Mr Bongo

Mr Bongo begins as a record shop in the basement of Daddy Kool’s reggae store on Berwick Street in London. It develops from importing Latin American, Cuban and US records into a broader role as a specialist in Latin, Brazilian and hip hop music, with Huw Bowles joining in 1991 and bringing hip hop expertise that expands the shop’s range.

Record shop and early reputation

In the late 1980s, Mr Bongo gains support from Gilles Peterson and from clubs such as Dingwall’s, and becomes a key source for the Latin and Brazilian scenes in Europe. It is the first shop in the UK to sell releases from independent US hip hop labels, and imports early releases by artists including Dr. Octagon, Mos Def and Jurassic 5, including special vinyl pressings.

The shop later moves to Lexington Street in London, then to Poland Street, which becomes its best-known premises. The Poland Street location also houses the label and the imprints Disorient, for Japanese dance music, and Beyongolia, for old school hip hop reissues. In 1995, Mr Bongo opens a store in Shibuya, Tokyo, which serves as an A&R route for Disorient and leads to releases such as Kaori’s Good Life, Jazztronik’s Samurai and Dimitri from Tokyo’s Love Love Mode.

Label work and Brazilian music

The label starts by issuing Brazilian music by Joyce, Marcos Valle and Os Ipanemas, then goes on to reissue records by Doris, Labi Siffre and Charlie Palmieri. It records Terry Callier over three years at the Jazz Cafe with Andy “Atmosphere” Sojka, resulting in the live album Alive.

After the office moves to Brighton in 1999, Mr Bongo opens a studio with Ben “Mr Hermano/Sao Benitez” Mitchell and records Pedro Martins and his band Bazeado, Bukky Leo, Mr Hermano, Terry Callier and Mitchell & Dewbury. It is also the first label to release Seu Jorge outside Brazil, with his album Carolina, and works with Regatae on recordings by Banda Black Rio, Clube Balanco and Paula Lima. With producer Robin Millar, it records Ive Mendes’s self-titled debut.

Mr Bongo continues to issue Brazilian material through projects including the Slum Dunk Baile Funk compilation with Tetine and DJ Marlboro, and its Brazilian Beats series, built around Kenny Dope’s “Brazilian Beat” track. The series runs to eight volumes and is later collected in a box set. Other releases include the soundtrack to Wild Style, a reissue of the Incredible Bongo Band, and the Brazilian psychedelic album Paebiru by Lula “Squid” Cortes and Ze Ramalho.

African and Latin releases

In the new millennium, Mr Bongo expands into Africa with releases by Bukky Leo, Lekan Babalola and Seun Kuti, with backing from members of his father’s original Egypt 80 band. It also works in Ghana with Bottletop on Sound Affects: Africa, in South Africa on The Mothers, and in Senegal with Awadi, formerly of Positive Black Soul. On the Latin side, it records Hanny in Cuba and releases the triple LP Latin Beats compilation.

Other projects include I Like It Like That, assembled with Mr Dean Rudland and featuring remixes from DJ Format, Bugz In The Attic, Bonde do Role and 4Hero. Jose Conde and Zemog also work with the label after coming from Puerto Rico via New York.

Music for media, film and social projects

Mr Bongo also sources and produces music for advertising, including music used for Nike, Adidas, Fosters and Nissan X Trail campaigns, as well as a Guinness advert featuring “Babarabitiri” by Beny More. It later has offices in London and Los Angeles and a production studio focused on music for adverts, film and television.

In 1996 it begins supporting the Street Angels charity in Salvador, Brazil, helping with the construction of a school and the running of a health clinic in a favela community. A later Street Angels album includes contributions from Luis Bonfa, Joyce and Lord K, and the project also develops recycled ring-pull bags to raise funds and create work opportunities.

Film arm

Mr Bongo Films is created as a film offshoot with a focus on world and arthouse cinema. Its first title is I Am Cuba (also known as Soy Cuba), followed by releases including Saragossa Manuscript, L’Avventura and Under the Volcano.