The OCCII (Onafhankelijk Cultureel Centrum In It) is a venue for

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

and

independent music Independent music (also commonly known as indie music or simply indie) is music that is produced independently from commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, a process that may include an autonomous, do-it-yourself approach to recording a ...

at Amstelveenseweg 134, in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, Netherlands. The organization is mostly run by volunteers and has its roots in the

squatting Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

movement. The original building was squatted in 1984 and "legalized" in 1989. Next to the concert hall, and as part of the Binnenpret complex, there are also a café (called the Kasbah), a restaurant (called MKZ), a library (Bollox), theatre for children (Kinderpret), a bike workshop (Farafina), a sauna (Fenomeen) rehearsal studios, and a big courtyard. The sauna was closed in 2011 after a management dispute. The building the OCCII resides in was built as a horse tram garage with stables in 1883-84 by architect Abraham Salm (1857-1915), who also designed (together with his father

G. B. Salm G is the seventh letter of the Latin alphabet. G may also refer to: Places * Gabon, international license plate code G * Glasgow, UK postal code G * Eastern Quebec, Canadian postal prefix G * Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia, ...

) the buildings where popular commercial venues

Melkweg Melkweg (Dutch for "Milky Way") is a popular music venue and cultural centre in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is located on Lijnbaansgracht, near Leidseplein, a prime nightlife square of Amsterdam. It is housed in a former dairy and is divided into ...

and Paradiso now operate. The OCCII has no central programming, instead there are several programming groups that set the agenda. Some of these groups are Le Club Suburbia (mostly indie and post-punk), Hex ( new wave and

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

), Muziek Kapot Moet (

experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...

, electronic,

noise Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference arise ...

weird pop Weird derives from the Anglo-Saxon word Wyrd, meaning fate or destiny. In modern English it has acquired the meaning of “strange or uncanny”. It may also refer to: Places * Weird Lake, a lake in Minnesota, U.S. People *"Weird Al" Yankovic (b ...

), Spellbound (electronic, dance), The Real Amsterdam Underground (

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

, crust) and Cool Schmool (dance, indie,

riot grrrl Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington and the greater Pacific Northwest and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. Riot grrrl is a subcultur ...

, mostly female fronted). In 2011, OCCII was listed as one of the ten best gig venues in Amsterdam.

External links

Official website of OCCII

Notes

{{coord, 52, 21, 16, N, 4, 51, 19, E, region:NL_type:landmark_source:kolossus-nlwiki, display=title Music venues in the Netherlands Concert halls in Amsterdam Legalized squats Squats in the Netherlands Social centres in the Netherlands

See also

External links

Notes