Fuse (club)

Fuse is a club in the Marollen district of Brussels. It opened in 1994 and has a capacity of 800 people.

Location
The location initially housed a neighborhood cinema that changed its name several times: Cinema Blaes (1925–1933), Cinema Iris (1934–1940) and finally Cinema R.A.F. (1947–71). Later, Le Disque Rouge opened here, a club popular with the Spanish community in Brussels. Thierry Coppens and Peter Decuypere took over this club and turned it into Fuse in 1994.

DJs and notable acts
Coppens had organized the gay party La Demence since 1989, which has taken place in Fuse ever since. Together with Decuypere, he saw a good future for techno, and together, they brought Fuse to prominence among international techno clubs. It has been named the best club in Belgium, and its resident DJ Pierre (not to be confused with DJ Pierre) was named the best Belgian resident DJ by the Belgian entertainment magazine Nightcode. Acts such as Daft Punk, Aphex Twin and Björk have played at Fuse throughout the years.

Decuypere left Fuse in 1997 to focus on his I Love Techno event in Ghent. At the end of 2007, Coppens handed Fuse management over to his friends Nick Ramoudt and Dominique Martens to focus entirely on La Demence. At the beginning of 2020, Steven Van Belle and Andy Walravens took over the club's management.

Recognition
Fuse was on DJ Magazine's list of the 100 best clubs in the world between 2008 and 2014, placing highest in 2010 at position 21. That year, the magazine said: "As explosive as its name suggests, Fuse has been Belgium's number one techno outpost since it opened way back in 1994 - an era when Belgian techno label R&S was revered as one of the globe's most influential and innovative record labels."

2023 temporary closure
On January 12, 2023, Fuse decided to close its doors after the Brussels Environment Public Service ordered them to reduce the noise level to 95dB and to close at 2 a.m., following complaints from a neighbor. Fuse appealed the decision, which was accepted, and the club could open again without restrictions.