita, OZALID, REENDAY, SAIGON and Samuele Scelfo. All of the mixes are available to listen to on the ANTS SoundCloud Page.