Halcyon The Shop will reopen in South Williamsburg on August 1st.
The record still will now be located at 395 Wythe Avenue next to TBA Brooklyn. IT's their third location over the course of 16 years in business. Halcyon opened in Carroll Gardens in 1999 before relocating to Dumbo, where owner Shawn Schwartz looked after a treehouse-like space for the past 11 years.
The new location, dubbed the Stellar Records Armory and Strategic Audio Center, looks to NASA Astrophysicist Carl Sagan for inspiration. In 1977, Sagan placed a gold plated record containing "humankind's greatest hits," as well as a map depicting Earth's location in the cosmos, aboard the Voyager II probe. The mission of the new store, according to the press release, is to "arm Earth's DJs with stellar records," should a "beat-thirsty master race of intergalactic crate diggers" visit our planet. Cosmic backstory aside, Halcyon has been a staple for New York DJs and dance music culture since the turn of the century, counting Levon Vincent, Anthony Parasole and Taimur Agha as former employees.
The new shop will be open seven days a week, kicking off August 1st with a Grand Opening party featuring an unannounced lineup of Halcyon friends and family. The "armory" will also host a Wednesday night weekly sessions called "Close Encounters," which will focus on Brooklyn jocks as well as labels distributed by Halcyon. They distribute over 40 imprints, including Sonic Groove, White Material and Schwartz's own Scissor & Thread.
Schwartz provided RA with a mission statement for Halcyon's Stellar Records Armory and Strategic Audio Center.
"The corporate controlled mainstream media distracts us from the real threat at hand. They lull us into complacency, telling us we are safe and secure, paving the way for the dismantling of our vinyl based planetary musical archive and leaving only a thin veil of disposable digital music between us and oblivion. Where others see the convenience of compressed files and on-demand streaming, we see an existential crisis. Someone must maintain the integrity of humankind’s audio arsenal. That is our misson. HALCYON… for humanity!"