What you need to know:
We’re about to dive into the fascinating world of Vulfpeck, a collective that’s been keeping the funk alive for over 10 years. With their unique blend of groovy jazz, Afrobeat, blues, and hints of hip-hop and electronics, this group is a breath of fresh air in the music scene. And, as luck would have it, they’re premiering a new record soon.
Funk, as a genre, is all about entertainment, getting you to dance, and showcasing virtuosity. It’s a fun, wild card that combines various styles to create an infectious sound. With this in mind, a group of friends from Michigan came together to jam, armed with the basic instruments of any funk band: a thick, complex bass, accelerated drums, bright keyboards, and rhythmic, acute guitars.
Drawing inspiration from funk giants like The Funk Brothers and Stuff, Vulfpeck was born to continue the genre’s extensive tradition. Their shows are impressive and prodigious, with a discography that’s both extensive and varied. To date, they have six LPs, four EPs, one live disc, and on March 4, they’ll launch their seventh LP, Clarity of Cal, which features original songs recorded live during a brief tour of California last year.
Vulfpeck builds amazing and complex songs that stick in your head. Like any contemporary collective, such as Massive Attack or Broken Social Scene, Vulfpeck’s members vary and have several alternate projects. When the six essential members come together, Vulfpeck comes alive in the studio and on stage. Jack Stratton, Theo Katzman, Joe Dart, Woody Goss, Joey Dosik, and Cory Wong make up this fun supergroup, which plays with sound firms, internal and external references, and even local jokes. They’re also distinguished by their virtuosity, which is evident in both their studio recordings and live performances.
It’s astonishing to see the variety of funk styles they touch. They have instrumental tracks that seem impossible to play live, like “New Beastly” and all the deliveries of “It Gets Funkier.” They also have funky tracks that encourage you to get moving, like “Simple Step” and “Matter of Time,” as well as simple ballads like “What Did You Mean By Love?” and “Love Is a Beautiful Thing.” It’s a complete world within a genre.
A band with a lot of service to fans, local jokes, and keys that generate a relationship with their followers
One notable example of this is the famous song “Cory Wong,” which was named by the fans. Cory Wong met the band during a jam session, where he played an improvisation that resulted in a track from their second album, The Beautiful Game (2016). The fans asked for a setlist, but the songs didn’t have titles, so they named the song “Cory Wong.” The band honored them, and that became the final name of the song, which features a virtuous execution by the guitarist.
Their humor and ingenuity have reached a point where they became famous for Sleepify, an “empty” album that they uploaded to Spotify. With 10 silent tracks, they managed to monetize it, although the streaming platform eventually took the album down. As a reference to their album Schvitz (2022), fans often dress up as the cover character for their concerts, and the full band even wore gowns and red hats during that tour.
The love of music and its dissemination for all is one of Vulfpeck’s engines
The band has an online conservatory called Vulfconsservatory, where they sell courses at “accessible” prices compared to any huge institution or digital academy. Among these courses are Jack Stratton’s mixing and Joe Dart’s bass course. Additionally, as a great gesture, Joe Dart, who is sponsored by Ernie Ball and their Music Man line, created a cheaper version of his bass, which cost $399 for a limited time. The version he uses costs around $2,700.
On their official page, you can find the band’s typography and a compressor plugin for digital workstations for music production. You can also preorder the physical version of their new album, Clarity of Cal. With their unique sound, virtuosity, and dedication to their fans, Vulfpeck is a collective that’s sure to keep the funk alive for years to come.