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Worm marries the original red brick of the warehouse with a futuristic, sci-fl design
Through the Worm-hole
Pathway to a parallel dimension, or coolest club in Europe? Neil Cooper spends one night in Rotterdam and falls for the recycled charms of leftfield hangout Worm
88 THE LIST 1‘.) .Jtil -? Aug 2007
here‘s a great big house on
the banks of the Nieuwe
Maas river in Rotterdam‘s Delfshaven district. on the city‘s west side. While all about it has been bulldozed. leaving fresh concrete piles behind wire fencing in its wake. this former East India Company maritime warehouse. seconded for the past two years as headquarters of the aptly-named Worm organisation. offers a new take on creative urban renewal.
The labyrinthine interior that houses Worm's club/venue/bar/ shop oozes underground cred and bounces with off-the-map nightlife. but it’s also the most environmentally friendly hangout in town. Kitted out with recycled fixtures and fittings designed so nary a nail need be hammered into a wall. Worm merges the original red bricks of the warehouse with an interior straight out of science fiction.
Of course. none of this matters much to those in search of left- field Saturday night activity. DJs play low-level sounds in the downstairs shop between racks of vinyl. CDs and gloriously anachronistic cassettes by cutting edge international artists and Dutch improvisers. while upstairs in the mezzanine bar. where beer is a mere Euro per glass and independently designed T—shirts are displayed. sounds are equally discreet.
It‘s round the corner. though. in Worm‘s main club room. where it‘s all really kicking off. Shock & Awe is a messed up club night. where laptop artists Eats Tapes are followed by American hip hop crew CX Kidtronik. The other week. former Henry Cow and Pere Ubu drummer Chris Cutler was playing. A few months ago American drummer Chris Corsano was scheduled. Lightning Bolt. Sunn o))). Deerhoof and veteran Dutch punks The Ex have all showed face at Worm. Next. it‘s former Geraldine Fibbers singer Carla Bozulich‘s turn.
()ther nights at Worm feature film shows and art exhibitions. There‘s an online radio station with mash-ups. mix-ups and an archive of gigs recorded at Worm from the likes of English improviser AMM‘s Keith Rowe.
Facilities are on hand for recording. filming. editing.
cutting. pasting. event producing and partying. Worm. then. is a 2 l st century embodiment of a 1960s- inspired counter-cultural arts lab writ large. But how did it get here‘.’
Until moving to Delfshaven. the core group of artists. anarcho- entrepreneurs and creative organisers who run Worm led what they describe as a ‘vagabond existence‘ after being forced to leave their previous home on the Rochussenstraat in 2003. After