Bruk to the future: The space fuunk of Wonky Logic

Words: Dave Coenen

Formerly playing synth bass for Steam Down and afro-futurist collective Onipa, working with Emma-Jean Thackray and Nala Sinephro, collaborating with IG Culture and releasing his own EP on the Super-Sonic Jazz imprint: Wonky Logic is one of the less obvious, but crucial centre points of this year’s S-SJ Festival line-up. With his years of experience, Wonky Logic (real name: Dwayne Kilvington) keeps shooting up like a rocket to space, creating transcendental musical experiences in the shape of trippy broken beats and jazzy electronics. All in his own little universe. Or a studio, as some other musicians might call it. S-SJ catches up with the futuristic master of keys to see what’s gonna happen on stage in a few weeks.

So before we’re gonna see into the future, let’s get back to the origins. How did Wonky Logic come into existence?
“My mum bought me a Casio keyboard when I was nine. You know, a little one with light-up keys that would teach you how to play melodies and songs that were on it already as a preset. I taught myself how to play the instrument - not very well, tho. When I was 11, I went to a youth group in Leeds, where they had this music studio. The producer there used to make tracks on Fruity Loops, and taught me how to download it. It was pretty cool. Shortly after, I started making beats. From there on, I just kept doing it. I also played keyboard at my uncle and aunties church back in Leeds, between ages 13 and 17.”

After that, your professional musical career saw life. How did you get in touch with the Super-Sonic Jazz family?
“It was through IG Culture, with whom I worked as a musical director for his project LCSM (Likwid Continual Space Motion). Super-Sonic Jazz founder Kees Heus reached out to me after speaking with IG. He asked me to do an EP for them. So that has happened already: it’s called Transdimensional Fuunk and it was released this year.” 

On that EP, song titles like Andromeda Style Funk, Spacebass and Trans-Species Fuunk Entanglement give your music a certain futurist vibe. Maybe even spiritual, in the tradition of Sun Ra and Pharoah Sanders. Do you want people to forget the here and now and have a transcendental experience with your music?
“I guess so! There’s a Sun Ra-sample at the end of the EP. It talks about how music didn’t originate on this planet. He’s deep, man. I really like Sun Ra, his music and I like what he has to say about life. I take a lot of inspiration from that. When you hear him play or speak, he’s like beyond himself. I really wanted to channel that kind of vibe on my EP.”

Does the spacey futurist spiritual element still resonate with playing in church?
“Yes, but definitely not in a Christian way, haha! I feel like there’s some kind of parallel, though.”

Let’s go from core to outer layers: you sound like you add futuristic elements to the broken beat genre. How did your sound take shape?
“I’ve got loads of influences, but one of the most crucial ones is the Niche / Bassline genre that originated in North England in the early 2000s. It kinda comes from speed garage, UK garage and grime. In all these Bassline tracks, the music is led by the bass. All of the main melodic content of the music is in the bass, tracks are almost always around 140 bpm. It unknowingly inspired me to reshape the sounds of this genre and make them my own in my own music.”

What are the things that inspired you in 2021?
“I’m quite transient. I go through short phases, that last for a few months to a year, where I don’t listen to music at all. Except for my own music, ofcourse. I got back into listening music again recently. Right now I’m into music that isn’t from the West, more specifically. From jaipongan to ogene and anything in between. I usually look for things that aren’t particularly recorded in an expensive studio with really clean sounding microphones. I’ve been listening to a lot of reggae music from the 70s recently. A lot of Hugh Mundell, The Congos, Augustus Pablo, and Gregory Isaacs - my mom used to play him all the time.”

You’ve worked with a lot of people that are on the S-SJ21 bill. What did you learn from playing in so many projects?
“Well, just learning to work together, honestly! I don’t usually make music collaboratively. Since I was young, I have made music on my own. Sometimes I find it hard to collaborate with people, because I have my own clear vision of what the music and message are gonna be like. So, by playing in all these bands and projects, I guess I’ve really learned to work with people and to fit into a slot rather than doing the whole thing myself.”

What can we expect from your own performance at Super-Sonic Jazz?
“I’m gonna play a totally improvised set with two synthesizers: a bass synth and a poly synth.”

Are the elements in the show based on your tracks or are you gonna go where the feeling is taking you?
“Yeah, wherever my intuition is taking me. It’s gonna be a pressured situation: whatever comes up during the show, has to come out. I don’t really want to make any plans.”

Is putting yourself under pressure what works best for you when playing live?
“Yeah definitely, especially recently. Before now, I used to just play beats that I’ve made and put on my sampler to kinda mix and mess with the tunes while playing live. You know, more of a dj set kinda thing where the tunes just melt into each other. Well, so now my fiancee suggested that I’d make beats live…”

That’s more of a challenge for yourself as well, I reckon?
“Yes! It’s fun, and things can happen that no one is expecting - including me. I’ve got drums on my sampler, and I’m gonna put some other samples on there in a couple of days. It’s like making beats on the fly, starting all the way over, putting some new bits in, taking things out… If I’m in too much of a panic, then I’ll just a play a beat. That’s my safety belt, haha.”
“I’m quite lucky to be having this gig, because I was originally only playing at Super-Sonic Jazz with Emma-Jean Thackray. Some weeks after, they said I could have a spot there, and I can be out there for two days. Looking forward!”

Wonky Logic will be playing at Super-Sonic Jazz on friday november 19 (solo) and on saturday november 20 (with Emma-Jean Thackray). His EP Transdimensional Fuunk is out now on Super-Sonic Jazz.