Off the Record with Low and Jeff Tweedy

Photo by Patrick Monaghan

We are still psyched from the energy of last night's installment of Off the Record in celebration of Low's upcoming album The Invisible Way (March 19, Sub Pop). Some lovely documentation of the event has started surfacing. Don't forget to see Low at Metro on 3/22!

Underground Bee posted photos and a writeup

Brooklyn Vegan posted photos and a writeup

Photos posted by Adam Alexander Photography

Photos by Patrick Monaghan on our Facebook

If you're unaware, saki has partnered with the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) to present Off the Record, a free monthly listening party series. Off the Record offers the opportunity to hear a new record, often in advance of its release. There is also an Off the Record - South, who are hosting ONO tomorrow night 3/9 7-10pm at the Washington Park Arts Incubator!

BIG UPS to Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) and Goose Island! We are very privileged to be able to work with these folks on this series and love that the public is digging Off the Record, too! Thanks everyone.

Foxygen & Angel Olsen play saki 12/9

saki is excited to present a free, all-ages in-store with Foxygen and Angel Olsen on Sunday, December 9th at 3pm. RSVP on Facebook.

Foxygen’s debut EP Take the Kids Off Broadway (Jagjaguwar) received a 7.9 on Pitchfork. Foxygen is the bi-coastal songwriting duo of Sam France (vocals, Olympia, Wash.) and Jonathan Rado (guitar/keyboards, NYC). They are the raw, de-Wes Andersonization of The Rolling Stones, Kinks, Velvets, Bowie, etc. that a whole mess of young people desperately need. They create a sometimes-impressionistic, sometimes-hyper-real portrait of sounds from specific places and times. Yet, it never comes across as anything but absolutely modern music. They bring the manic, freewheeling qualities of an artist like Ariel Pink to those aforementioned influences to make for one of the most refreshing listens of the year. They are the real deal and total savants.

Angel Olsen’s latest album Half Way Home (Bathetic) received an 8.0 on Pitchfork. A continuation of her elegance brought forth on Strange Cacti, a collection of both new & old music, honed & matured, thoughts revisited. We're hearing this same beautiful girl with that same beautiful voice, this time brought up to a new level, in no doubt a growth & reach brought on by several roadtrips with the one & only BONNIE "PRINCE" BILLY & crew. 

The shows will be recorded as Epitonic saki Sessions and become available for download at Epitonic.com.

The saki in-store is in anticipation of Foxygen’s show at Metro on the night of Sunday, December 9th with Of Montreal and Wild Belle.

RSVP on Facebook

BV Chicago is also pretty pumped about this.

pics from the Willis Earl Beal 7" release show!

BV Chicago just posted some photos of Pillars & Tongues and Willis Earl Beal at Cole's this past Tuesday for Willis' debut 7" release show. We were there selling the 7" and some other saki goods. We didn't make the photos, but hey, we're not that pretty anyway, so you're not missing much!

Here's a few of our favorite shots, but check out BVC for the full set. Wicker Park blog, The Minimal Beat has a few as well.

Hypebot: Willis Earl Beal & outsider art

Hypebot has a nice little piece on Chicagoan, Willis Earl Beal, and the curious conundrum of being an "outsider" artist in the internet age.

We've got some exciting news concerning Mr. Beal & our friends at BV Chicago coming up very soon, so keep your head up!

Photos of Antietam with Yo La Tengo

Check out Brooklyn Vegan for photos from the 5/10/11 performance at The Bell House in Brooklyn where Antietam opened for their good friends, Yo La Tengo.

photo by Winnie Cheung

How fans spend their money

We love the fans that actually pay for their music. But how do they decide what to buy? According to this Billboard article by Glenn Peoples, the Association of Independent Music Stores (AIMS) conducted an online survey of 1,067 AIMS store consumers to find out. Here are some of the interesting results:

4/5 buy from a friends referral
80% buy after a live show
39% heard it on the radio
16% saw it in a newspaper
15% trusted the TV

Where do they buy digital music?

85% on iTunes
23% on Amazon MP3
14% on eMusic

Where do they find referrals online?

78% Pitchfork
44% Rollingstone.com
39% Stereogum
28% Brooklyn Vegan
23% My Old Kentucky Blog
14% Largehearted Boy