The exterior of Signal, East Williamsburg's newest nightclub, looks like a cross between a Brutalist war memorial and a store that sells candles with triple-digit price tags—and I mean that as a compliment. Situated on the same bleak-ish stretch of Morgan Avenue as the live music venue Our Wicked Lady, the building's actual shape is obscured by a tarnished metal exoskeleton, upping the mystery factor. It's a design choice that the club echoes by mandating that attendees pop stickers over their cell phone cameras to bolster the club's "no photos allowed" policy.
Signal, led by a founding team made up of attorney-slash-DJ Joshua Buhler, software developer Leonard Fink, and Golden Record NYC founder Nick Spector, is the latest entrant into New York City's tenuously thriving underground dance music scene, joining the ranks of spots like Bossa Nova Civic Club, Jupiter Disco, Nowadays, h0l0, Mansions, Rash, Good Room, Basement, Elsewhere, and Earthly Delights. Its arrival (officially, Signal opened on May 10, but started hosting pre-launch events back in February) also comes right on the heels of the closures of clubs like Paragon, Black Flamingo, and TBA. Many of these venues book similar acts and have a similar "ravey" ethos, eschewing mainstream techno acts that you'd be more likely to find at Brooklyn Mirage (whenever it actually opens).
Going out dancing feels more mainstream than it has in a while—throw a dart in the Nowadays backyard at a Mister Sunday party and you'll hit someone living a traditional "heterosexual, only weed, alcohol, and the occasional psychedelic" lifestyle. But that's not enough to keep a new club afloat. It also has to be a vibe. Does Signal pass that test?
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