Akron / Family - An active volcano in the heart of Brooklyn

Akron/Family are one of the most eccentric and unpredictable bands on the contemporary underground scene. So unpredictable, in fact, that the email with the questions for this interview, sent over a month ago, only came back a few days ago with answers attached, signed by bassist Miles Seaton. The Brooklyn trio is busy on a long tour to promote their latest album, “S/t II: The Cosmic Birth And Journey Of Shinju TNT“, a tour taking them across America, Europe (they'll play 4 Italian dates, between May 23 and 26, in Ravenna, Foligno, Rome and Padua) and the Far East, and they probably won't have much time for distractions.

Let's start from the end, at least chronologically. What's the meaning behind the title of your new album? In particular, that “Self Titled II” seems to suggest a kind of rebirth for you...

This album represents a genuine rebirth for us, both artistically and in terms of energy. I feel like the three of us are closer to the beating heart of our inspiration than we've ever been since the start of this adventure. The friendship and love that bind us have been fundamental to this creative process, and in fact we feel more united than we've ever been.

Listening to the album, I found a broader use of electronics than in the past, with a musical approach that in some ways resembles that of Animal Collective. There's also a lack of references to love, a theme that was so predominant in your lyrics in the past. Has something changed in the way you write, perhaps connected to the departure of Ryan Vanderhoof (who left the band to join a Buddhist community, ed.)?

We've always used electronics and computers in our music, but actually on this album the recording process is based almost entirely around the three of us playing together in a room. Guitar-bass-drums and vocals, all live. There are some fully electronic passages, but those are mostly old Casio keyboards mixed with field recordings of natural events like rain and the sea, or friends of ours playing trumpet, all mixed together with samples from our old recordings... I actually find it quite interesting that you hear more electronics on this one, when in fact this is probably the most "played" album we've ever made. Many tracks on our earlier records were instead built on electronic samples, and the recording process was heavily influenced by computers and various sequencers. The truth is our way of writing keeps changing, we approach every record in a completely different way — I think it's the natural process of being a band to keep evolving, to grow a little every day. And that's why the references to love have changed over the course of this last record too, because of that same process of evolution. It's simply that, on this record, those same words just didn't come out of us the way they did on the others, that's all.

Japanese culture heavily influenced you in writing this latest album. How did you react to the tragedy that struck the country in recent weeks?

We're very sad and sorry about what happened recently in Japan — in fact we also took part in a wonderful charity compilation to raise funds for the reconstruction effort. The volcanic eruption on the cover, even though it's not actually a Japanese volcano but Lengai, in the Rift Valley in Tanzania, represents exactly this explosive overflow of inspiration that we experienced in Japan. There we met extraordinary artists and got to witness first-hand the incredible generosity and dedication with which they open themselves up to art. We couldn't help but be struck by it.

The album's release was preceded by the circulation of some fakes. A divertissement, or a test run for future musical directions?

The idea of letting these "extreme" and "wild" versions (Miles uses the terms "extreme and wild", ed.) of the record leak out came from a strong desire to give the creative process around this album a further life. Honestly, I think people who have more ambitious ideals for their artistic growth can't just stop at making a rock, pop, or even experimental free jazz album. It's not enough. I think there's a lack of room in "indie" culture for ambitions that go beyond selling as many records as possible or having as many fans as possible. Not that there's anything wrong with those things, of course, it's just that they're not satisfying enough for a musician.

We always try to push our own limits, to learn and grow, so as we get older and broaden our interests every day, we feel a stronger and stronger urge to express ourselves through other art forms beyond music. Circulating that version of the album was a kind of "artistic prank," a way of pushing ourselves further (the "doped-up" version is pretty extreme, some songs are totally unrecognizable) and exploring new contexts for our creativity. Lately there's been quite a bit of confusion around these different versions, a phenomenon we've had fun following. People who love the fake and hate the real album, and vice versa — it's been so much fun! But what matters to us is that we always want to feel we've managed to express the playful, creative side of ourselves, in the belief that following this path will lead us to the highest and most authentic form of expression.

Speaking of freedom of expression, this is your second record since moving to Dead Ocean, after growing up under the wing of Michael Gira's Young God. Pros and cons of that move?

We learned a huge amount working with Michael, and we're still learning a lot from the influence he continues to have on us. He's a very down-to-earth person and a great friend to us, but we're really happy at Dead Ocean, everyone there gives us their full support and it's a lot of fun working with them.

In an interview a few years back, Lisa Germano said that she was forced to work in a bookshop because she couldn't make a living from music alone. That really struck me, especially since in Italy only a very small handful of musicians in the alternative scene manage to survive purely on their art. Now, with the economic crisis and the ever-increasing rate of illegal downloading, is it hard for you to get by on the fruits of your art alone?

