Jump to content

Floating Action

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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

[edit]

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musical project, the Motown sound group The Choosy Beggars, broke up in 2005.[7] The project was named after an out-of-date Gretsch kick-drum pedal.[1] Kauffman is also a member of the reggae- and dub-influenced duo Lord King, along with Evan Martin.[8] Kauffman wrote and recorded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 the 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 album, Outsider Art, received a digital release before its expected vinyl release due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[22]

Musical style

[edit]

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

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d Schacht, John (2011-02-02). "The story of Floating Action's pan-everything soul". Indy Week. Archived from the original on 2011-02-11. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  2. ^ "Sense Of Place Asheville: Joe Kendrick's Local Picks". NPR.org. 2016-03-28. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  3. ^ 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. ^ 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. Archived from the original on 2021-01-26. 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. ^ 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. ^ Arnaudin, Edwin (2020-04-22). "New Floating Action album seeks to lift people's spirits". Mountain Xpress. Retrieved 2020-02-11.
  23. ^ a b c Roylance, Ben. "Floating Action - Body Questions". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  24. ^ 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. ^ a b Moses, Richard (2014-08-28). "Mundo Musique: Floating Action's 'Body Questions'". The Revue. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  27. ^ 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. ^ a b "Floating Action". Park the Van. 2018-08-28. Archived from the original on 2021-01-27. 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. ^ a b c d e url=https://piaptk.limitedrun.com/bands/floatingaction
  34. ^ Mills, Fred (2017-09-08). "YES, IT IS EXQUISITE: Floating Action". Blurt Online. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  35. ^ "PIAPTK".
  36. ^ "New Music For The New Year". Real Cool Vibe. 2018-02-09. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  37. ^ "Floating Action- "Burst of Ordinary Light". New Commute. 2019-05-16. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Floating_Action&oldid=1224647429"