Guitarist virtuoso Cory Wong has released his new single, “Smooth Move,” featuring producer and multi-instrumentalist Tom Misch. “Smooth Move” heralds Wong’s eighth album of 2020, The Striped Album, due out Friday, October 23. The down-temp track follows the disco-funk single “Design” featuring New Zealand producer, singer and songwriter Kimbra and lead single “MASSIVE” featuring guitar legend Joe Satriani.
The self-produced album finds Wong in typical giddy form, masterfully combining elements of funk, blues and disco, and features a variety of special guests to share in the merriment, including Kimbra, Joe Satriani and David T. Walker. “Smooth Move” is available today on all streaming services and DSPs.
LISTEN TO “SMOOTH MOVE”
PRE-ORDER THE STRIPED ALBUM
LISTEN TO “DESIGN”
LISTEN TO “MASSIVE”
On the collaboration with Misch, Wong says:
“Working with Tom Misch is always really fun. We come from such different backgrounds in influence and approach, but our styles blend so well together.
He started playing music by programming and beat making; I started by playing in a band. We met each other through the guitar community on the internet and had a mutual admiration for each other's playing. He came to Los Angeles for a writing retreat a couple of years ago and said, "Hey man, I'm in town if you wanna write and record something together." I went over to his Airbnb and 30 minutes after meeting each other we recorded the song “Cosmic Sans” from my album Motivational Music for the Syncopated Soul. I was on tour in the UK this past February and I had a couple of days off and some creative ideas in my head. I had written a tune that was basically done except for a melody over the B-Section. Tom said he'd love to come hang and play on it and that he had an idea in mind for me to play on one of his songs. AGAIN! 30 minutes after he got to the studio, we had recorded “Smooth Move” for my new album!
I love the idea of relying on our instincts. I think that's where we get into our real primal self as creatives and musicians. We played the tune down once to let Tom vibe over it and then he and I settled on a melody for him to play and we hit record! Also, when I say we went to the studio, that's a little generous of a term for the space we recorded in. It was actually a tiny rehearsal space that our friend has in London that's probably 8'x12' and barely fit the six of us in the room. We had to adjust our guitars so we weren't hitting each other with them because we were so close!
There's something about the two of us playing together that feels so natural and free of agenda. Since we both do such different things on the instrument, and we have mutual respect for each other, there's no ego and there's nothing to prove. We can just sit down and play music together. It's hard not to imagine what it would be like if we actually spent a week together in a real studio!”
