Hear Cory Wong and Ariel Posen’s funk-heavy, slide-laden surprise new single, Spare Tire

Funk maestro Cory Wong and slide virtuoso Ariel Posen have joined forces for a surprise new single, Spare Tire.

The instrumental track sees the two electric guitar gurus layer on swampy, slide-laden solos and funk-fueled fourth position chordal stabs, combining the deliciously diverse yet equally masterful six-string skills each of them possess.

"Surprise! New music!" wrote Posen on Instagram. "During the making of Notes To Spare I decided I wanted to feature each artist with their own music at the end of their episode with a full band recording of it.

"When I got talking to my friend Cory Wong about it, he suggested we write something together instead," he continued. "He laid down a simple little groove idea, sent it over and I put together an entire arrangement. I think it's pretty fun."

It’s Wong and his instantly recognizable Strat sound that kick off proceedings, reeling off some supremely clean extended chords and palm-muted strums delivered in the form of a super-concise, effortlessly executed classic funk hook.

Posen tests the waters with some single-note plucks and three-note licks while Wong continues to further grease the groove, with the blues master’s involvement progressing into fully fledged slide-constructed chords as the pair make their way into the track’s first turnaround.

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A punctuative snare roll precedes Posen’s first extended solo effort, which is littered with a number of tasty pentatonic licks and blues-inspired runs that eloquently transcend major and minor flavors. 

The reintroduction of Wong’s hook encourages Posen to pick up the pace and up the ante, flexing his expert fretboard knowledge by way of some sophisticated jazz-styled chromatic passages that help him move up and down the length of the neck with ease.

Spare Tire also sees Posen and Wong enlist the expert services of bass guitar player Julian Bradford and prolific session drummer Ash Soan, who provide a plenty-deep rhythmic pocket for the two six-string sensations to play in.

“Ariel Posen rips this turn and I’m stoked to be a part of it,” commented Cory Wong on social media. 

It’s been a busy week for Wong, who recently unveiled his hotly anticipated signature Fender Stratocaster, which the Vulfpeck speed strummer described to Guitar World as a “dream come true”. 

In an extended interview with Guitar World, Wong went on to say, “When you are lucky enough to be designing a signature guitar with Fender, you want to make it more unique, so it stands out against all the other Stratocasters. I can’t wait to see people getting it in their hands.”

Spare Tire is available to download and stream now.