Within The Sounds of Notting Hill Carnival - Stories, Histories & Resistance

Interviews, archival footage, music and spoken word - looking at the social and political roots of London's annual Notting Hill Carnival. 2020 marks the first year that Notting Hill Carnival has not taken place since its inception in 1966. Exploring the many stories & voices in the history of Notting Hill Carnival - of which there are too many for one hour - this show focuses on thoughts around Claudia Jones, Rhaune Laslett, Leslie Palmer - their work in Carnival and it’s resonances. Featuring interviews & contributions from: Lloyd Bradley - writer and historian of Black British music - author of Bass Culture: When Reggae Was King & Sounds Like London: 100 Years of Black Music in The Capital Carole Boyce Davies - Caribbean intellectual & activist, author of Left of Karl Marx & Beyond Containment - two studies of the life & work of Claudia Jones Debi Gardner - Executive Officer of the British Association of Steelbands (BAS), a practising panist & member of Mangrove Steel Band (London) and Phase II Pan Groove (Trinidad) and organiser & board member of Notting Hill Carnival Julian Henriques - Goldsmiths, University of London - author of Sonic Bodies: Reggae Sound Systems, Performance Techniques, and Ways of Knowing Colin Prescod - Writer, film-maker, activist and organiser - Chair of the Institute of Race Relations & resident of Kensington for over 60 years Rhea Storr - Artist filmmaker who explores the representation of Black and mixed-race cultures. Masquerade as a site of protest or subversion is an ongoing theme in her work. So too, is the effect of place or space on cultural representation. We have put together a reading/watching/listening list for anyone wishing to study & find out more. Produced by Estelle Birch & Josh Farmer