Floating Action

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This article is about the band formed by Seth Kauffman. For the firearm term, see Floating action (firearms).

Floating Action is a band from Black Mountain, North Carolina, founded by Seth Kauffman. Kauffman is the band's sole lyricist, songwriter, recorder and producer, in addition to playing almost all the music.[1] Kauffman has been called "the underappreciated genius of the Asheville music scene",[2] and has been compared to Harry Nilsson.[3] Jim James of My Morning Jacket, Kauffman's frequent collaborator, called him "the most underrated person in music".[4] He has also been praised by the Black Keys,[5] Zach Miller of Dr. Dog,[6] and Jonah Hill.[3]

History[]

Floating Action was formed by Kauffman after his previous musical project, the Motown sound group The Choosy Beggars, broke up in 2005.[7] The project was named after an out-of-date Gretsch kick-drum pedal.[1] Kauffman is also a member of the reggae- and dub-influenced duo Lord King, along with Evan Martin.[8] Kauffman wrote and recorded an album with Michael Nau of Cotton Jones and Mighty Thread while quarantined, under the project name Dream Sitch.[9] He has also released a solo album called Ting.[10]

Floating Action performed at South by Southwest in 2009[11] and at Hangout Music Festival in 2017.[12]

Kauffman is notable for his contributions to other musicians' albums. He played guitar on Lana Del Rey's Ultraviolence[13] and Angel Olsen's My Woman,[14] bass on Jim James' Uniform Distortion,[15] and drums on Tyler Ramsey's The Valley Wind.[16] James and Olsen appeared on Floating Action's 2016 album Hold Your Fire.[17] Other albums Kauffman has played on include three Ray LaMontagne releases (Supernova, Ouroboros, and Part of the Light)[18] and Good Advice by Basia Bulat.[19] He has produced music for Georgia Fair, Courtney Jaye, Lissie,[1] and Daniel Martin Moore.[20]

Floating Action has released 11 full-length albums.[21] His most recent, Outsider Art, received a digital release before its expected vinyl release, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[22]

Musical style[]

Floating Action's music blends multiple styles, including indie rock, folk, dub, and blues. Seth Kauffman has described Floating Action's sound as "lo-fi Carolina funk."[1] Floating Action's music has been compared to the Beatles,[5] the Black Keys,[23] James Brown,[5] Casiotone for the Painfully Alone,[24] Ray Davies,[25] Dr. Dog,[26] the Flaming Lips,[27] John Mayer,[24] Menomena,[23] My Morning Jacket,[26] Okkervil River,[23] Bill Withers,[27] and the xx.[28]

Full-Length Releases[]

  • Research (2008, Park the Van, as Seth Kauffman)[29]
  • Floating Action (2009, Park the Van)[29]
  • Desert Etiquette (2011, Park the Van)[30]
  • Fake Blood (2012, Removador)[31]
  • Body Action (2014, New West)[32]
  • Hold Your Fire (2016, self-released)[17]
  • Is It Exquisite? (2017)[33]
  • Heartache Essentials (2018)[34]
  • Old World Camels (2019)[35]
  • Outsider Art (2020)[22]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Schacht, John (2011-02-02). "The story of Floating Action's pan-everything soul". Indy Week. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  2. ^ "Sense Of Place Asheville: Joe Kendrick's Local Picks". NPR.org. 2016-03-28. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Sears, Andy (2014-09-16). "Interview with Seth Kaufman/Floating Action". Allston Pudding. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  4. ^ Doyle, Patrick (2013-01-29). "Q&A: My Morning Jacket's Jim James on the Band's Next Album and His Dark Period". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c Clark, Paul (2013-12-19). "Floating Action playing new music at Mothlight". Asheville Citizen-Times. Retrieved 2021-02-12.
  6. ^ "Playlist: What's Dr. Dog listening to?". USA Today. 2018-04-20. Retrieved 2021-02-12.
  7. ^ "Floating Action". Friendship Fever. Retrieved 2021-02-10.
  8. ^ Gilbert, Dave (2014-04-08). "Lord King brought dub to the Grey Eagle". Mountain Xpress. Retrieved 2021-02-10.
  9. ^ "Dream Sitch- Dream Sitch". New Commute. 2020-12-08. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  10. ^ "Seth Kauffman - Ting". No Depression. 2006-05-01. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  11. ^ Boilen, Bob (2009-01-16). "SXSW 2009: Who's Coming, Who's Going?". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-02-12.
  12. ^ DeVille, Chris (2015-02-11). "Hangout Festival Adds Sam Smith, Joey Bada$$, Sylvan Esso, Tove Lo & More". Stereogum. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  13. ^ Roylance, Ben. "Music Review: Floating Action - Body Questions". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  14. ^ Pearce, Sheldon (2016-06-06). "Angel Olsen Announces New Album My Woman". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  15. ^ Berman, Stuart (2018-07-09). "Jim James: Uniform Distortion". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  16. ^ Strowe, Jeff (2011-10-16). "Tyler Ramsey: The Valley Wind". PopMatters. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  17. ^ Jump up to: a b Arnaudin, Edwin (2015-12-22). "Floating Action readies album release, plays Grey Eagle". Asheville Citizen-Times. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  18. ^ Gil de Rubio, Dave (2018-07-28). "Ray LaMontagne lights the way with authentic sounds, musical camaraderie". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  19. ^ Day, Laurence (2015-10-30). "Basia Bulat announces new record Good Advice, reveals lead single "Infamous"". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  20. ^ Capozza, Madeline (2019-12-19). "Daniel Martin Moore - Never Look Away". MXDWN. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  21. ^ "Floating Action- Outsider Art". New Commute. 2020-04-01. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  22. ^ Jump up to: a b Arnaudin, Edwin (2020-04-22). "New Floating Action album seeks to lift people's spirits". Mountain Xpress. Retrieved 2020-02-11.
  23. ^ Jump up to: a b c Roylance, Ben. "Floating Action - Body Questions". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  24. ^ Jump up to: a b Hemmerling, Joe. "Floating Action - Floating Action". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  25. ^ Unterberger, Richie. "Floating Action - Desert Etiquette". AllMusic. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  26. ^ Jump up to: a b Moses, Richard (2014-08-28). "Mundo Musique: Floating Action's 'Body Questions'". The Revue. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  27. ^ Jump up to: a b Barnes, Henry (2009-07-01). "New music on Wednesday". the Guardian. Retrieved 2021-02-12.
  28. ^ Haver Currin, Grayson (2012-09-26). "Floating Action, The xx, and the trouble with avoiding effrontery". Indy Week. Retrieved 2021-02-12.
  29. ^ Jump up to: a b "Floating Action". Park the Van. 2018-08-28. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  30. ^ Fields, Lanny (2011-08-05). "Floating Action Desert Etiquette Review". No Depression. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  31. ^ Lello, Michael (2012-10-04). "An Interview with Floating Action's Seth Kauffman". Highway 81 Revisited. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  32. ^ McGuire, Pat (2014-08-25). "Floating Action, "Body Questions"". Flood Magazine. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  33. ^ Mills, Fred (2017-09-08). "YES, IT IS EXQUISITE: Floating Action". Blurt Online. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  34. ^ "New Music For The New Year". Real Cool Vibe. 2018-02-09. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  35. ^ "Floating Action- "Burst of Ordinary Light". New Commute. 2019-05-16. Retrieved 2021-02-11.


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