Fun Tonight
Released 8/28/2024In a world where En Vogue and the Beastie Boys have a love child, Fun Tonight is born. Featuring a cappella intros, funk guitar, live band-in-a-club feels with brushed drums, and cool layered synths with crisp beats, Fun Tonight is knit with threads of joy in the creative process.
About STARLA
Multi-talented artist STARLA, the musical alter ego of American songwriter and producer Stephanie Croff, was born from one unwavering belief: that anything is possible.
She’s not just a singer. She’s not just a songwriter. She’s the whole band, the studio, and the spark behind the sound. STARLA writes, sings, plays, produces, and engineers every track herself—layering guitars, piano, bass, synths, and vocals into fully realized worlds of sound and emotion. Her music is a magnetic blend of groove-hop rhythm, gritty guitar textures, dreamy synth layers, and ethereal vocal lines. The result is something deeply personal, unmistakably bold, and always full of life.
For STARLA, songwriting often starts in everyday moments. Sometimes, she wakes from a dream with a melody or lyric floating in her head, reaching for her phone to record it before the day begins. Other times, ideas arrive while she’s driving around or feeding her cats. Sometimes it’s a rhythm, sometimes a string of notes, sometimes an entire verse or chorus. However they appear, each bit becomes the seed of a full-fledged song.
She records them in voice notes, then returns to them later in her studio with her instruments ready. When she sits down to build them out, it’s not about chasing trends or perfection—it’s about following the feeling. And as soon as she hits “record,” she’s right back in that original moment, that first flash of emotion or insight. The flow returns. The world opens up. And the story begins to reveal itself.
Every STARLA song is built from the inside out. The process is solitary but never lonely—each instrument feels like a character in the room. Her guitar parts aren’t just musical layers; they’re collaborators. One sings, the other talks back. Together, they spark movement and drama. Piano sets the emotional tone—warm, expressive, foundational. Synths act like emotional amplifiers, shifting texture and tone to match the spirit of the lyrics. And then there are the drums—her favorite part. They build the structure that lifts everything else up, turning quiet feelings into full-blown motion.
STARLA’s vocals are often inspired from the start. Sometimes they arrive fully formed, and sometimes she sits with the feeling and asks: What is this really about? Her voice carries those choices. It draws you in, like she’s letting you into her process, her story, her hope.
Many of STARLA’s songs are about love. Her sweetheart. Their life together. The comfort of being seen and supported. Other songs touch on disappointment, uncertainty, and the weight of memory. STARLA may visit those places, but she doesn’t linger. She writes from the moment just after—the decision to reach for something brighter. To move forward. To let joy back in.
At its core, STARLA’s music is about connection. It’s made alone, but it’s made for someone. It’s honest. It’s uplifting. It’s carefully crafted, but never overworked. Every layer exists to serve the emotion. Every instrument has a voice. Every lyric has a reason. And while the sound shifts from track to track—gritty and raw in one moment, dreamy and danceable the next—it’s all unmistakably her. You can feel it. You can trust it. Because STARLA doesn’t just make songs. She builds a world. And every time you step inside, you leave feeling a little more alive.
