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Club Tip CMU Approved
Vigsy’s Club Tip: Notting Hill Carnival
By Paul Vig | Published on Friday 24 August 2018
Crikey, is it that time of year again? Time for the West London street party that is the one and only Notting Hill Carnival, taking place this Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday.
As ever, there are multiple strands to London’s biggest carnival. There’s the traditional procession of floats, which proceed down a marked route playing calypso, soca and reggae from the Caribbean. And alongside the music, you will find lots of hugely detailed costumes. The taste of the Caribbean is all round too, with plenty of traditional items – so jerk chicken and curried goat is on the menu, or saltfish and ackee with the obligatory rice and peas.
But Carnival also forays and delves into jungle, ragga, hip hop, house and broken beat – giving it a real London and UK slant – via the numerous soundsystems erected around Notting Hill. They’re certainly worth hunting down, though planning ahead as to which sound systems you’re going to check is definitely worthwhile. Remember it does get hugely crowded at times and occasionally you may have to go where the crowds take you!
This year my picks of the 33 officially listed soundsystems are as follows…
• King Tubby’s for some authentic reggae.
• Aba-shanti-I, who has over 30 years worth of soundsystem experience.
• Saxon Sound, where reggae star Tippa Irie cut his teeth.
• Seduction City, a female crew taking you to more soulful grooves.
• Rampage, playing more club orientated grooves from jungle to hip hop.
To get the most from Carnival, do have a look online. Remember, it can get very crowded, even more so on the Monday – so keep an eye on friends and maybe have a plan for regrouping, phone networks can slow down and buckle under the strain. The cash machines run out of cash too – be prepared for that.
There are also loads of post Carnival parties this weekend that are massively worth checking out. The CMU Club Tip is keeping it in a drum n bass style on Sunday – our choice of four venues across the capital are as follows…
• Metalheadz Carnival After Party at Egg, with Goldie and a slew of awesome DJs.
• The Carnival Session at The Steelyard, with LTJ Bukem, Mala, Awesome Tapes From Africa and more.
• Jungle Mania at Suffolk Street, with DJ Randall, DJ Brockie, Ragga Twins, Uncle Dugs and more.
• Shogun Audio Carnival Special at Phonox, with Technimatic, Pola & Bryson and more.
All in all, it’s another great line-up for this truly outstanding London event. Let’s just cross fingers that the sun shines in West London this weekend. And if you’re one of those Londoners who has never quite made it to this big bash, then do it. Trust me, you’ll love it. Viva la Carnival!
