Funkware
Kiril Bonev, known professionally as Funkware, is a Bulgarian producer and DJ working in drum and bass, jungle and liquid funk. He runs the Funkstuff Recordings label and has released numerous EPs and albums, including the 2018 album Funkware. His tracks have appeared on Goodlooking Records, Vibration Records, Inform Records, Soul Deep Recordings and Textures Music Group.
Bonev began mixing around 2009 and moved into producing around 2011. He has stated that he has over 40 releases. He performs live and DJ sets in Bulgaria and elsewhere in Europe, and has recorded mixes such as the Different Drumz podcast interview/mix.
Stylistically Funkware works in a liquid/jazz-influenced corner of drum and bass. His productions blend funk, jazz and soul influences into rolling DnB arrangements: warm electric-piano and Rhodes-style chord work, short melodic horn or guitar phrases, and soulful vocal chops sit over syncopated drum patterns. Tracks prioritise mid-range musical elements and harmonic movement while keeping a clear low end for the sub and bassline.
On a production level his work emphasises detailed layering and space. Breaks are edited and swung rather than left as straight loops; percussion is often ghosted behind the pocket to let keys and lead lines breathe. Bass design tends toward rounded sub tones under a more textured mid-bass, and atmospheric pads or vinyl-style textures are used to glue sections together. Reverb and short-delay treatments are applied selectively to vocals and keys to create a relaxed, club-friendly sheen without smearing the low end.
As label owner of Funkstuff Recordings, Funkware has issued his own material and curated releases under that imprint while also placing tracks on established labels such as Goodlooking Records, Vibration Records, Inform Records, Soul Deep Recordings and Textures Music Group. The 2018 Funkware album is a named centrepiece of his catalog. His activity since first mixing in 2009 and producing from 2011 has resulted in a recorded output he cites as exceeding forty releases, and he has presented that material both onstage across Europe and in recorded mixes like the Different Drumz podcast interview/mix.
His specific influences are drawn from funk, jazz and soul traditions, visible in his choice of chord voicings, walking or melodic bass motifs and the occasional use of live-sounding instrumental samples. The Different Drumz podcast interview/mix provides a clear example of how those influences translate into his DJing and production approach.
