Rachel Opert speaks to Travis Klein, owner of beloved Bushwick record store Human Head.

Human Head has been a staple for many for the past ten years. Tucked away on Meserole Ave. in Bushwick and surrounded by industrial buildings, warehouses, and music studios, it’s unassuming from the sidewalk. Once inside, though, you’re greeted with a sprawling space overflowing with hidden gems, friendly faces, and rows of new arrivals updated daily. Renowned for its ample space, killer dollar bins, and wide array of genres, the store is a must-visit for any collector passing through New York.

I sat down with the owner, Travis Klein, to discuss his experience running such an iconic New York record store. We sat in the back of the shop, a large room surrounded by thousands of records – all of which will go through a detailed process of sorting, logging, pricing, and eventual selling. Everything at Human Head is done following an intricate system, which explains their reliability, constant turnover, and Discogs page with more than 60,000 5-star reviews.

Rachel Opert: What has been your general approach to running the store the past ten years?

Travis Klein: It sounds crazy, but the thing in my head has been kind of the same, which is following a volume-based concept. I got that from my previous life in the beverage industry.

You had a smaller store a few years ago, right?

Yeah, this was a major upgrade and something that we kind of needed. Pretty much double the size.

Did you always know that you wanted to own a record store?

I had no clue.

Were there stores you went to as a kid that influenced Human Head?

I would say I was somebody who was pretty late to the party. I’m from Southeast Wisconsin, there’s a lot of cool, rare records like 10 minutes where I grew up that drives me nuts I wasn’t looking for. I was doing other stuff. You know, I liked records, I bought records, but I bought mainly rock-based stuff that I knew. I was a fan of some labels, but the stuff that I listened to before we opened the store – I mean, I don’t even listen to OR have [now]. It really came out of a weird time of desperation. I was actually homeless, like, borrowing showers homeless, and got into an apartment that a friend was moving out of who had just started a Discogs page, so the inspiration was pretty fast. My business partner Steve and I would stop at his restaurant in the city, and I would bring a bag of records and people would comment on them and he’s very aware of other people’s thoughts. And he was like, we should do it, and I would have never thought of it. I was like, well, I mean, this beats borrowing showers and shit. And so I just went for it. Took out what New York has to offer, and here we are.

How long ago was that?

That was like 2012, maybe 2011. But there was one store that really was my influence. This place in Philadelphia, Beautiful World Syndicate. It was the first time I saw records that I’d seen in books and magazines- that were not only on the wall but, like, at a relatively reasonable price point that they were affordable. Like, how many record stores do you go into where there’s wall records that are collecting dust that have been there for 10 years… I mean, they are fantasy prices.

So how do you pick the stuff that goes on the walls at Human Head, is it kind of a combination of the staff's tastes?

The concept is like a hamster wheel. So the right side is the beginning. And it literally moves down the row. Then, when I’m putting more up, and I need to push the row down, those get peeled off the left side and they get put in the bin. So it’s just a wheel, in each singular row. Rock, Soul, Funk and Jazz, and then on the top rows it’s $200 minimum. And then, over here is the Brazil stuff. I mean, we try to have everything be 50 and up. Just because we’re trying to have a lot of selection. It’s hard to do, you know, it’s a big wall. But it looks cool.

People love a wall.

Yeah, even if they’re not gonna buy it. The access to expensive records is intentional. I can’t tell you how many records have been on the wall forever and then they get in the box and they sell that week.

“New York has a lot to offer in terms of history. It still excites me. Those stories are out there and they’re always very much appreciated. Fuck, man, like, people live fucking cool lives here.”

Travis Klein

When you were starting Human Head, did you feel your music taste was pretty diverse?

I think everybody thinks their taste is diverse, whether it is or not.

But you know what that means.

I know what that means now, but I didn’t know what that meant then. And it’s the same thing with people who call on the phone and are selling records. It could be 3000 records. It could be 20 records. But it’s a mix, you know, it’s always a mix. It’s always all over the place, even though it’s not. It’s just perspective, right?

Is there a genre that you'd say you have the most inventory of at a given time or is it always fluctuating due to the constant turnover?

I would say, 70s soul is so much, but what’s amazing is that, the world over – so little, you know? Like London eats that shit up. And it’s like, oh, yeah that’s just in our five dollar bins. Aside from that, your standards. American rock, soul, and jazz. And because we’re in the city, there’s a lot of soul and disco. I think the store inventory is reflective of what’s available to us with an injection of Brazilian records. Because I do a lot of work to get that. If I had a plug and could get an awesome regular inventory of Turkish psych records, I’d have a Turkish psych section that would blow people’s minds.

But you got the Brazil plug.

Yeah, I’ve got the Brazil plug.

You know, the other day, I was walking around with a Human Head tote bag. And someone said to me, ‘you know, in Japan, everyone wants these bags.’

What!

Yeah, they told me that people walk around Japan with these Human Head bags all the time. And they're super rare- they're this sought after thing. Did you realize that Human Head is recognized on a global level?

No. That is so cool. The last year plus, we’ve been really doing a lot in London. And we’ve had a Brazil connection for a long time. And, you know, I think we’ve all here had Japan on the sights, it’s such an iconic place for records. I don’t have the roadmap yet, but we have the desire to get there. And I think I’d like to have a presence there at some point.

Are people coming into the store everyday trying to sell you records?

Yeah, pretty much every day. I mean, like, it can be a small amount. It can be three records that somebody brings in that wants to trade. Somebody who’s from the 70s and has a family and has their own personal records that they’re trying to sell… I don’t know if that happens every day. Sometimes it happens multiple times a day.

How often are you guys buying large collections? Are you traveling for them often?

I mean, we will go and look at anything. You know, if it’s large enough, I’m willing to. We’re currently getting leads in London, and, if a collection dictated it, I could just buy a plane ticket tonight and go to London. Like, see ya tomorrow. I’ll be right there. I think having that just ready to be flexible and adaptable is always something that’s exciting. We have a lot of people that bring us opportunities. Some of those opportunities aren’t necessarily what we’re looking for, but I never get discouraged by walking away from something. I think there’s always something to be learned in that. And – shit’s fun. What are we in, like, the sixth, seventh, eighth generation of record industry? If you think back to like, 78 (RPM) culture, the thing about Manhattan is people were selling, like, millions of 78s in record stores in the 19-teens. It’s crazy, and to meet these guys, guys who had stores in the past or have been doing it for 30 years and have seen so many arcs and changes. New York has a lot to offer in terms of history. It still excites me. Those stories are out there and they’re always very much appreciated. Fuck, man, like, people live fucking cool lives here. Like Portland, Seattle, beautiful places- would love to live there. Love the weather and all that shit. But, fucking nobody was buying reggae records in the 70s in those areas, you know?

I went to a wedding in Vail, Colorado, and I was talking to a cab driver. He told me that people started moving there in the ’60s. There aren’t generations there of… stuff, you know, so to do it here is…. Yeah, it’s dope.

Definitely makes the record community here feel very special.

I mean, I feel that way for sure. And there’s a couple of cool crowds, who, you know, gain credit. You think about that community that’s been doing it for 40 years. And they’re still excited and passionate. Like, fucking really cool. Yeah, I feel very blessed to have those guys be a part of what goes out here. I don’t think that happens in a lot of places.

I’m just glad I was open to being curious. I think that got us really far. I think that still gets us far to this day, and keeps it fun and interesting. It’s not widgets, even though I had a guy in the industry when I was starting out telling me that eventually it just becomes widgets. And I was like, I think I can do better than that, you know, and I think we did.