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Floating Action

Floating Action

A one-man lo-fi funk machine from Black Mountain, North Carolina, quietly prized by Jim James and the Black Keys.

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Floating Action

About

MOODS · lo-fi · funky · warm · understated · homemade · soulful · laid-back · eclectic · earthy · groove-driven

BIOGRAPHY

Floating Action is the vehicle for Seth Kauffman, a songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist based in Black Mountain, North Carolina. He founded the project in 2005 after his previous band, the Motown-influenced Choosy Beggars, split up, naming it after an obsolete Gretsch kick-drum pedal. Kauffman writes, records and plays nearly all the music himself, blending indie rock, folk, dub and blues into what he calls lo-fi Carolina funk across eleven full-length albums. Beyond his own records, Kauffman is a sought-after session player, contributing guitar to Lana Del Rey's Ultraviolence and Angel Olsen's My Woman, bass to Jim James' Uniform Distortion, and drums to Tyler Ramsey's The Valley Wind, plus parts on three Ray LaMontagne albums and Basia Bulat's Good Advice. He also records as part of the duo Lord King and, during quarantine, teamed with Michael Nau as Dream Sitch.

WHY THEY'RE COOL

Floating Action's appeal lies in the gap between Seth Kauffman's low profile and the esteem he commands among peers. Jim James of My Morning Jacket has called him the most underrated person in music, and he has drawn comparisons to Harry Nilsson while earning praise from the Black Keys, Dr. Dog's Zach Miller and Jonah Hill. James and Angel Olsen even guested on his 2016 album Hold Your Fire. That reputation is backed by real session credits, guitar on Lana Del Rey's Ultraviolence, bass on James' Uniform Distortion, and work with Ray LaMontagne, all while Kauffman keeps building his own sprawling, homemade catalog of Carolina funk.

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