Named after a vintage Gretsch bass drum pedal, Floating Action is the pseudonym of Black Mountain, North Carolina-based musician, songwriter, and producer Seth Kauffman. Following the 2007 homemade gem Research (released under his own name) and Floating Action’s gorgeously understated self-titled follow-up from 2009, Park the Van is proud to release Desert Etiquette, Kauffman’s third full-length with the New Orleans based indie label. Taking its title from a legend told to Kauffman by his sister (in the Middle East, it is proper etiquette to leave a drinking vessel for the hypothetical next traveler near a remote oasis) Desert Etiquette is the most stripped-down Floating Action affair to date. Aside from one pedal steel recording on the closing track, every song on Desert Etiquette was written, performed, produced, and recorded by Kauffman himself. His d.i.y. approach is the result of his insatiable searching; chasing the ultimate musical moment: “When an idea comes in directly from above, you can often capture it in it's pure state by eliminating the middle man. Sometimes bottling it at the source is just easier, and nothing gets lost in translation.” There’s no such thing as a “typical” Floating Action song. Folk, soul, southern-rock, gospel, surf, and bedroom lo-fi somehow coexist and cohere in the same record—even the same song. There is, however, a distinct Floating Action sound. Kauffman’s warm recordings and lushly anachronistic sound is uniquely his. The attentiveness given to production quality is palpable; you can all but hear the vinyl crackle in gently graceful tunes like “Please Reveal” or “Rincon.” Like Dr. Dog keyboardist Zach Miller said in a recent interview, “His songs are timeless, effortless, and instantly memorable.”
http://schedule.sxsw.com/events/event_OE00052
