No Rest For Akron/Family

Things never seem to slow down for Brooklyn, New York's Akron/Family.

The arty ensemble's debut album came out in March 2005 and they've since played hundreds of shows, all while releasing a split album with Angels Of Light and recording a few lo-fi discs that they sell on the road. Next up, the group will release the seven-song, 45-minute Meek Warrior on Michael Gira's Young God label on Sept. 26.

"These songs were written about a year ago by individual band members and then hashed out as a band together on the road in hotels and in the van the few weeks prior to the studio time in Chicago, while we were all freezing in the winter hinterlands of Canada, wheezing with bronchitis," says singing multi-instrumentalist Seth Olinsky on the Young God website.

The album was partially recorded at Chicago's Shape Shoppe studio with engineer Griffin Rodriguez. Renowned free jazz drummer and group favourite Hamid Drake sat in for two days of these sessions. An additional day of recording was done in Toronto with members of Do Make Say Think and Broken Social Scene.

Jason La Farge oversaw two days of recording at Brooklyn's Seizure's Palace studio, and more tinkering was done in Olinsky's apartment. The band and Gira both have production credits, while Doug Henderson mixed and mastered the final product.

Akron/Family — who also include Miles Seaton, Dana Janssen and Ryan Vanderhoof — already have plans to record their next album for Young God, which should be released next spring. They'll also back Angels Of Light on a record that should surface in early 2007. Until then, they'll continue to tour relentlessly.

Here are Akron/Family's upcoming Canadian tour dates:

Oct. 5 Toronto, ON @ Lee's Palace
Oct. 6 Ottawa, ON @ First Baptist Church
Oct. 7 Montreal, QC @ Le National