Akron/Family

Akron/Family is a folk-influenced experimental rock band that formed in 2002, and its members currently live in Portland, Oregon , Tucson, Arizona and New York City, New York. Though each member of the band—Dana Janssen, Seth Olinsky, and Miles Seaton—can be relegated to loosely defined roles (vocalist/drummer, vocalist/guitarist, and vocalist/bassist, respectively), all members play several instruments and sing, as evidenced by their shows and recorded material: Live, the band uses improvisation and three-part harmonies in prominence. On their self-titled debut record, field recordings of a creaking chair, thunderclaps and the white noise of a television find their way alongside psychedelic and electronic elements, guitars and a glockenspiel. Between 2003 and 2007 the band was the hub of a social scene in Williamsburg, Brooklyn which revolved around the "Gimme! Coffee" coffee shop. Many of the events of this period served as material for songs. In 2003, the band began sending demos to Young God Records label head Michael Gira, who announced the following year their signing to the label. Akron/Family, culled from several albums' worth of material recorded in the band's Brooklyn apartment, was released in March 2005. The Wire said, "Akron/Family's hushed left field pastoralism invite comparison with the loose US scene of folk-derived weirdness ... Immaculately interwoven electronics and the care with which each beautifully recorded track unfolds recall Chicago post-rock ..." (Davies 2005). Released that same month was Angels of Light's Sing "Other People", on which Akron/Family served as the main backing band. Several extensive tours of the United States and Europe with Gira — playing as Angels of Light — followed immediately afterward, lasting much of the rest of the year. In the stretches supporting Gira, the band played dual roles as both the supporting and headlining act; in the stretches without Gira, their touring mates included Great Lake Swimmers and Sir Richard Bishop of Sun City Girls. The next Akron/Family material released was Akron/Family & Angels of Light, a split album with Angels of Light in October 2005. Shortly after releasing Meek Warrior in October 2006, the band debuted seven demo songs on WNYC radio, suggesting another album was already in the works. The band has contributed vocals to Canadian post-rock band Do Make Say Think's album, You, You're a History in Rust and the more recent, Other Truths.