The annual Caribbean street parade Notting Hill Carnival has taken place in London since 1966 to celebrate the influx of immigrants brought to the UK during Windrush. Carnival is a celebration of the rich and multifaceted artistic heritage that came with them, especially in the form of Afro-Caribbean music, dance and sound system culture.
The South London-born poet, producer and NTS Radio host James Massiah is one of a generation of musicians who has been influenced by the city's Afro-Caribbean cultural legacy. In this interview, he talks to Errol Anderson of the South London-based curatorial platform Touching Bass about his connection to London's sound systems and his own artistic evolution. His output centres around hedonism and what he calls "joyful living"—a reaction to the church community he grew up in. Many of the lyrics on his most recent EPs, like True Romance, paint a picture of drugs, partying, sex, addiction and heartbreak (he's even gone on to name his recurring poetry night Adult Entertainment). Music, he reflects, has provided a powerful and cathartic means to express himself and open up.
In his youth, Massiah wasn't just shaped by his church, he says, but by the Afro-Caribbean genres circulating through his neighborhood: '80s funk, raga, garage, grime and a form of Jamaican dancehall called Yardie. Later, as he was exposed to popular rock and house music, he took the sensibilities he heard in pop acts like Fleetwood Mac and applied them to a Caribbean musical framework. His sound palette is an uncanny amalgamation of Stevie Nicks' ethereal voice with the stylings of soca—a sub-genre that fuses calypso, reggae and Caribbean zouk. Listen to the episode in full.
