Logan Bruhn is tinkering with an upcoming Manta Rays single inside his home studio. A few minutes later, he’s playing a sample of what could be his next single for his new solo endeavor under the moniker LOGI.
There’s a slight vibration in the walls of his midtown home as the beats flow from speakers. A swirl of incense smoke floats through the rays of late afternoon sunlight shining through the windows. Eyes closed, Bruhn absorbs the sounds and then smiles. He’s in his element, having fun on a Wednesday afternoon.
It’s a busy time for the native Tulsan with a slew of local musicians — including Lexi Onyango, Josh Fudge, Saynt Ego and Micaela Young — using his production services. Then there’s his ongoing dance music project, The Links, with Tyler Sexton that has been in a sort of hibernation. On top of it all, Bruhn is now putting out music on his own.
The 26-year-old took a break from working at his desk to talk about all the Tulsa music he’s making, including his new single “TEETH.” This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
What is it about being a producer that’s such a draw to you?
I honestly think that it kind of strikes some things that are at the core of just what I’m like as a person. I’ve always kind of liked being the guy in the background to some extent. I can be excited about things in my life, but I’m never more excited than when someone I love is excited about something. That’s the type of person I am. I feed off other people’s joy and energy, and I love helping people in creative endeavors or life or whatever.
There’s nothing more satisfying to me than seeing a young, really new and fresh artist come in and have the sense of, “I’ve never done this before, and I have no idea what I’m doing, and I’m probably gonna be really bad at recording and all this stuff.” And I get to explain to that person how they are the best type of artist because they don’t know anything, and how to find confidence in their ignorance. I want artists to come in, make music that they’re more excited about than anything else they’ve made, and to leave feeling like they’re better than they thought they were.
What is the backstory on your new solo project, LOGI?
I think there’s kind of a freedom in having a persona or something like that, where I am myself, but then the artist is kind of its own thing. It’s not me playing a character, but maybe more me leaning into certain aspects of myself. Growing up people have always called me Logs or Logi. Growing up, my sister called me Logi Bear all the time.
I just feel like some of the best names are just four letters all caps, and it seemed really, really silly and dumb when I first started putting it in and looking at it and being like, low key, obviously liking it.
This music is very light hearted in its vibe or its aesthetic, and I’m just kind of trying to have fun making this music. So LOGI felt kind of like a fun version of the part of me that just enjoys this and wants to experiment and try things and not be bound down to how people see me or whatever.
You play with so many sounds and types of music through your work as a producer. How do you settle on one for LOGI?
As more singles come out it’ll probably feel more and more like there’s not one true sound. I’ve been making songs for myself in my free time — all the time for the five years I’ve been working — and there’s like 50 to 100 songs that are just different eras of me making stuff and then being like, “I don’t really have the time or money or really care enough to try to be an artist.”
I’ve just been so busy and haven’t really had the energy to ever be like, “I’m gonna package it and do a photo shoot and make an artist project and all that.” Then about nine months ago I started to feel I needed a reason or a spark or something that’s not work. It’s not like someone hiring me for a job. I just need to make something completely for fun.
I also think I’ve just become more self aware about what music I’ve actually listened to on my own time. I’m almost only listening to hip-hop, or R&B and soul. Those are my personal fuel for loving music, yet I live in the indie pop world most of the time.
I love auto-tune, I love sample chopping and I love making beats. I probably made 15 or 20 demos, and threw away like 12 of them, and now I’m left with a few that I like, and I don’t really know or care if other people in Tulsa get it or like it. I kind of want it to be a little bit divisive, maybe, or a little bit polarizing, because I think maybe Tulsa needs a little bit of that. It needs some people making some more off left field kind of music.
You’ve released your second single, “Teeth.” Can we expect an EP or album down the road?
I don’t really know if I’m gonna package them. I think maybe way down the line I might do an album of 12 to 15 songs and make it a pretty big thing, and actually put energy into that release. Right now I think I’m gonna drop a song a month for a while, and it’s kind of just an experiment just for me to be like, “Hey, this is the stuff I do in my off time.” People might as well be able to hear it if they want to.
Have you found this to be a good release for you as you help so many others tweak and adjust stuff in their music to find that perfect place for the song?
I think it’s good for my brain. It’s good for me to sing and let people know that I sing and take on the role of performer. But also it’s harder than making music for other people, because when I’m making music for others, it’s like I’m working through their brain.
I have an affirmation of, “I know this is good.” Whenever I look back and the artist looks at me and they’re like, “Oh yeah!” I’m not insecure about anything in that moment. But when I’m the artist and the producer, like in this situation I also mix and master it, which means no one else touches it at any point in the process. I think I will get so close to it, and then I will finish songs and be like, f— this song and fully redo it and turn it into a sample.
My process is severely chaotic, for sure, when I’m making the low key songs, but that’s how I am. I don’t have an artist I’m collaborating with who’s keeping me in a certain role.
It’s a good release, and it’s also a good challenge for me to just be like, “Do I know what I like? Am I confident at this point in my career?” Or it’s, “the mix is fine. I can just release it tomorrow.” It’s kind of a confidence test.
What’s going on with The Links? It’s been a minute since there’s been any new dance music from you and Tyler.
We have a lot of The Links music recorded and this summer definitely are intending on going back to releasing and doing more DJ sets and shows.
The Links is our full-time side project or something like that. Tyler started kind of getting back into his solo music, and I started to kind of get into making my own solo stuff. And then just life took priority over the dance stuff. So we’ve kind of been on break, still been making things and have probably like 15 to 20 songs that could be done pretty quick if we just spent an hour on them. Yeah, so The Links will definitely be back.
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