I-Level -

I-Level was an English synth-funk trio from London that released eight singles and two albums between 1983 and 1985 on Virgin, landing club hits with “Give Me” and “Minefield.”

Members: Sam Jones (vocals), Joe Dworniak (bass guitar), Duncan Bridgeman (synthesizer)

Background

I-Level formed in London in 1982 when keyboardist Duncan Bridgeman and bassist/engineer Joe Dworniak teamed with Sierra Leonean vocalist Sam Jones. Jones came from Freetown and toured Europe as singer with reggae group Brimstone.

Bridgeman and Dworniak came from Essex and met through a classified advertisement in Melody Maker. The pair first played together in Scrambled Egos, who released “Close Your Eyes (If You Wanna Survive)” b/w “Love Is a Four Letter Word” on Jet as their sole single in February 1980. Bridgeman and Dworniak next formed the nucleus of Shake Shake, who joined John Foxx and drummer Philip Roberts on “A Long Time,” the B-side of the November 1980 Foxx single “Miles Away.” Shake Shake released “New Songs for a New Route” b/w “Yellow Ditty” on the Compact Organization in 1981, with Bridgeman and Dworniak as co-producers. The pair also joined Foxx on The Garden, where Bridgeman played keyboards, bass, brass, and percussion while Dworniak played bass.

Bridgeman formed Gardening by Moonlight with drummer/vocalist John Johnson in 1981. Dworniak continued session work on bass, including B.E.F. recordings collected on Music of Quality and Distinction Volume One. He also worked as house engineer at Music Works, the Holloway Road studio where Bridgeman joined him for late-night recording sessions outside booked studio hours. Bridgeman still worked as an insurance clerk through the early phase of the Music Works partnership.

Brimstone entered Music Works for a recording session and brought Jones into contact with the pair. Dworniak played Jones a tape from the Bridgeman–Dworniak sessions. Jones added vocals to “Give Me,” and the three musicians used the completed recording as an I-Level demo. The trio took the tape to Virgin as their first label approach, where Mick Clark signed I-Level for the label. Lucian Grainge arranged a publishing agreement through April Music.

I-Level released “Give Me” on Virgin in August 1982 and received American distribution through Epic. Bridgeman and Dworniak also co-owned Moody demo studios by that point, financed through income from earlier music work. Readers of Blues & Soul named I-Level Most Promising Newcomers in the magazine poll. In November 1982, I-Level arranged backing tracks at the Chapel in Lincolnshire. The trio completed recording and mixing at Music Works across January and March 1983 for the self-titled debut.

Discography: