Nathan ClareOnce scattered around Ireland and now finding themselves based in London, we caught up with Autonomy, London’s newest party with an Irish twist.
Autonomies’ roots were initially laid back home, where each member forged their own passions and interests within Ireland’s clubbing landscape – made up of four founding members: Sean Nolan, Chris O Galligan (COG/Incognito), Jack Costello (Club 061) and Jack Ballantyne (Select/notjack).
They all bring something unique to the table, and they now find themselves joining together as they set out to showcase their expertise of Irish dancefloors upon London’s vast nightlife scene. Fusing DIY elements with unmistakable Irish energy, we sat down and discussed the meaning of Autonomy, the cultural differences between both cities on the floor, their future aspirations and more.
Hi guys. Looking forward to this. How are you all getting on?
Jack B: Hey! We’re great – nice and busy with the upcoming show next Friday. We’ve been planning the concept for the event and building out the plan since early summer – super exciting to see it come to life over the past two months. We’ve been hunting for all sorts of materials to help build our first installation.
To start off, what inspired the name Autonomy? Is there a particular meaning behind it?
Jack C: The name is actually inspired by a book called The Temporary Autonomous Zone by Hakim Bey, who was a poetic anarchist. The book explores how people can create temporary spaces of free will “autonomous zones” outside the grip of state control, capitalism, and conventional social behaviour. These zones might exist physically, such as festivals or raves, or in our case, DIY temporary modifications to a nightclub to create a one-off experience for dancers.
Raves aren’t just parties; they are micro-utopias, rituals of freedom, and brief bursts of an anarchist dream. We thought this name was very fitting for what we plan to achieve going forward: a one-off temporary experience that allows dancers of all kinds to find their autonomy.
Your bio mentions that you are ‘raised by Ireland, now in London, inspired by both’. Would you like to expand on this and explain how it reflects Autonomy’s identity?
Jack B: We really wanted to capture the buzz of Irish crowds and bring that energy to London. We’re a party for everyone, but we do want to build a club experience around our Irish heritage and our experiences building club nights at home – all four of us have had a hand in running shows, building clubs and DJing in Ireland.
When it comes to London, we’ve spent many nights in nightclubs here, enjoying a wide range of acts, collectives and club spaces and we’re inspired by the appreciation for music here. We wanted to combine the Irish energy of clubs at home with the energy of a major city like London. We’re going to put our own unique spin on shows here and build a community of like-minded people doing so.
Left to right: Chris, Jack B, Sean, Jack C
Given that all four of you now reside in London, what is one thing you miss from partying back home, and one thing you wish could be taken from nightlife in London and applied in Ireland?
Chris: For me, one of the things I miss most about partying back home is the sense of close community that comes with a smaller city. You could head out on a night without even texting anyone, just knowing you’d bump into your friends once you got there.
Something I really value about the nightlife in London is the social acceptance of sober club-going. Outside the scene, a lot of people still assume you’re under the influence of drugs or alcohol if you’re at an electronic music event. That mindset still feels quite common in Ireland, and I think the Irish music scene would really benefit from more openness around that.
What’s the biggest cultural difference you’ve noticed between a night out in London and one back in Ireland?
Jack B: There is a more consistent flow to dancing here in London due to the longer opening hours and clubs can have more space to dance due to this too. Good clubs here have a unique energy as there’s often so many strangers in the one place but they’re all their for the same reason – the music, and that’s special. Maybe because I’ve been in the scene for nearly 8 years, parties at home feel a bit more tight-knit and that’s something we (Autonomy lads) can all say is missing at some parties here. We want to bring that uniquely Irish, close-knit, welcoming, open-minded buzz to our shows here in London.
The big difference is the closing times. I’m not sure how I feel about the closing times at home because it can be great, but we should be able to go home when it feels right, not cause some ancient law told us to. However, there’s a huge vibe that comes with the reduced opening times in Ireland – there’s more of a time limit on partying and that can make some parties absolutely wild. It can feel like a ticking time bomb; everyone knows this is over soon, so the finale has to be big. Everyone knows it and everyone anticipates it – it’s a real party atmosphere.
Neither situation is better than the other really, because it’s simply a reaction to the restrictions put in place. In the UK, there’s a lot of space for ups and downs in sets but at home it all pushes towards a big build and a bigger finish, which, I can’t lie, is some of the best craic you’ll ever have. However, it always feels like everyone’s got the appetite to go on so that’s a bonus to things in London – we can stay out in some clubs til 7am.
