Amy Lawrence traces The Worm through theatre and sound

Transmission 234: Interview with The Worm

The Worm is an avant folk project created by Cornish performance artist Amy Lawrence (they/them). The project centers on a fictional time-traveling character that Lawrence embodies through music, costume, clowning, and spoken word performance.

Title: Pantilde
Artist: The worm
Genres: Avant-garde, Experimental Music, Folk, Psych-folk
Label: PRAH Recordings
Description: The Worm’s new album Pantilde, released July 4, 2025 on PRAH Recordings, reimagines folk traditions through recorder, harp, and theatrical performance.

Lawrence performs using cello, harp, recorders, and percussion to create what they describe as “A piece of performance that’s been documented in the form of an album.” The Worm’s live performances combine musical elements with theatrical components inspired by early 20th-century opera and dance traditions. Pantilde, released July 4th 2025 on PRAH Recordings, is The Worm’s latest album. The record presents an imaginary oral history set in an alternative Celtic landscape, featuring arrangements led by recorder, cello, or harp. 

Before The Worm took shape, what drew you toward music as a form of storytelling? Was there a particular moment when you knew this was the path you wanted to take?

Not exactly… I was making props out of metal and noticed that it was making some amazing noises when I was manipulating it. So I started thinking about making instruments or musical sculptures… 

I also had always wanted to write plays or operas but in a really lo-fi way. 

The Worm exists as both a musical project and a performance persona. What came first—the character or the music? How did one influence the other?

They’re the same thing. I’m just using what I have available to me to make art, which my body happens to be one part of. 

Your music moves between medieval folk instrumentation and an almost surrealist form of narrative performance. Did you have any early encounters with music or theatre that pushed you toward this hybrid approach?

I was very lucky that my parents played a lot of unusual music and occasionally took us to see plays. I also went to Saveock ancient village as a very young child and did weaving. There was a small boar there and we drank dandelion and burdock out of wooden goblets. I think this made a big impression on me. After that I was always quite into re-enactment as a spectacle although I never got into doing it myself. That might be because it was often about fighting, but I liked the craft side of it. Then a few years ago I went to Medieval Music in the Dales which was amazing because it was all about music. That was the first time I slightly, slightly took part. 

How did you first start experimenting with instruments like the harp, cello, and recorders? Was there one that felt like an immediate extension of your voice?

I just like the sound of them! I don’t know, but recorders are great because you can carry them around easily and they’re quite simple to play. I also love playing guitar but the things I play on guitar are quite different and I have to concentrate really hard to play them. But the guitar has been a gateway to other instruments for me. I did learn double bass at school but found it a bit too massive so I tried a cello instead and really liked making up songs with that. But honestly I have GAS and there’s loads more instruments I want to get!

The new album, Pantilde, conjures an alternative Celtic landscape filled with its own characters and lore. Was this world something you built gradually, or did it arrive in a fully formed vision?

I spent a few intensive weeks experimenting and singing and dancing with the hope of writing a collection of music that I could record. There were some more self aware ‘meta’ pieces that ended up not being part of it. There was also more explicit themes about my experiences of autism and I think around that time I was also coming to realise that I was non binary. I definitely didn’t think “this will be a concept album” or anything like that. In the past I used The Worm to just truly be myself. But recently as I’ve grown a bit I like to use it to embody other characters and that was in part how the songs came to be.  

The Worm’s performances incorporate costume, clowning, and elements of early 20th-century opera and dance. What draws you to these older theatrical traditions?

1. Costume – I used to be a costume prop maker. I love costumes, particularly the medieval period.

2. Clowning – I did a short clowning course which was terrifying but gorgeous. That was when I realised that I had been clowning all along and I had to go further.

3. Early Opera + dance – I saw some opera exerpts around the time I was writing this music and they were totally wild! These disciplines taught me that it was more important for the story to be told than for the music to sound ‘good’.  

I suppose I may be drawn to the past because I feel that I don’t fit in very well in the present day. But I am aware that if I travelled to the past or the future I would not fit in there either.

Do you often draw musical inspiration from observing nature?

Yes

Your previous work includes composing for short films and dance performances. How does scoring a visual piece compare to building the sonic world of The Worm?

It’s completely different. I am prioritising the needs of the other artist, especially if they’re paying me. But I only do things that I REALLY like. With my own art, it’s everything to me. At times the world of The Worm has been more real to me than the one I’m sitting in now. So it’s very different indeed.   

You’ve explored folklore, speculative fiction, and theatrical performance through The Worm. Are there any new directions or concepts you’re planning to explore in your next project?

I would love to create a computer game! I have a few ideas for game concepts including Pantilde as a game. I’d also like to create something for multiple performers and include more dance.

Photos courtesy of The Worm

Matteo Damiani

Matteo Damiani is an Italian photographer and author. Curator of the sites Retrofuturista.com; weirditaly.com; china-underground.com and others