Alex Neuhausen & Lilly Wolfson became known for running Secret Loft, which led them to opening SILO, Brooklyn’s latest underground club, which opened in February.
Brooklyn, N.Y. – In New York’s after-hours world, Alex Neuhausen and Lilly Wolfson became known for running Secret Loft, an underground party series that kept growing in popularity. Eventually, it led them to opening SILO, Brooklyn’s latest underground club, which debuted this past February. But SILO’s not just the latest cool hipster haunt – it’s different in a variety of ways.
Located in East Williamsburg, not far from the massive Avant Gardner event complex, SILO sits in a military-style Quonset hut and its DJ booth is often placed in the middle of the dancefloor. And, despite its relative limitations in size, SILO doesn’t scrimp on the technical end. It sports a custom Danley Sound Labs system, a variety of powerful scanners, plus a unique projection system that keeps the room engaged with appealing imagery. It’s no black-box venue.
The night DJ LIFE visited, Detroit favorite Stacey Pullen rocked the joint with deep-tech flavors, peaking with WEIRD.’s bewildering slammer “Bagsy.” And when house staff brought Pullen a birthday cake – happy 54, Stacey – clubbers were right there in front of the booth to share in the moment, one of many on a memorable evening.
We recently connected with Wolfson, whose background is in graphic design and software engineering, and Neuhausen, who holds a PhD in electrical engineering, to discuss their new venture.
DJ LIFE: What was the vision for SILO?
Lilly Wolfson: The building has a distinct semicircular shape, and we wanted it to be a space that felt like its own world, almost like it’s sealed off from the outside…. like a snow globe. We’ve been experimenting with putting the DJ booth in the middle of the floor, which concentrates the energy there and makes the room feel more spherical, and we’re trying out different palettes and immersive imagery to use in our mapped projection system. We’re trying to create a vibe that feels like a waking dream or a shared seance.
Alex Neuhausen: We also want to support the community of local artists and music creators. We’ve started hosting a monthly meetup with Sisters in Sound, a group dedicated to connecting women DJs, and we’re working on putting together a Thursday night series for local DJs. We just organized a custom earplug-fitting pop-up with Crystal Guardian and a bunch of musicians and industry people came out for that.
DJ LIFE: What’s the bulk of your DJ and sound systems?
Neuhausen: We have a Danley Sound Labs sound system, which includes two BC218 subwoofers, two SH96HO mains, and two SH46 fills. We have primarily Pioneer DJ gear. We partnered with engineers at Danley Sound Labs USA to model the space and tune the speakers to ensure precise, full-range sound at any point. The Danley BC218 subwoofers are housed in a specially built enclosure designed to reduce bass nulls and prevent sound from dissipating into the back of the room. Handmade sound-absorbing panels were installed across the ceiling.
DJ LIFE: How about lighting and projection?
Neuhausen: We have Optoma and NEC Projectors, and Chauvet and ADJ lighting. Our fully custom lighting and projections system features eight high-contrast projectors that have been stitched together to form a seamless 8K image mapped onto the ceiling and walls. All of this is controlled from the 16-foot mezzanine, allowing techs to hear and see from the center of the room without obstructing the flow of the dancefloor.
DJ LIFE: Given the physical constraints of the venue, what were the challenges in creating systems that were effective, but not overpowering?
Neuhausen: It’s actually a really tough space to get right for sound. The building is a metal Quonset hut. It’s 5,000 square feet and pretty long, and the floor is concrete slab. So, nearly every surface in there reflects sound waves. To deal with the echo, we installed a bunch of acoustic panels made from sound-absorbing mineral wool, and we put padded vinyl down on the dancefloor to make it easier on dancers’ feet. And there’s foam padding between the tin and building struts, so that there’s no rattle. We’re actually planning to install more acoustic panels soon – we’ve ordered the materials already.
Wolfson: The white tin on the walls is great for projection-mapping. But all those projectors do mean that it’s easy to make the space too bright, so we’ve been working with our VJs and lighting designers to build out a library of images and settings are mood-setting and don’t introduce too much intensity. We’ve started working more with specific background image styles and beam hues, and we try to coordinate effects so that they add the right amount of energy to the room at the right time.
DJ LIFE: Where do you see SILO fitting into the overall New York club scene? What does this venue do that others don’t?
Wolfson: I think our size and layout lend themselves to a certain type of crowd energy. The room is intimate enough for familiarity and closeness, but it’s also big enough to do high production, so we can save certain lights or visuals for those peak moments and let that ride. Having the DJ in the middle of the dance floor is fun, people can fill out the different levels and parts of the space without being too far from the artist.
DJ LIFE: Venues with smaller, tighter dancefloors often have the most energy…
Wolfson: Yes, so far we’ve found that we get the most energy when we put the DJ in the center of the dancefloor. We also have different levels that kind of break up the height of the place and let people see what’s going on in other parts of the room. So you can dance on the stage, or chill on the raised platforms to either side of the space. We added some platforms and riser-style seating to the back of the main room, too. So there are different spots to move around, you can see the DJ from most parts of the room, and you hopefully don’t feel that you’re lost in a big sea of people.
DJ LIFE: How would you describe SILO’s music policy?
Neuhausen: We’re still new and working on this, and while we know what we like, I wouldn’t call it a policy just yet. We try to put together bills that are musically coherent, but also a bit surprising, and we appreciate artists who mix it up and take risks.
DJ LIFE: Memorable events so far?
Wolfson: One Sunday after a full weekend of events – I think it was our third weekend open – we got a call from Fred Again’s tour manager asking us if Joy Anonymous could do an impromptu show that night at the venue. So we had something like four hours to organize security, get the staff together, make a flyer and ticket pages, and sort out all the other logistics. The staff really came through, though. It ended up being cool, but definitely also a wild thing to have happen on week number three.
Neuhausen: Circe was a party that we hosted on our opening weekend. The event has a lineup of women DJs and witchy, dark, and deep-house vibes. We covered the DJ booth with LED candles and our in-house VJ Hannah did a lot of cool visuals with cathedral windows around the walls of the space. Around 1:30 a.m., during Tara Brooks’ set, with everyone in a circle around the dancefloor looking at this like DJ altar, it felt hypnotic, like a seance, like you weren’t really in a warehouse in Brooklyn anymore… you were in a dream.
Photos by Annie Forrest
