Nia Smith Speaks On Carnival Sounds: The Sounds of Notting Hill Carnival, Community and Expression

“From Kingston, to Harlesden, to Ladbroke Grove. Dancehall lives in every block party and every carnival lane. The road becomes a runway and the sound unapologetic,” says Lila Ike on the short film Carnival Sounds: The Sounds of Notting Hill Carnival.

Take out dancehall, and you can replace it with reggae, or take out Kingston and replace it with Port of Spain, in Trinidad and Tobago, and you have Soca. Mas Bands.

Sound system culture manifested due to the need for West Indian migrants to have a safe play to express themselves and dance when not welcome in the traditional pubs and clubs in central London due to racial discrimination.

And when the Trinidadian Journalist and activist Claudia Jones, also born in Port of Spain in January 1959, started an indoor Caribbean carnival at St. Pancras Town Hall because of the murder of Kelso Cochrane on Southam Street, Notting Hill, due to the colour of his skin, she did not know that it would grow to the second largest street carnival in the World.

British musician Nia Smith says, “It’s the one time we all get together" when explaining the power of Notting Hill Carnival in the aftermath of the event, which took place over the August bank holiday weekend, which started on Saturday 23 August and ended on Monday 25 August.

Featuring on Carnival Sounds: The Sounds of Notting Hill Carnival, the South Londoner is alongside artists with ties to the West Indies, both first, second and third generations that include Lila Ike, DJ AG, Protoje, Sister Nancy, Jordss, Nia Smith, YG Marley, Shenseea, Gyptian, DJ Puffy, Maxi Priest, and more – she talks about what the festival means to both young and old.

"The food and the music”, she explains.

“I love jerk chicken, rice and peas, plantain, and a festival. I love how Carnival unites people together to celebrate Caribbean culture, which is what I’ve grown up with. There’s no other time that we properly celebrate, so it’s the one time we all get together."

Nia, born in Brixton and grew up listening to soul and reggae, also highlights that music is the most important thing that connects the younger generation to the festival and how documentation via so social media and digital platforms “show the reality of how fun it actually is."

Reggae on a deeper level also "has the power to heal" according to Nia. (It’s) “High vibrational music, music that’s full of soul. It spreads hope and the message of peace and family. I think it’s very positive, more than some other genres.”

Carnival Sounds is in its sixth year after starting during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown.

A Spotify flagship celebration, which has now collaborated with London-based Creative Studio 3QUENCY to spotlight personal narratives with the objective to provide much-needed historical context about the festival and the transatlantic sounds that shape it.

Notting Hill Carnival keeps its longstanding traditions but also appeals to younger audiences because of fashion.

Nia says, "I think in how I dress and what I decide to wear to carnival. Me, my friends and other young people, bring our own style to carnival dress."

Spotify haver also announced that their official NHC partnership includes direct funding to the Carnival Village Trust, supporting year-round community initiatives.