
Last year, former Dr. Dog drummer Juston Stens branched out with a promising EP of original material as Juston Stens & The Get Real Gang. I've been a huge fan of Stens since he first introduced me to Floating Action via his pitch-perfect cover of "Don't Stop Loving Me Now." Stens is now back in writing and recording mode, though this time under a different set of circumstances. He's creating his first full length album by way of his 1972 Triumph motorcycle, stopping in a dozen cities across the country to collaborate with musicians and friends. The stops [...]

This summer playlist is somewhat of a time warp but not the kind you would think because more than half this music I consider perfect for summer because of it's tone or theme. The lyrics or title might mention the sun or burn the sort of imagery that you'd want in the perfect beach movie soundtrack. It's Summertime MP3 by The Flaming Lips from Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots This song always creeps into almost every playlist but still qualifies since it's movie like. Booty City MP3 by [...]

Generationals drummer Tess Brunet recently posted an unmastered cut from her forthcoming solo debut as Au Ras Au Ras . I've been keeping a close eye on the project since helping Kickstart it back in October , and then perhaps even more so after learning Everybody Taste favorite Seth Kauffman of Floating Action would be producing the record. "Jon," set on a train with a lovelorn drifting narrator, is a promising taste of things to come with a raw bass and soft organ riding on top of steady uptempo drums and Brunet's honeyed intimate vocals. [...]

Let's talk sports analogies. If Seth Kauffman were a basketball player, he'd be the underappreciated sixth man that comes off the bench in the fourth quarter to sink the winning basket. He may not be a recognized star just yet, but his skills more than speak for themselves: stick Kauffman with any instrument—sitar, drums, guitar—in almost any genre—soul, reggae, rock, folk—and he'll create something classic, albeit in his own distinctly laid back and loose manner. Playing nearly every instrument under the moniker Floating Action , Kauffman has already recorded one track-for-track classic album and his newest release, Desert [...]

After delivering the goods with their hotly received Trust EP, New Orleans' Generationals are now gearing up for another release—their second full-length, Actor-Caster . The album, due out on March 29th, was recorded over the summer in the dank humidity of Washington, DC with Con Law producer Daniel Black. It's clear from our first taste of the album, the persistent jangling piano pop of "Greenleaf," that not even DC's stifling heat could contain this group's tremendous pop chops. Dig into the new track, courtesy of Spin , along [...]

"None of Seth's music feels like some reference or some attempt at a copy. It just feels like the natural extension of who he is as a person." — Scott McMicken of Dr. Dog Floating Action is the moniker of North Carolina musician Seth Kauffman. Fusing elements of dub with rock, soul, country and the occasional splash of sitar, Kauffman has shaped a distinctively laid back and timeless sound that pops along like a needle on your favorite old groove: a whole-heartedly original, personally curated and unclassifiable vein of funk that's like medicine [...]

Named after a vintage Gretsch bass drum pedal, Floating Action is the pseudonym of North Carolina-based musician, songwriter, and producer Seth Kauffman. Kauffman's new album Desert Etiquette , his third full-length with the nice folks at New Orlean's Park The Van Records , is set to release this February. It's the most stripped-down sound yet from the solo artist, and totally d.i.y., save for a pedal steel track on the final song. That approach comes out of a desire to capture his musical ideas in their purest form: "When an idea comes in directly from [...]
Earlier this year, we got a special treat from nonprofit Weathervane Music's Shaking Through series with the lush recording of Sharon Van Etten's "Love More." Now Everybody Taste favorites Floating Action have hit the studio with Scott McMicken of Dr. Dog acting as producer to record bandleader Seth Kauffman's song "Dead Reckoning." Floating Action - "Dead Reckoning" Hear more Floating Action: [...]

Seth Kauffman's band Floating Action absolutely nail this cover of Rilo Kiley's 2007 song "Silver Lining." The track follows the original right down to the triangle solo, but at the same time makes it unequivocally their own, fitting like the familiar hazy buzz of summer. Floating Action - "Silver Lining" (Rilo Kiley cover)

You may recall my unexpected gift of 50 bonus downloads from eMusic a couple of weeks ago . I was 9 selections into my bonus downloads when I realized that I couldn't figure out what to download next. I'm constantly unimpressed with the indie rock selections eMusic suggests that I try, like all those bands with album covers featuring a folk-art painting of a sparrow perched on a branch. Man, that thumb-sucking, hushed-tones crap really needs to be banished to the same eternal $1 bins alongside discarded copies of Asylum Choir II [...]
Floating Action - So Vapor I posted a live video of Floating Action a few months ago; since then their self-titled album has been released and I've really been enjoying it. Although Seth Kauffman has ensured a good amount of variety on there (while still keeping things cohesive), this is another blissed-out tune with brushed drums and simple melody, perfect for a sunny afternoon. Buy MySpace Park the Van Photo [...]

