Though each member of the band — Miles Seaton, Seth Olinsky, Dana Janssen and formerly Ryan Vanderhoof — can be relegated to loosely defined roles (drummer, guitarist, bassist, vocalist), all of them play several instruments and sing, as evidenced by their shows and recorded material. When playing live, the band makes prominent use of improvisation and vocal harmonies. 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.
In addition to their solo debut in 2005, the band played behind Michael Gira on his Angels of Light project as well as splitting a full length CD with Angels of Light.
In 2006, the band released an EP, “Meek Warrior,” a collaboration with master drummer/hero Hamid Drake which contained both more traditional folk music such as the lovely "Gone Beyond" and a pair of throbbing electric guitar monsters in “The Rider (Dolphin Song)” and the epic “Blessing Force,” which ends with an exploration into free jazz.
Sometime between the completion of [2007 release] Love Is Simple and Akron/Family’s 2007 U.S. tour, Vanderhoof left Akron/Family to live in a Buddhist Dharma center in the Midwest.
The band has also released several tour EPs featuring demos and other recordings. In May of 2009, the trio released Set 'em Wild, Set 'em Free. This album serves as a blend of the previous albums with more acoustic-folk songs like "Set 'em Free," to fusion freak-outs like "Gravelly Mountains of the Moon."
In January of 2011 they released their album, "S/T II: The Cosmic Birth And Journey Of Shinju TNT ."
Akron/Family's sixth studio album, Sub Verses, was released on April 30, 2013 on Dead Oceans. The band toured for the album from January 29 to December 8, 2013. After the tour the band decided to focus on personal projects, leaving the door open for a possible reunion in the future.
Suchness
Akron/Family Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I don't want to think no more
I want to see the thing in itself
I don't want to think no more
I want to see the thing in itself
I don't want to think no more
I want to see the thing in itself
I don't want to think no more
Four legs on the chair
Three flowers in the vase
Four legs on the chair
Three flowers in the vase
Two seconds until
One suchness ten thousand things
I'll sleep and wake anew
I'll sleep and wake anew
The lyrics in Akron/Family's song "Suchness" reflect a desire to experience reality on a deeper level, beyond the realm of thought and conceptualization. The repetition of the line "I want to see the thing in itself, I don't want to think no more" suggests a yearning to connect with the world through pure perception, without the filter of preconceived notions or mental constructs. This theme is reinforced by the following verse, which presents us with a mundane image of a chair and flowers, but then culminates in the revelation of "one suchness ten thousand things", a reference to a Buddhist concept that describes the interconnectedness of all phenomena in the universe.
The final lines of the song, "I'll sleep and wake anew", imply a sense of acceptance, surrendering to the cyclical nature of existence and the possibility of experiencing something anew with each passing moment. The sparse instrumentation and dreamy vocal delivery create a meditative, contemplative atmosphere that invites the listener to reflect on their own relationship to the world and the limitations of their perception.
Line by Line Meaning
I want to see the thing in itself
I desire to witness the true essence of the object
I don't want to think no more
I do not wish to analyze or contemplate the object
Four legs on the chair
The chair has four supporting legs
Three flowers in the vase
The vase contains three flowers
Two seconds until
A brief interval of time remains
One suchness ten thousand things
The ultimate nature of existence is found in every individual thing
I'll sleep and wake anew
I will rest and arise with a fresh perspective
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
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