Hopefully, we can mix the two for a really special night.
There’s a sizeable Irish community living in London, and it seems like you’re keen to bring them together through your events. How do you plan to strike a balance between incorporating the Irish connection while keeping Autonomy inclusive and welcoming to everyone, regardless of background?
Sean: Rather than being restricted into chasing a particular audience, our intention is that as an Irish collective we can share our inherent hospitable and welcoming nature. For Inclusivity, being Irish is a starting point that opens up many opportunities. It helps that London is a place where this Irish openness already has a massive momentum.
Your line-ups so far blend a mixture of UK and Irish artists. Is that a deliberate choice, and can you tell us a bit more about the thinking behind that approach to programming?
Chris: Yes, at the moment it’s definitely deliberate. One of our main focuses at Autonomy is giving emerging artists the opportunity to play overseas – especially within genres like breakbeat, UKG, and electro – because there’s such an incredible scene for that sound in London. We really want to help build that bridge between both scenes and give artists from each side a chance to connect and grow together.
It’s no secret that clubs, especially independent ones, are struggling to survive globally. You’ve touched on recording their atmosphere through drawing and then modifying them through DIY builds. Care to elaborate?
Jack C: It’s no secret that clubs are struggling to survive globally. For many of us, our earliest club experiences are formative, spaces that shaped how we understand music and nightlife. But they’re also incredibly ephemeral. My own memories go back about ten years, and the clubs I still talk about such as District 8 and Habitat, now exist mostly as blurred memories. I know I had great nights there, but the spatial quality of those venues feels almost dreamlike at this point.
Our goal is to document these spaces through drawing so they don’t disappear entirely. We’re interested in capturing the architecture of the nightclub at every scale: the texture of the walls, how air moves through the room, how bodies circulate on a packed floor, the orientation of the DJ to the crowd, the placement of the sound system, the relationship between the bar and the dance floor.
By drawing clubs in plan, section, and axonometric, we’re able to extract lessons from each ones spatial strategies, organisational ideas, material atmospheres. From that analysis, we can then propose DIY temporary interventions that re-energise existing venues. These builds keep clubs dynamic and responsive, giving regulars something new to experience while preserving the soul of the space.
Ultimately, the strategy is documenting the spaces that shaped us while using design to keep clubs alive, adaptable, and culturally relevant and most importantly recorded forever.
You have booked Puzzy Wrangler for their London debut later this month. Would you like to share some more info on that?
Jack B: We are all huge fans of Puzzy Wrangler, I booked them for a show in Sligo with Select and Jack C and Chris saw them at Fuinneamh this year – the energy they bring to shows is exactly the buzz that we want to bring to London – it was an easy decision.
We’re running our first show with PW in Tola, Peckham on Friday, November 21st. If you’re in London that weekend, make sure you come through.
Tickets can be picked up here.
Name a dream booking and collaboration.
Answered Collectively: To start, in our opinion, we don’t think there is one dream booking. All four of us stride on similar genres, but not similar enough to link our favourite artists into the room. A dream booking for us would consist of a two-room event, the first room featuring Freddy K, IMOGEN, and SPFDJ. Keeping a darker electro and techno vibe. The second room would consist of a high-energy atmosphere with artists like Ben UFO, DJ Bone, and Floating Points. The goal would be for people to want to attend our events knowing there is something there for everybody.
A dream collaboration for us that will connect ties to the previous answer would be a venue takeover in some of our favourite spots to go, like FOLD or Fabric.
Looking ahead, what does the future hold for Autonomy in 2026 and beyond? Are there any aspirations you’d be willing to share?
Jack C: Beyond throwing memorable parties and creating one-off spatial experiences for each club we work with, Autonomy wants to build a substantial body of research around the venues we encounter. Every space we use or even study offers architectural, social, and atmospheric lessons. Our aim is to document these environments in a way that can be referenced by emerging promoters, club owners, and anyone interested in shaping nightlife spaces.
Over time, our goal is to expand this into a published work, a book potentially that gathers case studies of clubs across Ireland and Europe. It would highlight what makes each venue unique in its spatial, material character and how those elements can inform new DIY projects. Ultimately, the ambition is to contribute to a deeper architectural understanding of nightlife and to support others in creating spaces that feel both meaningful and alive.
Stay up to date with all things Autonomy here.
