SILO Brooklyn: A Venue That Just Gets Us

If Goldilocks were a raver, she’d find some venues too generic, and others overdesigned, with SILO Brooklyn being “just right” for enjoyment.

Just over a year had passed and I hadn’t really experienced the new SILO Brooklyn that all my friends were talking about. So after feeling FOMO for missing the one-year anniversary party, I made sure to get there ASAP. I planned my visit to SILO Brooklyn for a 16BL show that featured the talented local support of TORY and koumby. Regardless of the venue, I knew I’d love this show. What I didn’t expect was to come away with such a love for the venue itself.

Before SILO opened in 2023, the space was already being used for parties. For around a decade, DIY events were hosted in this former auto garage under the name Secret Loft. As Secret Loft grew from an experiment among friends into a full-blown gathering, organizers knew they needed to formalize things in order to continue. The exterior was largely left with its original, unassuming appearance, but the interior was completely gutted and rebuilt. This included digging up the entire floor to create the needed infrastructure to support regularly sold-out events.

When the interior was complete, as seen below, it was still quite understated. But this modest appearance hides a number of incredibly well-thought-out installations to make each event a true spectacle. A number of Reels on Instagram really explain what’s happening behind the curtain, from Robin running the lighting system to Hannah VJing, and from Alex setting up sound to Ariel showing off her aerial skills (did we mention they have aerialists?!).

With TORY opening the show, we knew we wanted to be there early to catch her journey.

We arrived just a track or two into TORY’s set, and it was nice to see a decent crowd at such an early hour. Both TORY and koumy have solid local support and it was clear that the troops had amassed to see these talented DJs.

When I was first introduced to TORY’s style I found it to be a soothing and meditative downtempo sound. Over the years, she’s embraced the tension between soothing and challenging, bringing in a depth and darkness that can be very enchanting. Each time I thought I knew where she was going next, I was wrong — and this turned out to be a surprisingly enjoyable theme throughout the night.

I think from the shape of the room, the custom graphics and lightwork, to having the DJ booth immersed in the crowd, it is all done at a very high level but still feeling DIY. The artistry everywhere you look, step, or hear brings a crowd who’s open and ready to enjoy the ride. As an artist, spaces like this really encourage experimentation within their sets.
TORY

TORY’s description of the space and the vibe is spot on. I felt the sense of experimentation and truly appreciated what was happening there. But if I hadn’t heard this from a performer, I may not have understood how the environment they created was influencing the music played there. I also learned from TORY that nearly all of the visuals were being done live. Sounds and visuals being matched organically is incredibly grounding and uplifting.

Tory @ SILO Brooklyn | Photo Credit: Tommy González

When koumby took over the decks, he began another unexpected journey.

While TORY is the type of DJ that has visible focus, koumby plays the opposite role, smiling at the crowd and bouncing around the decks. I don’t prefer one over the other, and I really appreciated the juxtaposition between their styles. For the next 75 minutes, we were once again feeling “all in” on whatever this artist had to offer. Believe me, he delivered! And when I chatted with koumby after his set, he, too, gave accolades to the venue.

There were moments when there was a lot of fog, or the lights were dark, when it was hard to see the full crowd. But damn, I could feel the crowd.
koumby

I can tell you for sure that we felt it, too! Through all of koumby’s set, we felt connected to each other, and to koumby himself. I was so focused on my own moments that I had completely forgotten that the layout is boiler room style, so we made our way back behind the decks for a bit.

Venues where the DJ booth is set inside the crowd are always thrilling, but not always designed for the best sound. And at SILO, the DJ isn’t in the middle, per se, so the audio needs to be really dialed in to compensate for all the different places one can stand in the audience. It was so enjoyable to hear koumby’s sounds whether I was dancing around the DJ, deeper into the crowd, or even out to the fringes. This is yet another touch that SILO has gotten just right!

koumby @ SILO Brooklyn | Photo Credit: Tommy González

If you know Cubicolor or 16 Bit Lolitas, then you already know 16BL (even if you didn’t realize they are practically the same act).

Over the years, the trio that make up Cubicolor (Peter Kriek, Ariaan Olieroock, and Tim Digby-Bell) have taken on many forms. As I understood it, when Tim wouldn’t travel for live gigs, the remaining duo toured under the name 16 Bit Lolitas. And while those two are known as 16BL these days, it seems to be just Ariaan on the road, and that’s who we saw as 16BL for this show.

16BL began the first hour of his three-hour set rather chill and emotive. Sadly, some of the crowd took this as a sign of what was to come in the remaining two hours and started to depart early. It ended up not being the case; the middle hour in particular was hard hitting and drummed up quite a sweaty dance floor. We may have had extra room to dance, but the music and our enthusiastic movement dialed up the heat in response.

The live-programmed visuals became apparent when a New York Anjunafamily member got up on stage with an Anjuna flag. The visuals behind him immediately stopped and were replaced with a gyrating Anjuna logo. As this was not planned, it was pretty impressive to see how fast the VJ was able to get that logo up on the screen!

This led into the final hour of the 16BL set, and only in the final half hour did many Cubicolor classics appear. The moment of the night came late, when he dropped “Points Beyond” from Hardly A Day, Hardly A Night and those remaining found themselves arm in arm, swaying, and breathlessly calling out the ethereal and emotional lyrics as the party came to a close.

Don’t miss out on some of the amazing programming to come at SILO Brooklyn!

While I technically went to SILO Brooklyn once before this show, and before the anniversary, I was there on a mission to interview Barclay Crenshaw at one of his last Claude VonStroke shows for the foreseeable future. My focus on that mission, and the time I spent in VIP rather than in the crowd, didn’t allow me the full SILO experience.

This time I sought it out, and my expectations were blown away. SILO is a venue focused on the everyday audience, not the VIP or bottle service crowd. And with every detail so well thought out, it would be hard not to have a great night at SILO. So if you are in NYC, take a look at the event calendar and pick any event — I guarantee you’ll have an awesome night!

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