Listen to hundreds of Fire Island DJ mixes from ’80s & ’90s

Karma Oak

Fire Island, NY has long been a haven for the gay community, and during its heyday in the '80s and '90s was known for its vibrant party scene. Revelers danced to disco and house all through the night and into the morning with DJ sets by some of the biggest names in nightlife at clubs like Ice Palace and The Pavillion.

Some of that era is being preserved via The Pine Walk Collection, which has been digitizing over 200 cassettes featuring recordings of DJ sets and mixtapes from the late 1970s through the late 1990s. The tapes were discovered by Peter Kriss and Nate Pinsley when they moved into a two-bedroom beach house in the Pine Walk section of Fire Island. The tapes had been left there by Dan Wollenziehn, who lived there through much of the '80s and '90s.

Kriss and Pinsley took the tapes to their friend, Joe D’Espinosa, a software engineer and DJ. He quickly realized the treasure trove they had and began digitizing and restoring the tapes, and has been uploading them to Mixcloud since.

The Pine Walk Collection includes sets by Robbie Leslie, Michael Jorba, Richie Bernier, Michael Fierman, Roy Thode, Giancarlo, Teri Beaudoin, Shaun Buchanan, and more. “A lot of our friends who are in their 70s and 80s are finding the collection and listening to the recordings,” Pinsley told The New York Times in a new interactive feature story that's well worth reading. “And even though it may be painful because of who it reminds them of, these songs are connected to their memories.”

Listen to some of the tapes below and check out the entire Pine Walk Collection on Mixcloud.