There’s no place like Elsewhere.
There’s no place like Elsewhere.
The sprawling, 24,000-square-foot venue in Bushwick is set to open Tuesday, when it will begin playing host to artists spanning the genres — electronic, rock and hip hop — in two distinctive rooms: The Hall, a 700-person capacity space for larger shows and parties, and the more intimate Zone One, which will hold live shows for a crowd of 200.
In a sea of Brooklyn DIY venues, the renovated warehouse space on Johnson Avenue, which also houses a loft cafe and art gallery, is meant to be a more permanent, community-driven environment for art to thrive and different cultures to meet.
« There’s not many spaces in the city that do both live and electronic music, both shows and parties, early and late, and do it all that successfully, » Jake Rosenthal, one of Elsewhere’s founders, told the Daily News. « It becomes a more complex thing to do at a larger level. (We’re) trying to figure out how to do it in a way that’s genuine to the music and genuine to the cultures. »
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Elsewhere, which is a short walk from the Jefferson St. L train stop in a decidedly industrial landscape, is owned by Rosenthal and his Popgun Presents production company partner Rami Haykal. The duo previously ran the now-shuttered Glasslands Gallery in Williamsburg, and brought in a third partner, Dhruv Chopra, for their big undertaking.
The multiroom venue is designed to host « takeovers » that let guests float between spaces and tailor their own experiences. Halloween will be the first test: You can catch experimental rockers Battles and psychedelic Afropop group Combo Chimbita in The Hall, while rapper Cakes da Killa and indie bands Future Punx and The Wants are playing in Zone One.
« One of the goals was to book a really wide array of styles for the night to essentially show people what we want the space to be about, » Rosenthal said.
The venue’s first sold-out show follows on Wednesday, when London singer/songwriter Bruno Major performs in Zone One. Major is kicking off his first-ever tour in the U. S. at the burgeoning spot.
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« Selling out a New York show was something I didn’t dream would ever happen, » said the newcomer, whose music draws comparisons to James Blake and D’Angelo. « I hope the energy of the city will carry us forward through the whole tour. »
Another notable Elsewhere date is the late-night Hall showcase on Nov. 16 for Jlin. The female producer from Gary, Ind., makes rhythm-heavy beats that hinge on the Chicago footwork style.
« It’s important that women producers, especially in dance music, are getting more shine, and New York has sort of had a problem with that, historically, » said Rosenthal, a veteran show booker. « Jlin’s record is amazing, it’s very forward-thinking. »
There’s also a steady stream of New York musicians performing at Elsewhere in the coming weeks: Raw punk quartet Surfbort on Thursday, post-punk band Parquet Courts on Nov. 19, and rapper Heems, of Das Racist and Swet Shop Boys, on Nov. 21.
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For the full show calendar and information about the art coming to Elsewhere’s Skybridge Project Space, visit elsewherebrooklyn.com .
