Biography
Akron/Family emerged as a Brooklyn, New York ensemble whose sound pulled from post-psychedelic rock, world music appropriations, avant-folk, and improvisation, with their hallmark three-part harmonies serving as the most immediately identifiable feature.
The original quartet comprised vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Seth Olinsky from Williamsport, Pennsylvania; vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Miles Seaton from Porterville, California; vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Dana Janssen from Williamsport, Pennsylvania; and lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Vanderhoof from Union Springs, New York. They first converged near a Brooklyn coffee shop in 2003. Apartment-recorded demos reached Young God Records founder Michael Gira, who offered a contract in 2004. Their self-titled debut arrived the next year. Already drawing a devoted local audience around the Gimme! Coffee shop, the band soon cultivated a reputation for unpredictable, often jarring stylistic leaps that could unfold seamlessly inside a single track.
After the 2005 album and a split release with Angels of Light—on which they also served as the project’s touring and studio ensemble—Akron/Family delivered Meek Warrior in October 2006. Ryan Vanderhoof exited in 2007 once the exploratory Love Is Simple was finished, leaving the group to proceed as a trio. A move to Dead Oceans took place in late 2008. Their first album for the label, Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free, surfaced in May and was licensed for Europe by Crammed Discs. Two singles appeared in quick succession: “River” b/w “Morning on Michigan Avenue” and “Everyone Is Guilty” b/w “Total Destruction.”
Following lengthy touring and a short pause, the band withdrew to a cabin near an active volcano in Hokkaido, Japan, to develop new songs. Back in the United States they enlisted producer Chris Koltay, known for work with Liars, Holy Fuck, and Deerhunter, and tracked material inside the long-abandoned Michigan Central Station, the notorious ten-story Detroit depot. The resulting The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT came out on Dead Oceans in February 2011. After an extensive global tour the members returned to the studio in late 2012, and Sub Verses appeared in April 2013. Co-founder Miles Seaton died on February 18, 2021, at the age of 41.
The original quartet comprised vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Seth Olinsky from Williamsport, Pennsylvania; vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Miles Seaton from Porterville, California; vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Dana Janssen from Williamsport, Pennsylvania; and lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Vanderhoof from Union Springs, New York. They first converged near a Brooklyn coffee shop in 2003. Apartment-recorded demos reached Young God Records founder Michael Gira, who offered a contract in 2004. Their self-titled debut arrived the next year. Already drawing a devoted local audience around the Gimme! Coffee shop, the band soon cultivated a reputation for unpredictable, often jarring stylistic leaps that could unfold seamlessly inside a single track.
After the 2005 album and a split release with Angels of Light—on which they also served as the project’s touring and studio ensemble—Akron/Family delivered Meek Warrior in October 2006. Ryan Vanderhoof exited in 2007 once the exploratory Love Is Simple was finished, leaving the group to proceed as a trio. A move to Dead Oceans took place in late 2008. Their first album for the label, Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free, surfaced in May and was licensed for Europe by Crammed Discs. Two singles appeared in quick succession: “River” b/w “Morning on Michigan Avenue” and “Everyone Is Guilty” b/w “Total Destruction.”
Following lengthy touring and a short pause, the band withdrew to a cabin near an active volcano in Hokkaido, Japan, to develop new songs. Back in the United States they enlisted producer Chris Koltay, known for work with Liars, Holy Fuck, and Deerhunter, and tracked material inside the long-abandoned Michigan Central Station, the notorious ten-story Detroit depot. The resulting The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT came out on Dead Oceans in February 2011. After an extensive global tour the members returned to the studio in late 2012, and Sub Verses appeared in April 2013. Co-founder Miles Seaton died on February 18, 2021, at the age of 41.
Albums
Sub Verses
2013
2011
S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT
2011
Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free
2009
Meek Warrior
2006
Akron/Family & Angels Of Light
2005
Akron/Family
2005
Singles
