The Bongolian

Nasser Bouzida, an English multi-instrumentalist and producer, records under the alias The Bongolian, crafting engaging albums that blend funk, soul, Latin, and jazz. The project originated in the early 2000s as a sideline to his role fronting Big Boss Man, a London Latin funk band. Under the Bongolian name, his rhythm-driven, retro-leaning style generated key releases such as Outer Bongolia in 2007 and the synthesizer-focused Moog Maximus in 2016. His sixth album, Harlem Hipshake, came out in 2021 and drew from New York’s classic Latin soul era.

Raised in Newbury, Bouzida developed a deep fixation on music, especially percussive forms like Latin and funk. He teamed with guitarist Trevor Harding to launch the high-energy club group Big Boss Man in the late 1990s, which became a fixture on DJ Paul Tunkin’s Blow Up Records imprint. As the band’s frontman, Bouzida delivered vocals, organ, and multiple percussion parts, among them bongos.

Bouzida cut his first solo album as The Bongolian in 2002. The energetic collection of 1960s jazz, soul, and dance elements preceded Blueprint, a more Latin-oriented set, by four years. Even while leading Big Boss Man, his Bongolian output absorbed psychedelia and rock while staying anchored in funky grooves and rhythms. Later projects comprised Outer Bongolia in 2007, Bongos for Beatniks in 2011, and Lost in Sound, a 2012 collaboration with Hammond organist Fay Hallam. Moog Maximus, released in 2016, revolved around funky analog synthesizers.

Apart from his Bongolian and Big Boss Man work, Bouzida has stayed active as a producer, creating library albums for De Wolfe Limited, maintaining his own studio in Wales, and assembling a commercial collection of vintage beats and loops for other musicians. The Bongolian resurfaced in 2021 with the New York-inspired Harlem Hipshake, issued, like all his albums, on Blow Up.