Major Lazer Soundsystem at Notting Hill Carnival 2011

 
Normally, with these exclusive and sought after parties, excitement would not usually get a hold; but this time, the thought of being admitted to something that sold out in 37 seconds was unbelievable. The Major Lazer Soundsystem was the party on everyone’s lips on bank holiday Monday.

After being slightly nervous that we wouldn’t make it after a weekend of carnival raves, phones were taped to chests, alarms were set and your protagonist and his partner in crime were in Notting Hill, bleary eyed, crying into our Jerk lattes, at 11.30 am. The recent riots have worried us all and there was even talk of cancelling carnival but the people of London and the world have proved that the carnival is one of the happiest, most joyous times of the year that is only occasionally marred by a tiny percentage of idiots.

After a swift walk down ‘the hill,’ consulting with slightly nervous looking, but brave faced police officers on our way to our destination, we made it past the gate into the relatively calm sanctuary. Two Red Bull and vodkas (it’s carnival, midday drinking is absolutely fine) later, we found ourselves bugging to the fast vs slow DJ set of Brodinski and Moombahton’s current hero, Dillon Francis. After a small excursion back into the main area, we were high fivin’ and queueing for chicken whilst GETTING DOWN to Oneman and his recently paired buddy, senor Jackmaster. They proceeded to smash out the set of the day by laying a mixture of UK funky cuts from the likes of Roska, some old school garage vibes a la El-B and Zed Bias and even some sub loaded dubstep in a seamless mix that permeated through the fine-tuned system like silky smooth butter. The Westway exploded when Jack dropped 'Little Man', and dare I say it, they played the DJ set of the day. At this point we were forced to turn to each, shake hands, and agree that yes, this was the best party of the year.

Major Lazer Soundsystem followed, before the crowd were requested politely to “give him some signal” before none other than David ‘Ramjam’ Rodigan appeared to enlighten us with his wisdom and musical knowledge. Rodigan went on to do what he does best and massively endeared himself more to an already loving crowd with a bumper bag of dubplates (though he played on CDs, but so would you if you had tunes with such a short life span). After Sir David came one of the most mindblowing acts of the day, the big surprise that no one had expected (though diplo was tweeting about having his cab stolen by them) came on to the stage with a rapturous applause. After Lord Rodigan stated that ‘we must never forget where the music has come from’, he handed over the stage – to everyone’s absolute elation - to none other than reggae heroes Toots and the Maytals.

They proceeded to play a set that included their biggest numbers. The sing along lyrics of ‘54-46 Was My Number’ rang out as Toots strummed his guitar and belted out the famous chorus. They delved into 'Louie Louie’s' skanking vibe, and even the piano laced and funky dub of 'Funky Kingston'. They’re getting on a bit, and Toots' guitar was slightly out of tune, but watching everyone skank out and smile reminded the masses of the true spirit of the carnival vibe. I never expected to see Toots and his crew ever, to be honest, and it was an exciting and memorable moment for those in attendance.

We left happy having not had to deal with the usual carnival chaos and went to the pub to regail our less impressed friends with surprise gigs from reggae legends and free chicken. And on another note – thank you Red Bull for supporting independent music, even in light of the current situation. Most are very cynical about sponsorship by such a large corporate brand - but if we get to see amazing things like this on the regular, then guys, keep on keepin on.