The sound of Dublin at the turn of the millennium was quiet and heartfelt. It was the sound of a scene that orbited around Whelan’s on Wexford Street, and was probably best encapsulated by Damien Rice’s 2001 album, O. That year, David Kitt released The Big Romance and The Frames put out For the Birds. In late 2002, Mic Christopher’s beautiful album Skylarkin’ was released on the first anniversary of his tragic death. Gemma Hayes’s Night on My Side also came out that year. Phantom FM was the must-listen pirate radio station.

But another sound was pulsing in the city too. It was much louder, and a man called Trevor Dietz was its champion. He was helping to create and facilitate a moment in Dublin in the early 2000s that would change the fabric of Dublin nightlife. It was the era of The Things, The Subtonics, Listo, The Urges, Mainline and so many other rock and punk bands that occupied Dublin’s (often literal) underground independent music scene. There was little talk of a Green Wave back then.

It was a moment of transition, coming just as the gap between bands on stages and people on dance floors began to close. A collision of genres and tastes broke open something exhilarating – and Dietz ran with it. Indie rock collided with electronic music, creating a........

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