Nathan ClareStarlight Project is part of a new wave of Dublin collectives redefining what a club night can be. Running parties for just over a year, they blend carefully curated lineups with immersive 3D visuals, precise copywriting and a fiercely community-driven ethos. Largely eschewing the traditional headliner model, Starlight instead prioritises collaboration, local talent and the curiosity of underground musical discovery.
With multiple takeovers at The Ritual in Slane Castle, and finding a home at one of Dublin’s most respected venues in Yamamori Tengu, Starlight Project has quickly carved out a warm, nostalgic and inviting identity. One that is built on left-field programming, a strong advocacy for tactile vinyl culture and dancefloors free from mobile phones. We sat down with Josh (Surferboy) to reflect on the journey so far, the ethos behind it all, and what lies ahead for Starlight Project.
Q: Hi Josh. Pleased to be having this chat. How are you getting on?
Hey Nathan! I’m doing well – it’s been a busy period for us, but I’ve loved all the experiences since founding Starlight last February. I had had a few years of experience running events and working with venues alongside DJ-ing; I was a resident for The Midnight Disco for a while, and I actually started out running garage and jungle nights in London when I was 18 before moving to the deeper acid/tech-house space we sit in now. I didn’t know much about events and the wider underground scene back then, but looking back, I do think all the experience from those first formative years, alongside working under TMD, benefited me so much.
Q: How did you get on with the stage takeover at the Halloween/NYE edition of The Ritual? Would you like to talk us through that experience?
We were asked back in August to run a stage, and it was a real privilege to be able to curate a diverse lineup for longer hours – something very much needed in Dublin. My formative clubbing experiences in London and other European cities fortunately never felt the pressure of Dublin’s rigid hours until I moved here.
Both times our experience at The Ritual was just magical – lovely to be able to work alongside another team, and benefit from their experience while trying to create a space for our own community and ethos, and in a castle of all spaces! The creative freedom I had to curate the stage was really such a pleasure; between the two events we hosted a total who’s who of some of Dublin’s most hardworking underground talent – names like Talinho, whose production talents have seen him played out by DVS1; Becky Stone, whose diverse music taste spans from grime to prog to garage and back; JWY, who has been a mainstaple of Dublin’s nightlife since I moved here and I am fortunate to now call one of my close friends; Murchadh, who is part of the formidable Scarlet initiative hosting some of Dublin’s most innovative underground parties at the moment. We owe a huge thanks to the Bedlam crew for the invite and the freedom to call upon talent of this calibre and scale. For both events, alongside our in-house range that now finds home at Tengu, I tried to pair up artists whose sound complements each other and who more often than not have yet to play together before – in this way, Starlight becomes a vehicle for artistic collaboration.
Q: What drew you to the name Starlight Project?
It took a while to brainstorm, and I went to a few of the crew behind the scenes and asked for opinions on the variety of options I came up with. Ultimately, I wanted to reflect imagination, creativity, and ephemerality.
The branding overall took a while, about a couple of months of working on key visual motifs, copywriting, and working with Faye Dolan (shoutout Faye) to perfect a logo.
Q: Would you like to share some info about who is behind the Starlight team and what their roles are?
While the creative side of Starlight has been under my direction, there are quite a few people who helped me launch the collective and with whom I work alongside to keep everything running smoothly. I work now alongside residents Hugh Brownlee, Ali Rivera, Marie Eli and Donncha, but ultimately there are so many people who have helped the party to stay afloat, from reposting and promoting, to helping with equipment and stage design, to suggesting bookings, giving advice and more. Starlight is and always will be principally about its community; that ethos stands strong throughout everything we do.
In terms of graphics and visual identity, our photographer, Hamza Bana, is unbelievably talented. I animate and design the 3D graphics, and Faye Dolan fashions our posters.
Q: Something else that really stands out to me is the graphics for your parties. Would you like to talk us through that process, and the importance of this fusion of graphics and copywriting for Starlight Project?
I knew that with the visuals I wanted to cultivate a strong sense of identity and continuity. I tend to be aesthetically curious with my references, while the spaces remain intrinsically cluttered and multifaceted, seaming with different aspects of identity, just like we are as humans.
The graphics are rendered in 3D space and animated in Blender, and offered a formidable creative outlet for me since Starlight started. I first learned the skills when taking an interest in coding video games at age 13. I knew that I wanted the graphics to feel unique and otherworldly, while grounded through nostalgia. The key items act like a gateway to some of my own interests and identity. That said, I wanted these mini worlds to be intriguingly liminal, and easily accessible: scattered with recognisable objects representing life and human creativity…
…from being littered with plants, to records and music production equipment, old video-game consoles and real paintings (drawn by my friend Kasia/my mum!), film posters, ramen, Tamagotchi and other old technology.
In terms of copywriting, I recognised how important text is within the maintenance of brand identity, and I wanted for the text to again reflect the cosmic motif that the party was founded upon. Furthermore, within a world where AI is slowly taking all forms of copywriting, I wanted the text to be precision-crafted and deeply considered, while also distinctly human. Our use of symbols (࿔⋆°‧ﾟ) formulate part of the brand’s identity.
