Vulfpeck wants you to think that they are the hottest session band from Berlin circa 1976. The only problem is, they’ve never even been to Germany. “Being German is so helpful to loving American music. They love it the way Americans never could,” says Jack Stratton, the group’s founder. One of the best new bands to arrive on the funk scene in recent memory, Vulfpeck delivered their debut full-length Thrill of the Arts (Vulf Records) in 2015—a 33-minute pop-funk opus that bounces between ‘70s Elton John stadium-rockers (“Welcome to Vulf Records”), dirty neo-soul (“Funky Duck”) and psychedelic blues (“Rango II”).

Stratton (keyboards/drums), Theo Katzman (guitar/drums), Woody Goss (keyboards) and Joe Dart (bass) formed Vulfpeck at the University of Michigan in 2011. Not counting 2014’s Sleepify—their controversial “silent album” that fans played
on repeat as they went to bed, reportedly earning Vulfpeck $20,000 in Spotify royalties—the band has already recorded four EPs. The first three were entirely instrumental and the fourth, Fugue State, introduced vocals. Thrill of The Arts ups the ante by weaving in an array of guests, including Blake Mills and famed session guitarist David T. Walker (Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Jackson 5).

“I’ve always enjoyed the model of backing up different artists and being versatile with the front person,” explains Stratton, citing The Funk Brothers and the Stax house band as primary influences in forming the project.

Vulfpeck has already garnered a lot of early comparisons to another popular quartet, Phish, mostly due to their love of improvisation, their two-set show format and their musical stunts. “I don’t know how similar we sound [to Phish],” says Stratton, “but a four-piece doing ‘their thing’ is what we’re all about, so that’s where the crossover lies. I would read these [Phantasy Tour] threads and think, ‘Damn, these people are going deep!’ I had never seen anyone respond to our band like that, up to that point. They are very serious music fans and we totally appreciate that. Our sound is not a limited palette. It’s kind of all over the place, so I can see why they are attracted to us.”

The group already has their eyes set on a new record in 2016. “The new album took two weeks to record—one in LA and one in Michigan—and we tried to cram in the best of both cities, so we want to keep doing that. We’re thinking a week in New Orleans and Minneapolis for the next record. I hear some good music has come out of those places.”