De School

Following months of action behind closed club doors, we’re beyond excited and grateful to unlock Het Archief: hetarchief.deschoolamsterdam.nl Translating eight years of our history into an open-ended archive, you’re invited to re-enter and remember De School through sound. Het Archief is a time capsule for the present and future, as well as a testimony to the time-transcending value of club culture. More than anything, it’s a shared space to simply get lost in (music) once more. Het Archief wouldn’t exist without every single artist who soundtracked De School’s existence between 2016 and 2024. In order to properly treasure and celebrate their work, we collaborated with @stadsarchief , @podiumkunst.net_ and @mixcloud . Special thanks to these partners, to the – nearly 500! – artists who allowed us to publish their performances, and to the persistent team that made Het Archief a reality. Do note that all recordings in Het Archief were manually excerpted from pre-existing sound files. We’ve done our very best to minimise the potential for human error, but minor sound glitches may still occur. Also keep in mind that we’ve only published the sets that were approved by the artists themselves, and that we had existing recordings of. Press play, find your way, and pass it on.

2016-2024. Thank you.

De School stands in solidarity with the Palestinian people and strongly opposes the unjust and long lasting illegal occupation, as well as the collective punishment and war crimes currently being committed in Gaza. We witness with great concern the severe human suffering caused by ongoing violence against all innocent civilians, the displacement of the people of Gaza, as well as the suffering of all others who are impacted by this tragedy. We urge for an immediate ceasefire and respect for universal human rights. Please follow the link in our bio for an up-to-date overview of events, petitions and resources. We will keep sharing information and raising awareness during this period. We urge everyone to do what’s within their power and possibilities, whether that’s attending events and demonstrations, donating, appealing to your local political representation, or raising awareness in your on- and offline networks. Simultaneously, we acknowledge the prolonged humanitarian crises in Congo, Haiti, and Sudan and call for an immediate end to the violence and restoration of rights in these regions. We have made a donation on behalf of De School and will continue to raise funds. All proceeds will be donated to MAP - Medical Aid for Palestinians, a London based organization which provides essential medical services to the civilian victims in Gaza - and PCRF - Palestine’s Children’s Relief Fund, a non-profit organization addressing the medical and humanitarian crisis children in Palestine are facing. So far we’ve raised €1225 from our visitors via our QR codes and during events, and have divided this amount over said two funds - we’re aware of the difficulties surrounding getting aid to the region currently, and will adjust accordingly. CEASE FIRE NOW Thank you to @_atelierbrenda for providing an open source media package (pictured in 2nd slide) available in their link in bio. * While we support open discussion and dialogue, we’re disabling comments to prevent further spread of misinformation and confrontations.

Here to stay, Het Archief is now yours to explore and take in. It is where De School, in all its individual and collective experiences, lives on. And it is where – for now – we meet again. Once again, we thank all artists who allowed us to publish their precious performances. And, again, we thank @stadsarchief , @podiumkunst.net_ and @mixcloud for the special support. hetarchief.deschoolamsterdam.nl

Next to countless club sets, our eight-year sound archive contains multiple DJ all-nighters, as well as live shows by an array of acts across the (electronic) music spectrum. Revisit their recordings in Het Archief, and compile your own DS collection by marking your favourites. hetarchief.deschoolamsterdam.nl

De Nieuw: the only way to christen a new year and the annual party where local stars never failed to shine. Already dearly missed, summon up the sounds of communal new beginnings (and more, more, more new beginnings) in Het Archief. hetarchief.deschoolamsterdam.nl

How to tackle eight years of club recordings? Make your way through Het Archief with our interactive timeline, by picking your favourite spot in the building, by filtering out a recurring event, or choosing day versus night mode. Of course you can also mark your favourite recordings and/or leave a memory in the comments. That said, we highly encourage you to get a little lost – this is the archive of De School, after all. hetarchief.deschoolamsterdam.nl

What is De School without Het Weekend? It’s time to trace back your endless sound journeys: from Saturday night till Monday morning and all that hazy beauty in-between. hetarchief.deschoolamsterdam.nl

Back to Het Einde. Rediscover the sets from our 66-hour closing dance, down to the very last minutes (and very last tears) on all DS dance floors. In Het Archief you’ll also find the 24-hour broadcast by @echoboxradio during our last weekender. We’d like to thank the Echobox team once more for documenting these final farewells. hetarchief.deschoolamsterdam.nl

More than a trip down memory lane, Het Archief is a call to collect and preserve. We invite all like-minded people and initiatives to explore our ‘how to’ page; encouraging new ways of archiving and making them readily attainable. Supported by @stadsarchief and @podiumkunst.net_ , we have created a step-by-step guide on sound archiving and left you our open-source code, both of which are freely accessible. hetarchief.deschoolamsterdam.nl

Stepping into our vault of sound recordings, you won’t be able to miss the familiar faces from all corners of the globe who kept returning to De School and (re)defined its spaces. The artists whose next gig beckoned, yet couldn’t help but stretch – and stretch! and stretch! – their closing track. Here, in Het Archief, they’re back once more: hetarchief.deschoolamsterdam.nl

Het Archief, our freshly launched sound archive, begins with the DS residents and regulars that (time and time again) set the scene. Today we shine our sonic spotlight on – and say thanks to – the locals that laid our foundation. Tune into Het Archief for all of their magical moments-turned-memories. hetarchief.deschoolamsterdam.nl