Mr Bongo

Mr Bongo Record label. Record store. Film label. DJ. Since 1989. Over the following years Bongo moved three times within Soho and opened in Shibuya, Japan.

We started life in 1989 as a small record shop underneath Daddy Kool’s Reggae Store on Berwick Street in London. We were the first shop to sell vinyl releases from independent hip hop labels such as Def Jam, Rawkus, Nervous and Big Beat outside of the USA. We also became an established bearer for hard-to-find, classic Latin music, particularly Brazilian, outside of the Americas. We moved our offic

es to Brighton in 1999 and closed all shops in 2003.

20+ years on we now have a recording roster featuring some of the best Brazilian, Latin, reggae, African and Jazz music by artists including Terry Callier, Jorge Ben, Joyce, Seu Jorge, Prince Fatty, Incredible Bongo Band and Marcos Valle. In 2004 we moved into world cinema, a venture that has grown to compliment the music. In keeping with the record label philosophy, we carefully select and source films from around the world and our catalogue now includes works by esteemed directors including Scorsese, Coppola, Has, Bertolucci, Rocha and Dovzhenko amongst others. We aim to unearth iconic, stylish, hard-to-find gems and cult classics and make them readily available to cinema lovers. We keep production costs relatively low by releasing the feature film without multiple extras allowing us to deliver the highest possible quality prints on DVD’s at the most competitive prices. We are modest compared to our competitors in the film world but hope that our rich history and knowledge has established us as an aficionado that punches above its weight (and is yet to reach its full potential). In 2011 we ventured into the realm of feature film production and theatrical releases with Justin Mitchell's Rio Breaks which premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square in June. We look forward to working on more projects like this. We also have a publishing arm with an in-house team that produces and licenses music for use by third parties. Our clients include advertising, film and TV companies around the world; brands such as Bacardi, Nike, Adidas, Fosters, Nissan and Guinness have used our music. We also deal with worldwide royalty collection for artists and organisations.

In just over two weeks time, the mighty  will be performing live at The Piper in St Leonards. DJ support comes in the fo...
19/09/2025

In just over two weeks time, the mighty will be performing live at The Piper in St Leonards. DJ support comes in the form of Mr Bongo’s very own and Tony ‘’ Higgins. Ticket link in bio.

Big congratulations to , ,  and  for receiving Latin Grammy nominations in the following categories:Best Portuguese Lang...
18/09/2025

Big congratulations to , , and for receiving Latin Grammy nominations in the following categories:

Best Portuguese Language Contemporary Pop Album:
Julia Mestre - Maravilhosamente Bem

Best MPB (Musica Popular Brasileira)/MAPB (Música Afro Portuguesa Brasileira) Album:
Dora Morelenbaum - Pique
Rubel - Beleza. Mas Agora a Gente Faz o Que Com Isso?

Best Portuguese Language Song:
Julia Mestre - Maravilhosamente Bem
Zé Ibarra - Transe

And congrats to our Brazilian label partners too - a great achievement.

Continuing our spotlight series called Favourite Finds, we ask some of our favourite DJs, collectors and selectors to te...
16/09/2025

Continuing our spotlight series called Favourite Finds, we ask some of our favourite DJs, collectors and selectors to tell us the story behind how they came across one of their most cherished records.

For the next instalment, we’ve asked respected DJ duo and deep diggers Vale and Giò from to give us an insight into a special record from their collection.

Born and based in Italy, Vale and Giò are seasoned collectors who strive to narrate sound geographies through records. A constant feature behind the decks at Europe’s best listening bars and with a monthly show on they bring together their hard-fought finds from flea markets, dusty collections and long forgotten record stores.

Swipe for the story behind Raregems Favourite Find…

16/09/2025

gives us an insight into the meaning behind the lyrics on her and ’s collaborative EP entitled ‘Time Stands Still / Le temps s’arrête’. The EP lands on Mr Bongo on the 26th September - link in bio to pre-order.

Three fresh selects from this week’s new additions to the store to kick off your weekend…First, one of the most requeste...
12/09/2025

Three fresh selects from this week’s new additions to the store to kick off your weekend…

First, one of the most requested Brazilian singles, Trio Ternura’s ‘A Gira’ is a super catchy mid-tempo, percussive, funk/soul fusion that has long been a favourite of ours. Lovingly reissued here on 7” by .

Next, a Brazil import reissue on green vinyl of an all-time classic from the incredible Joao Donato. A must for every collection.

Finally, the mesmerising debut album of gritty disco, fuzzy funk, Anatolian rare grooves, experimental synth, and library music by the Turkish artist produced by . Released by the ever excellent imprint.

10/09/2025

It’s been two months since the release of ’s superb compilation, Ritmo Italiano ‘Unspoken Sounds Of Italian Tamburo’. Big thank you to everyone that has supported, played and bought the release so far. Gabriele is back shining a light on three more of the Italian, percussive-driven selections that make up part of the comp.

Swipe for the story behind the records and head to the link in our bio to order the compilation.

On the 4th October we return to  for the next in our series of Mr Bongo Record Club events. The Mr Bongo resident DJs wi...
09/09/2025

On the 4th October we return to for the next in our series of Mr Bongo Record Club events. The Mr Bongo resident DJs will be taking the controls from start to finish for this one. As always expect those deep digs and cherry-picked finds soundtracking the evening.

04.10.25 - Free entry, no ticket necessary.

In just under 2 weeks,  will be headlining .situation.events at the  Staffordshire, with support courtesy of . Be sure t...
09/09/2025

In just under 2 weeks, will be headlining .situation.events at the Staffordshire, with support courtesy of . Be sure to grab a ticket if you are in the area - link in bio.

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Address

6 Gloucester Yard
Brighton
BN14AF

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