It’s been twelve long years since NYC’s notorious and legendary WIERD Records party came to a foggy end. Those who were there still speak of the party fondly, with the upmost love and respect. Tears were shed, livers were destroyed, and so much fog juice was inhaled, I reckon we should all get our lungs checked at this point in time.

WIERD was always a very rare thing from the onset. Formed in the wake of legendary party Decadanse party, it first kicked off at the Southside Lounge in Brooklyn in 2003, where artist Pieter Schoolwerth gathered with friends to share and listen to records and talk about art, philosophy, film, and more, reveling into the early morning hours. At its heart, the night was meant to bring people together to celebrate this music and to bring a level of ‘seriousness’ back to the local goth scene. As the night grew, a local scene grew around it, which included original Decadance DJs Gilles Le Guen and Glenn Maryansky, Sean McBride and Liz Wendelbo (aka Martial Canterel and Xeno & Oaklander), Minimal Wave’s Veronica Vasicka, Cheyney Thompson (Epee Du Bois/Three to Forgotten), and many more.

As the night expanded in scope and love for coldwave, minimal synth, alternative pop, and obscure post-punk grew, WIERD evolved as well. In 2006, the party itself shifted into a more dance-focused night at Home Sweet Home in the Lower East Side, where every Wednesday we’d all gather in the fog-drenched basement and DJ, dance, and party into oblivion. Bands would perform at the stroke of midnight – with many projects such as Void Vision, The Soft Moon, HTRK, and Light Asylum playing their debut NYC shows. Over the course of ten years, WIERD hosted over 500 live music events and parties. Check out the invitation archive and the events list, both still intact after all these years, to check out some of the flyers and lineups for the parties…

This here blog, which kicked off in 2007 (jfc), was in part, a loving response to WIERD as much as it was a response to blog culture on the whole. I found my way to WIERD in late 2006 as an occasional attendee and found myself truly inspired by the music I was hearing. Similarly, it was at Home Sweet Home around 2007-8 where I started getting more involved in the night, eventually becoming a resident DJ for the party in 2009 while simultaneously performing with bands like Dream Affair, ChameleonsVox, Revel Hotel, The Hunt, and more. How I was able to survive the chaos every week and go to work the next day is still a total mystery to me, but here I am relatively unscathed, with a lot of fuzzy memories and firm friendships that I still cherish to date. Another mystery is how several of us were able to preserve our playlists, which are also still intact HERE for those who want a glimpse into that level of minutia.

Around the same time that the party shifted from Southside to Home Sweet Home, WIERD the record label came into existence. The label boasted a small, but carefully curated roster of bands and projects that were all in line with the party’s ethics, most of which you could find hanging at the bar or dancing in the fog into the long hours of the night. Every band on the label was an absolute treasure, and the records released on the label remain some of my all time favorites even to date. Seriously, look at this flawless roster:

Automelodi
Blacklist
Epee du Bois
Frank Alpine
Frank (Just Frank)
Kindest Lines
Led Er Est
Liz & Laszlo
Martial Canterel
Plastic Flowers
RØSENKØPF
Staccato Du Mal
Vaura
Xeno & Oaklander

In 2013, after ten years and again, over 500 parties and live events, WIERD made the conscious decision to become VR forever with a massive blowout that still is talked about to this day. Check out Phil (aka Goutroy of A Viable Commercial)’s photos of the night and Josh from Blacklist/Vaura/Azar Swan‘s excellent eulogy on what WIERD meant to him and many of us. Immediately after WIERD shuffled off this VR-coil, Home Sweet Home bartendress and photographer Nikki Sneakers kicked off Nothing Changes, which kept the spirit of WIERD alive while exploring the boundaries of industrial techno as well.

While WIERD may be no more, you can still occasionally find many of us still DJing (and hanging) in close proximity. At SELVA, you can find Liz and Lorraine DJing many similar vibes at the SHAME party with upcoming guests Sept. guest Shawn O’Sullivan (Led Er Est) and October guest Xavier Paradis (Automelodi). Goutroy and I still try and channel the DIY spirit of the Southside days at Treasure Club (while Glenn, Jen, and Ryan of Blacklist do the same on different nights). You can also catch glimpses of former WIERD crew at Andi’s excellent Synthicide night, which also combines cold, dark DJ sets with live performances and has also grown into a label. Lastly (and this was certainly part of WIERD’s charm), you can still find Jasper and Joe at TV Eye, where you can still hear similar sounds and catch excellent live performances. In short, we may not have one single night to rally around any more, but the love is still there in pockets of NYC’s late night scene. Of course, we can’t forget about all our comrades running sister nights, such as Justin and Marc from Something Cold and Nick with Panic Underground and Uberbahn. <3

Speaking of DJing, the real point of this Dickensian post is to share 13 (!) CD-R mixes created by Pieter Schoolwerth in WIERD’s heyday with you all. These series of DIY comps were created by Pieter and shared with many of us who were hungry for obscure synth and coldwave music, and while there are millions of excellent tracks that did not make these mixes, the ones that did show the true diversity and quality that WIERD would always strived towards. While I passed my own copies of these legendary CD-Rs on to an aspiring DJ after WIERD ended, I’ve re-created these using the highest quality sources possible in an attempt to preserve some of the magic of WIERD within.

Big thanks to Tamaryn for the excellent idea to host these here, to fellow DJ Jeralyn for sharing the tracklisting for these CD-Rs, for Hillary for a little help with the artwork, and of course, to Pieter for his blessing to upload and share these once more.

In closing, WIERD was a haven for the misfits, those who didn’t quite fit in in one way or another, for those of us who were a little out of step with the world, and shone all the more brightly for it. I miss it dearly, and in revisiting these compilations, I was brought back to a time and a place that haunts me in all the best ways. Much love to everyone I’ve met and hung out with through the years – including others I haven’t mentioned yet such as Sybil, Josh, Sam, Anarexia, Georgette, Jane, Katie, Margo, Sam kK, Kristen, and so many dozens more that I still hold dear after all these years.

With all that in mind, hope you enjoy these mixes, through and through!

*DOWNLOAD ALL 13 DISCS HERE*

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