Miles Cooper Seaton, Akron/Family Co-Founder, Dies at 41

Miles Cooper Seaton, the American musician and co-founder of the indie folk band Akron/Family, has died at age 41. The news was announced by his record label Dead Oceans via social media on February 19, 2021. The cause of death has not been disclosed. Born in Porterville, California in 1979, Seaton was immersed in the punk/hardcore scene of late-1980s Seattle before moving to New York, where he co-founded Akron/Family in 2003. The band released music on Young God Records, founded by Swans frontman Michael Gira, and Dead Oceans. After Akron/Family disbanded in 2013, Seaton pursued a solo career, collaborating with groups like the Sun Ra Arkestra. He later moved to Verona, Italy, where he worked with the local band C+C=Maxigross. Seaton also created sound installations, including the 2015 project Functional Music at Jacknife Records & Tapes in Los Angeles, which used a SubPac device to make music tactile. Dead Oceans remembered him as "a third of Akron/Family."