The graphics are accompanied by Hamza’s photos, whose vivid, colour-flooded shots really encapsulate the visual identity of Starlight. When we held our first party, I had no idea what the photos would be like; his creative brilliance shone through. On seeing the photos for the first time, there was no doubt in my mind that he would become one of the key figures in the running of the party in the long term.
Q: Would you like to discuss your thoughts related to programming your parties? Do you intend to stick to this formula going forward or alter it slightly, perhaps inviting some international artists to perform at some point?
Programming for Starlight has always been about balance: at the core, we prioritise the plethora of local talent within the capital. We generally keep an eye out for artists who bring something idiosyncratic, creative or slightly experimental within the realms of house, breakbeat, electro and techno. We very often pair artists, thus fostering collaboration, development and allowing new connections to form. We try to get a mixture of newer and more established artists on each lineup, while always recognising the critical gender imbalance within global music programming.
I’m not closed to the idea of international artists if it fits our programming. We may have one really impressive international booked in as a collaborative party with the team behind Tengu for May – ultimately, the focus, however, is to spotlight the variety of talented locals who operate within Dublin.
Q: You have cultivated a strong sense of community with Starlight Project since its inception. Can you talk us through this, and explain how important this is when it comes to running a unique and sought-after club night?
Starlight is, and will continue to be, rooted first and foremost in its community. Community is everything for us. I was seeking to subvert the idea of needing a headliner to bring people in. It’s not about some big name – instead, it’s the concept of left-field sound, and the support of homegrown art that draws people to come to the night.
The support system around Starlight is what makes it special. It’s not top-down; people contribute ideas, help with logistics, spread the word, and show genuine belief in what we’re doing. That sense of collective ownership is critical to our functioning.
Without our community, there would be no Starlight.
Q: Have you drawn inspiration from other parties, scenes or art forms in particular in the creation and running of Starlight Project?
Yes – when speaking party-wise, particularly from underground scenes in cities like Berlin, Amsterdam, London, and Dublin itself. Not necessarily in scale or sound, but in their commitment to community and their refusal to dilute identity for the sake of growth.
The ethos of Starlight’s sound is rooted in discovery: offering listeners access to music that is rare, overlooked or left-field, while rewriting constraints that might previously force artists to play a certain genre(s). All the more people are going to clubs hoping to hear their favourite song – while I’ll never deny that a well-known tune can bring a dance-floor together – the concept of selection, discovery and the enjoyment of hearing something entirely distinct is slowly vanishing, especially in cities with smaller underground communities.
This is accompanied by a strict no-phone policy; we want people to be present, to make connections on the dancefloor, to disconnect. Dancefloors are spaces of freedom, of liberation and of personal expression, and they should be protected as such.
We also promote the use of vinyl; it represents a tactile form of DJ-ing that is slowly becoming a lost art. Fewer and fewer touring DJs play wax. Of course, we recognise that it is less accessible and holds a certain cost, yet, for us, the physical media holds a certain tactility, a legacy within electronic music that ought to be celebrated. There is a particular beauty in the understanding that a piece of music that you now own has had a previous life, held in the hands of others who share the same passion. It is possible that the exact copy you dug out of a white-label bin made people smile, dance, or cry on a dancefloor or in a living room, before you were even born.
Q: Starlight Series at Tengu – how did this come about?
On the back of the success of our first few months, we always knew that hosting in Tengu was the ultimate goal in Dublin. Their core values of community and a deep care for their punters directly align with our own; their programming is second to none, uncompromising and rooted in the underground while supporting local talent. There was no other space in which I felt more welcomed in, more at home than Tengu’s smoky walls. I feel so grateful to them for having us for this series. The first party is Feb 5th – our first birthday, followed by March 12th and finally a collaborative party with the club itself – a real honour.
We have also started to branch out into other destinations, with several parties programmed in Paris and London over the next few months, the first in a secret location in the 20th Arrondissement on March 19th, bringing over a few residents and friends to debut in a new country. To have this project cross borders is a real wonder – not something I ever thought would happen, but I really hope it can continue into the future.
Tickets for Starlight’s next party at Tengu can be found here.
Q: What aspirations do you have for the future? Are there any goals in particular that you have your mind set on achieving?
There are several long-term ambitions in motion. That means growing our roster of local talent, and experimenting with spaces and formats that expand what a club night can be. We want to continue collaborating with other collectives, building more immersive events, particularly in terms of working on stage design. We’ve begun experimenting with small pieces of merchandise – stickers for now -, but I’d love to expand into t-shirts, lighters, and other physical artefacts that feel like extensions of our visual world. I am also planning to make an interactive website that functions like a video game, using similar playful references, sometime over the next couple of months.
Also in development at the moment is our first release: a Various Artists compilation whose proceeds will support Venezuelan migrants and families in Colombia – a project that means a great deal to the team. Ultimately, I intend for Starlight to become a fully-fledged label; vinyl releases would absolutely be a dream of mine.
Most importantly, I hope for Starlight to develop while retaining its essence: with a community-focus, creative ambition and uncompromising authenticity.
Keep up to date with all things Starlight Project here.
