Akron/Family

Akron/Family are a Brooklyn, New York-based outfit whose music incorporates everything from post-psychedelic rock to appropriations of world music traditions, avant-folk, and even improvisation. Their most notable trademark is their instantly recognizable three-part harmonies.

The group's original lineup consisted of vocalist/multi-instrumentalist <a href="spotify:artist:2EP9OGghEKJ0m68hpuyHp1">Seth Olinsky</a>, from Williamsport, Pennsylvania; vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Miles Seaton, from Porterville, California; vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Dana Janssen, from Williamsport, Pennsylvania; and lead vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Ryan Vanderhoof, from Union Springs, New York. They came together around a coffee shop in Brooklyn in 2003. They began recording demos in an apartment and sending them to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Young+God+Records%22">Young God Records</a> label head <a href="spotify:artist:7rQQ3KNeDPmiNGRKk15TJH">Michael Gira</a>, who signed them in 2004. Their self-titled debut offering appeared a year later, and the band -- who'd already had a local cult following centered around the Gimme! Coffee shop -- began to develop a madcap reputation for their wide, seamless, yet jarring stylistic variations, often within the same song.

Following their 2005 release and a split with <a href="spotify:artist:45KTYxYRDjlP4cAd2imJif">Angels of Light</a> (also serving as the backing road and studio band for that <a href="spotify:artist:7rQQ3KNeDPmiNGRKk15TJH">Gira</a> project), Akron/Family released their follow-up album, Meek Warrior, in October 2006. In 2007, lead vocalist Ryan Vanderhoof left after recording the adventurous Love Is Simple. The group decided to remain a trio. Akron/Family signed to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Dead+Oceans%22">Dead Oceans</a> in late 2008. Their debut for the label, Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free, appeared in May; it was licensed for release in Europe by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Crammed+Discs%22">Crammed Discs</a>. The group quickly followed it with a pair of singles: "River" b/w "Morning on Michigan Avenue" and "Everyone Is Guilty" b/w "Total Destruction."

After extended touring and a brief respite, Akron/Family retreated to a cabin near an active volcano in Hokkaido, Japan, in order to write new material. Upon returning to the United States, they teamed with producer Chris Koltay (<a href="spotify:artist:2z78AlkdwE2Ghj9EB50M6z">Liars</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6Q0gMZJNIebNFFaJeonc11">Holy Fuck</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:38zTZcuN7nFvVJ6auhc6V3">Deerhunter</a>) and commenced to record in Michigan Central Station, the abandoned (and infamous) ten-story train station in Detroit. The end result was The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT, issued in February 2011 on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Dead+Oceans%22">Dead Oceans</a>. After a global tour, the band reentered the studio in late 2012. Sub Verses was released in April 2013. Co-founder Miles Seaton died on February 18, 2021, at the age of 41. ~ Tammy La Gorce & Thom Jurek, Rovi