Floating Action is the moniker of North Carolina native singer, songwriter and producer Seth Kauffman. His self-titled album is one of the few refreshingly unique albums of the year. And, for that matter, the past couple of years. Kauffman infuses rock, country, dub, Bossa Nova, soul and folk cohesively without having his songs sound like a jumbled mess. There's a method to his madness. When listening to the album you wouldn't believe one guy is responsible for writing, performing, recording and producing the entire album, on which he plays drums, bass, sitar, guitar, violin and [...]

Floating Action is the new creative outlet for multi-instrumentalist Seth Kauffman who, after two solo releases, has teamed up with an ensemble...despite having written, performed, produced and recorded the material by himself in Dr. Dog's studio. This one's perfect for a laidback Saturday afternoon and you can hear more by downloading a free 10 track live session or checking out Floating Action's Daytrotter session. The self-titled album will be released on 21 April in America and 18 May this side of the Atlantic. Pre-order [...]

Our friends over at Ear Farm have a weekly feature called "Free Music Friday" where they offer "free and legal guilt-free MP3s for the taking." They've outdone themselves with this week's installment. In addition to the regular giveaways they've also included eleven links to free-samplers from the following labels Barsuk Records , Bar/None Records , Sub Pop Records , Anti- Records , Secretly Canadian Records , Jagjaguwar Records , Dead Oceans Records , Saddle Creek Records , Arts & Crafts Records , [...]
I hadn't heard about Seth Kauffman before, but when I read this part of the press release: "Seth Kauffman returns this April 21st with his second release for Park The Van Records", I had to check it out. Park the Van Records! What a name. His new guise is under the Floating Action moniker, and the record is set to be a multi-instrumental lyrical feast. Check out the first song, '50 Lashes' if you don't believe me. Tracklist: 01 50 Lashes 02 Marie Claire 03 To Connect 04 Unrobbed 05 Edge of the World 06 So Vapor 07 [...]
As we saw the tail end of the Park The Van showcase at SXSW all of the bands playing mentioned from stage how much they loved the label and everyone on it. I kind of brushed this off not really being familiar with anyone besides Dr. Dog and Spinto Band. I've since realized what a great thing Park The Van has going. They truly have a distinguishable sound to their artists which i really love. It establishes a trust with the listener and makes you realize that someone in control there has great ears (or [...]

Asthmatic Kitty Records , sort une compilation de musiques pour le jeu vidéo Audio-surf : Music for Videogames v.1 . Je ne connais pas ce jeu vidéo. On dit du jeu Audio-surf qu'il est une synthèse entre Guitar Hero, WipeOut, and REZ. Les spécialistes apprécieront. De mon côté pour avoir fait un rapide tour sur leur site, j'ai trouvé le concept de ce jeu plutôt sympathique et surtout fort ludique. La version démo d'Audio-surf à télécharger. Si la compilation Music [...]

About a month ago, video game distributor Valve released AudioSurf , a sort of Guitar Hero -slash- REZ puzzle rhythm game which has the player goes through track-like stages collecting clusters of identical coloured blocks to make it to the next stage. Yet despite the game's ho-hum premise, AudioSurf is quickly becoming nothing short of a phenomenon due to its main feature: the stages mimic the music the player provides as soundtrack. So essentially, your MP3 collection contains the levels for this games. Now, it turns out the folks at Asthmatic [...]

In Audiosurf , you race down a futuristic and colorful highway. The highway, the traffic patterns, and the scenery are all synchronized to the music you have chosen from your own collection. You earn points for clustering together cars of the same color on the highway, and can compete with others on the internet for the high score on your favorite songs. Audiosurf builds a highway for any music CD, MP3, iTunes M4A, WMA, or OGG song you choose, so the experience that you have is totally up to you. The kids at Asthmatic [...]