Cory Wong's 2022 self-titled album establishes the Vulfpeck guitarist as a formidable solo artist, delivering seventy minutes of technically assured funk built on rhythm guitar mastery. Recorded in Minneapolis with a skilled ensemble, Wong synthesizes influences like Nile Rodgers while developing his distinct voice—proof that technical command and genuine warmth coexist naturally in modern funk. Essential for anyone interested in contemporary groove music.
⚡ Quick Answer: Cory Wong's 2022 self-titled album showcases the Vulfpeck guitarist as a solo artist, delivering seventy minutes of technically masterful funk rhythm guitar work recorded in Minneapolis with a stellar ensemble. Wong produces confident, joyful grooves that synthesize influences like Nile Rodgers while establishing his distinct identity, proving that technical excellence and genuine warmth aren't mutually exclusive in modern funk music.
There is a specific kind of joy that Cory Wong seems constitutionally incapable of suppressing, and this self-titled 2022 record is seventy minutes of evidence.
Wong had already built a reputation as Vulfpeck’s secret weapon — the rhythm guitarist who made tight feel looser, who made chicken-scratch funk sound like it cost money. But Cory Wong the album is something else. It’s a statement of solo identity delivered with the confidence of a man who has spent years being the best musician in every room and finally decided to decorate his own room.
The Minneapolis Thread
The album was recorded at Flowers Studio in Minneapolis, which matters. Minneapolis has its own gravitational pull on a certain kind of meticulous, groove-forward music — you hear it in the way the low end sits, dry and present and unhurried. Engineer Jake Alley keeps the mix clean without making it clinical. There’s air around everything, which is harder to achieve than it sounds.
Wong produced the record himself, which is the right call. Nobody else was going to let the guitar do what it does here.
The rhythm guitar playing is, without qualification, some of the best you will hear on any record released this century. Wong operates in a zone somewhere between Nile Rodgers and Jimmy Nolen, but he’s not imitating either of them — he’s synthesizing something that sounds entirely like himself. The staccato chops on “Grace” land with a physical authority. You don’t just hear them. You adjust your posture.
Who’s in the Room
The personnel list reads like a dispatch from a very specific corner of Minneapolis funk royalty. Drummer Dillon Natura holds down the low end of the pocket with the kind of restraint that only sounds easy. Bassist Jake Baldwin locks in beneath him in that classic way where the bass and kick drum become a single organism. Keyboardist/vocalist Sam Ryder appears throughout, and his presence adds the vocal dimension that keeps the album from feeling like a technical showcase — which it absolutely could have been, and would have been lesser for it.
Antwaun Stanley shows up on “Brand New” and sounds exactly like what he is: one of the finest soul vocalists working today, criminally underknown outside of funk circles. That track in particular has the feel of a live take where everyone in the room knew it was the one.
The horn section — a rotating cast across the sessions — gives the album its body. These are arrangements that understand horns as texture, not garnish.
The Argument the Album Makes
Wong is making a case here, though he makes it without any apparent urgency. The case is that joy is a legitimate artistic position. That clean production and technical command don’t have to mean cold. That you can love your influences completely and still sound like yourself.
The album’s longest stretches are instrumentals, and they don’t drag. That’s the test. When a rhythm guitarist leads an instrumental record and you never miss a vocalist, the groove is doing its job.
Put this on after nine p.m. with something good to drink. The opening track will make you want to stand up, but you won’t, because you’re too comfortable, and that tension is exactly where this record lives.
🎵 Key Takeaways
- 🎸 Cory Wong's 2022 self-titled album features some of the best rhythm guitar work of the century, synthesizing Nile Rodgers and Jimmy Nolen into something entirely his own.
- 🎚️ Recorded at Flowers Studio in Minneapolis with engineer Jake Alley, the album achieves that elusive Minneapolis sound—dry, present low end with air around everything—that Wong self-produced to perfection.
- 🔒 The ensemble includes drummer Dillon Natura, bassist Jake Baldwin, keyboardist Sam Ryder, and guest vocalist Antwaun Stanley, all operating at a level where bass and kick become one organism and horns function as texture rather than decoration.
- 😌 Seventy minutes of instrumental-heavy grooves that prove technical excellence and genuine warmth aren't mutually exclusive, with the guitar pocket so tight you never miss a lead vocalist.
What makes Cory Wong's rhythm guitar playing on this album different from his Vulfpeck work?
As a solo artist, Wong establishes his distinct identity rather than serving as a supporting player. His staccato chops land with physical authority that demands attention, and the self-produced album lets the guitar do things a different producer wouldn't allow.
Who are the key players on the album?
The core ensemble includes drummer Dillon Natura, bassist Jake Baldwin, and keyboardist/vocalist Sam Ryder, with guest appearances from soul vocalist Antwaun Stanley on "Brand New" and a rotating horn section throughout. These are Minneapolis funk professionals operating at the highest level.
Why does the Minneapolis recording location matter?
Minneapolis has a gravitational pull toward meticulous, groove-forward music with a specific sonic signature—dry, present low end that sits unhurried. Engineer Jake Alley's mix preserves this character while maintaining air around the instruments, which is harder to achieve than it sounds.
Can an instrumental funk record work without a lead vocalist?
On this album, yes—the groove is so locked in that you never miss a vocalist. This is the ultimate test of whether a rhythm guitarist can carry an instrumental record, and Wong passes decisively.
More from Cory Wong
More from Cory Wong