BIO
Assaad Lakkis a.k.a. Bull Funk Zoo & previously known as Abstrakt
Is a record producer, musician, recording/mix engineer, arranger
Born & raised in Dubai, United Arab Emirates of Lebanese origin.
After graduating high school in Dubai, he hopped on a plane to the US where he realized he was on his own, with a world of opportunity at his feet. Studying and pumping gas to buy his first guitar, Assaad made the acquaintance of some old school punk rockers, jazz musicians, the funk/motown muso's , who were the very personification of everything he had aspired to be; they were as true as they come!
BFZ made his musical bones playing with every conceivable kind of musician, band, genre during his time in the U.S. until moving back to Dubai in 2000, where he continued to experiment with different types of music and defining his own sound. He founded the ‘Abstrakt Collision’, and worked with some of the region’s hottest numbers as a session guitarist. He Released 3 albums under 'Abstrakt Collision' between 2003 - 2008
BFZ released his debut self titled album in 2013 to critical acclaim from the likes of Rolling Stone ME, who dubbed it as, “the highest rated album by an unsigned artist in the region”. He followed it up with his second album, ‘Dangerous Radio’, which he composed, produced, engineered and performed. He remains, by all accounts, one of the hardest working musicians out there and he continues to pursue his ultimate goal, “It’s the final frontier. Touring, traveling the world, and playing kick ass music! It doesn’t get any better than that!”
BFZ’s work has earned him multiple nominations in the UAE and the US. Most notably ‘Abstrakt Collision’s’ nomination in the experimental category for the track, ‘Amerika’ and his debut album’s nomination in the rock category at the International Music Awards (IMA), with the track ‘Oblivion’ as best rock song of 2014. His latest album "Down & Dirty" has also been nominated for best rock/hard rock album of 2019 at the Independent Music Awards in New York.
​
​