"LIVIN' IT UP" Out Now
"IT DON'T STOP" Out Now
Assaad Lakkis a.k.a Bull Funk Zoo
His music is a fusion of Funk, Experimental Pop, World, Psychedelic Rock. After arriving in Dubai in 2000 Bull Funk Zoo successfully toured the UAE. Independently composing, producing, writing & performing his last 4 albums. The 'Down & Dirty' release was nominated for the Independent Music Awards in New York 2019 for best Rock album, since the pandemic Assaad has built his own analog studio to continue the musical journey of Bull funk zoo and engage with a bigger audience with Bull Funk Studios
THE JOURNEY
2000 - 2006
Moved back from US to Dubai & formed Abstrakt collision which he has recorded 3 albums "In The Meantime Of Tomorrow" - 2003, "Division/Divided" - 2004 & "Polidix" - 2006. The song "Amerika" was nominated for best experimental song at the ISC & IMA awards. Toured the jazz festival circuit opening for Stanley Jordan 2003, Courtney Pine 2005, Curtis Fuller 2006
2007 - 2010
Decided to expand on being a sideman guitarist for numerous acts such as Stroobia, Mestiza, Abstrakt Roots and toured extensively with Abri
2011 - 2013
He created BULL FUNK ZOO, which is now know as his artist name. BFZ Exploded on to the Dubai scene Opening for Sting, Sade, Timbaland and more. Touring the region and playing at all the big time festivals in the region. Landed a sponsor deal with Red Bull
2013 - 2016
He released the first self titled Bull Funk Zoo, “the highest rated album by an unsigned artist in the region” Rolling Stone. The song "Oblivion" was nominated best ballad at the Independent Music Awards. Nominated for best act at the Hype Awards & Time Out Awards
2016 - 2018
He decided to challenge himself by performing all the parts of his next album "Dangerous Radio", which was produced/recorded/mixed & mastered by himself. The album was success with a hit single "Whiskey". He toured the record in a bunch of clubs and a couple of huge festivals.
2018 - 2020
In 2018 he released his next Bull Funk Zoo album "Down & Dirty" he performed all the instrumentation, with exception of the drums. He produced/written/recorded/mixed & mastered the record. The album has featuring guests: Adnan from Svengali, As Per Casper & Rami Lakkis. "Down & Dirty" was nominated for best rock album of 2019 at the Independent Music Awards in New York.
2020 - present
Since 1996 Assaad Lakkis a.k.a has been recording/producing/engineering for himself and others on many musical projects, commercials, film/TV scoring and live sound. He decided to turn his record studio into a commercial facility and make it an official business in record production. The studio is called Bull Funk Studios.. 2021 he created Bull Funk Jamz, a weekly improvised jam session taking place at Moto's stage that gathered musicians from all around the region and internationally to create a community driven initiative in keeping the creative community alive and innovative.
2023 - present
Bull Funk Zoo started recording/producing his latest songs during covid and started releasing singles every few months in 2023 featuring different vocalists from the region. Currently he is also preparing for live shows with his new trio that has a unique signature sound
LISTEN TO THE
LATEST ALBUM
BIO - SOME FIRES JUST CAN'T BE PUT OUT
Assaad Lakkis a.k.a. Bull Funk Zoo & previously known as Abstrakt
Is a record producer, musician (guitar/bass/vocals), recording/mix engineer, arranger
Born & raised in Dubai, United Arab Emirates of Lebanese origin.
Graduating high school, 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, who were the very personification of everything he had aspired to be; they were as rock n roll 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.
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.