In 1966, Rhaune Laslett and the London Free School decided to launch a street party in Notting Hill. Now 60 years on, Carnival on August Bank Holiday weekend is one of the iconic moments in the London calendar, and the soul of Caribbean life in the capital.
In its origins, during the 1960s, Carnival was predominantly a Caribbean party, taking place within Ladbroke Grove. The original intention of the event was to celebrate the local black community by remembering the streets they left back home.
It was in the 1970s, however, with the introduction of London Sound Systems, that the spirit of the carnival began to change – and arguably becoming more vibrant and reminiscent of what Notting Hill Carnival is today.
To celebrate its momentous 60th anniversary, we sat down with Mikey of Channel One Soundsystem to look back at the history of the group and the story of Carnival more broadly. Read on for a real treat.
Mikey, can you tell us a little about sound system culture and where Channel One fits into that UK narrative?
Sound system culture goes back to the 1950s and 1960s, and it came from Jamaica. It has been passed down through generations. There was Studio One, which was founded in Jamaica, until it came to England around the 1970s. Some people wanted to keep sound system in the Jamaican community, and some wanted to take it out nationally, like me. I used to take it to the polytechnics, and they were excited because they’d never seen anything like it, so we brought it out of the community.
You only play on one turntable; what does this discipline give you creatively?
The discipline of that is that you can only hear one tune at a time, so there’s none of that mixing. If you really do your homework, it works. The MCs do the work in between the music, so it’s like a story you’re telling. I start in the early part of the evening with the stuff people knew way back when, and then you move into the newer stuff.
What’s one tune you’ll always go back to in your sets?
Tune called Natty Dreadlocks, which is by an artist called Colour Red, it was a big tune at carnival in the 80s and 90s. Sometimes people will say play new music, but you can’t keep playing new music all the time.
You’ve played carnival every year since 1982, what kept that relationship so central to who Channel One is?
You can see people who’ve actually grown up with Channel One. You see the elders saying my son was like 3 or 4 when he first came; now he’s 20. To keep the spirit going, it’s a cross between all cultures, not just black or white, but everyone. Carnival is a meeting point for all these sound systems. People will say I’ll meet you in Channel One’s corner.
You won the Red Bull Culture Clash in 2010, a big statement for a roots reggae sound in that context – what did it mean for how people saw Channel One after?
It not only lifted up Channel One; it lifted up Sound System because they wouldn’t expect a sound system to go in that arena and win the damn thing. After we won it, I was getting compliments from all around the world, people saying this is for sound system.
Your goal is to break down barriers via reggae music. After bringing that message to places like Nepal, Dubai, and Colombia, do you think there’s a shift in meaning based on where you are?
I think it lands the same everywhere.