That's a really interesting question. We've always had odd jobs over the past fifteen years, and I don't see how it could be otherwise. The economics of the music industry keep shifting, but the most important thing for us is that the bonds between us keep growing stronger, as well as our relationship with our listeners, who we see as collaborators of sorts. I think one of our great strengths is our diversity - people expect the unexpected from us, so we never feel forced to play our "hits" every time just to avoid disappointing anyone. We simply try to get through each day in a way that enriches our lives a little more, without necessarily needing to get rich like some others do.

In an interview a while back, you said your goal is to connect dreams and the heart. Is that the message underlying your lyrics and your music? And what role does rationality play in that connection? I get a strong sense of joy and relaxation listening to your music...

I was quoting one of my favorite songs, written by Seth (Olinsky, guitarist, singer and author of most of Akron/Family's songs, ed.), when I said that. It's a beautiful song, and the ironic thing is that the song itself has a very particular rhythmic structure, so the brain is stimulated to follow along without missing a beat. The perpetual distance between heart and mind, between analytical thought and intuition, between the inner and outer self, are themes that are always present in our music.

I also feel a great sense of joy in making the music we make, and I want to encourage our listeners to feel joy too. It often seems like feeling good is almost a social taboo, as if it's better to complain about life than to actually enjoy it. Sometimes people feel scared or guilty just for following their heart or their dreams, as if it weren't "cool" or acceptable to be silly, or to let loose dancing, singing and smiling. That's kind of sad. I have a strong desire to make art and present it in a way that encourages people to feel good about themselves and to follow their dreams. I know that might sound a bit new-age in today's cynical indie world, but who cares! We're human, and it's perfectly fine to be happy to be alive!

How do you go about writing your songs? Are there set steps you rigorously follow, or is the creative process very free-form?

Everyone follows their own personal process. That's why each of us spends some time working on our own parts alone before the song reaches its final form. And that's also why, once it's been recorded, a song often ends up totally different from how it was originally conceived. But often I'll keep a melody or a rhythm in my head, along with a few words and a feeling I want to put into music, and then I sketch out a story. Sometimes it's a few pages of images that I distill and shape into a story. I try to think about the character singing the song - who they are in life, what their experiences are, what kind of light is in the room where the action takes place, who the character is addressing when they sing the song, and so on.

You've repeated several times that it's not accurate to label your music as freak-folk. How would you define yourselves, if that's even possible?

Well, it's certainly interesting that people slap such a specific musical label on us. To me, our music is constantly mutating, although I do see the last two albums as fairly rock in a way. The reason the freak-folk label seems inappropriate to me is that it's terminology tied to a very narrow slice of contemporary music, and honestly I have no idea what that genre is even supposed to represent... It's a lazy description, interesting only from a marketing standpoint. Although defining music is always a strange exercise, I like to describe our sound as outsider psychedelic pop or something along those lines. I tell people we're very dynamic, that we love to sing, and that we love having fun with the audience.

On your debut album ("Akron Family", 2005) there's a song called "Italy". What's your relationship with our country?

Of all the European countries I've visited, Italy is definitely the one I get most excited to tour in. Of course we love your food, especially your espresso (maybe because all three of us worked as baristas for years), but we're also fascinated by the variety of your landscapes and your beautiful cities. We usually wrap up our Italian visits by playing in unusual venues, where we've always met truly special people. What else can I say... I love Italy!

What music do you love the most? And what song do you wish you'd written?

I should say upfront that if you asked me these same questions next week, I'd probably answer differently! It's pretty strange, I know... Right now I'm deep into dub and reggae from the 60s and 70s, but I also love African folk music and music from Southeast Asia. Then I adore Albert Ayler, Don Cherry, Pharoah Sanders and electric-era Miles Davis. But lately, on the van, I've really been enjoying Kurt Vile and The War On Drugs. As for the song I wish I'd written, well, I'd say pretty much anything by Bob Dylan. It takes my breath away. I can't understand how he managed to capture the human soul with such perfection.

Where does your name, "Akron/Family", come from? You're not actually from Akron (a city in Ohio with 200,000 inhabitants, home to Goodyear, ed.), are you?

It comes from the Greek word "akron", meaning peak or summit. But it's also somehow connected to basketball star LeBron James, who's from Akron and is the adoptive brother of our drummer, Dana Janssen.

Aside from the world tour you're currently on, what other projects are in your future?

Who the hell knows! Not me, that's for sure! Seriously though, we're really excited about the tour we'll be doing in Japan in July, and beyond that we're already working on a few interesting projects, but if I told you about them people would end up copying us!

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