Introducing Pelagic Ambient
Starting earlier this spring, Pelagic Ambient is now in its third edition. Based in our UBIK theatre, it’s something of a mysterious night. The accent is on listening as both an attentive and sensory experience; the goal is to wrap up visitors in a sound world of ambient, experimental, or downtempo music created by three or four artists. We caught up with Nikos ten Houdt who runs the night.
What is the goal for PA and its audience at WORM, in your view?
Pelagic aims to create a space for attentive listening, curating ambient and experimental music, in a comfortable setting. The goal is to provide a low stimulus environment that could offer the listener a resting listening experience. It is a space to slow down, become attentive and share an experience.
The fusion of senses – sound, visual, as applied to space – seems key from the “outside” looking in. What should we “take” from the atmosphere you create?
All elements are designed to create a focus and to feel comfortable in the space. The lights are like little fireflies, they are intentionally not theatrical but give the space a dimensional feeling. You can sit on carpets and pillows and just listen, write or draw something or sometimes people even bring board games. We try to create a sort of living room which you can enter and leave in any moment of the night. This differentiates the event from a concert with clear in and out times.
WORM is a huge place with lots of diverse spaces – each with its own atmosphere. UBIK was the place that PA made most sense? UBIK has a history of hosting events that turn the lights way down(!)
I chose UBIK because the space is a black box, that allows you to shape your own identity in the space. Most of the other spaces in WORM have a clear identity due to the furniture and layout of the space. UBIK also has a sound system coming from all four corners, which allows for experiments with quadraphonic sound. Furthermore, the grid in the ceiling has a lot of flexibility to hang lights creatively.
How do you pick the artists you work with?
This edition [November 2026] is co-curated with Sunflowers, so the main focus in on FLINTA artists within electronic music. We’re looking for performers that are interested in creating a spatial version of their live show, or DJs that create an interesting journey in their sets. The music does not have to be completely without beat and it is our aim to create a dynamic line-up with four different approaches to ambient/experimental music.
Has it changed much over the previous two editions and do you see a narrative forming at WORM?
The event started as an experiment in spatial sound. Over the last two editions more artists have tried to bring more dimension in their sound and we’ve also been able to support them in that process by a workshop, meetings with the artists and the performances themselves. I’d say the event supports artists to use a PA as an instrument (they are also in the middle of the space controlling it). This connects to a broader WORM narrative to support independent curators and music culture that doesn’t always find space in conventional venues. More and more I also see these type of events as alternatives to nightlife culture. I see these three questions emerging from the three events so far. How can we listen differently? How can we experience sound spatially and collectively? How can listening bring different artistic communities together?
You can find more about the upcoming Pelagic Ambient night in the agenda ribbon below. Photographs of previous editions by Eliška Čubova.
