Akron Family

Akron/Family
Akron/Family at the 2009 SXSW festival
Background information
Origin	Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York
Genres	Indie folk, freak folk,psychedelic rock, experimental rock
Years active	2002–2013 (hiatus)
Labels	Young God, Dead Oceans, Joyful Noise
Associated acts	Angels of Light, Greg Davis, Megafaun, Best of Seth, Swans
Website	www.akronfamily.com
Members	Dana Janssen Seth Olinsky Miles Seaton
Past members	Ryan Vanderhoof Phil Cook Greg Davis Chris Koltay Mark Lawson

Akron/Family is a folk-influenced experimental rock band that formed in 2002, and its members currently live in Portland, Oregon; Los Angeles, California; and Joshua Tree, California.

Though each member of the band—Dana Janssen, Seth Olinsky, and Miles Seaton—can be relegated to loosely defined roles (kazoo, oboe, and triangle, 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).