Carnival Sounds - The Evolution of Street Festival Music

Nothing heralds the sizzling height of summer like the sound of steel drums, reggae and samba in the streets. You can’t help but be uplifted by the energy and brightness of this music.

They’re also the sounds most closely associated with the biggest summer street festivals: Rio, Notting Hill, and Mardi Gras. So how did these musical traditions become the soundtrack to summer celebrations across the world? 

 

Rio Carnival’s Samba Songs

Rio, the world’s biggest carnival, is, to this day, thoroughly defined by samba. Its layered rhythms and call-and-response vocals originated in Africa, through the slave trade between Portugal and Brazil, and became part of dance and performance culture in Rio’s favelas. These central elements grew into the multiple samba styles we see performed at Rio Carnival today.

The music, with its infectious energy, rhythms and uplifting vocals, is a symbol of joy, unity and Brazilian identity.

Notting Hill Carnival’s Sound Systems, Soca and Steel Pan

Notting Hill Carnival’s musical influences are many. Head to the West London neighbourhood in late August and you’ll find its usually quiet streets transformed into a clamour of more than 30 sound systems.

These sound systems are a vital component of Notting Hill Carnival identity, each one playing its own unique slice of music from Caribbean culture. 

According to a report by the Greater London Authority, around 80% of people attend the carnival to hear their particular sound.

Sound System Heritage

Notting Hill Carnival’s official site dates the use of sound systems in street party culture back to the New York block parties of the 1940s and 50s. From here, it was transported back to Jamaica from those visiting the states. 

The sound systems back then were often cobbled together by hand so, while audio quality was low, the most important factor became owning the biggest speakers to bring the party to life.

Stacks of speaker boxes, with the enormous subwoofers or bass boxes on the bottom, the midranges stacked in between and the tweeters on top, boomed out of yards in Kingston, Jamaica in the 1950s. 

Sound system culture then travelled over from Jamaica to the UK with the Windrush generation, the period of post-war migration during the 50s and 60s. 

While enormous speakers remained important, musical identity became a core component in the following decades. A DJ would speak some of the lyrics, a selector would choose the tracks, and an operator would tweak the volume and mix.

Using their own unique MC-style, record collection and mix, they transformed their recorded music into a live event. 

Today, you’ll hear genres such as reggae, dub, dancehall, UK garage, grime and jungle, as well as many subgenres of soul, as groups battle it out on the streets of Notting Hill to crowds of millions to see who has the best MC, the most exclusive tracks and the loudest bass.

 

Steel Band Sounds

Equally integral to the Carnival’s sound are the steel drums bands. Steel bands compete each year in the UK National Panorama Steelband Competition at Notting Hill, creating a wide variety of steel pan harmonies for calypso, soca and contemporary songs.

Quintessentially Caribbean, the steel drum originated in Trinidad and Tobago during the 1930s and 1940s. It was simply a discarded oil drum that gives off an unmistakably melodic sound when transformed into the musical instrument we know today.

 

Soca Influences

Soca, or “the soul of calypso”, is a subgenre of calypso music from Trinidad and Tobago. It’s joyous and inherently danceable, making it the perfect soundtrack to Notting Hill Carnival.

It emerged in the 1970s and combined musical elements from Trinidad and Tobago’s population of East Indians and Africans, namely the polyrhythms from African tradition and certain melodic elements of East Indian musical culture. The result is an upbeat fusion of the calypso sound and a driving beat that gets you moving.

 

Jazz Jams of Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras is the third biggest carnival in the world. Its earliest roots lie in the opulent, European-influenced balls of 19th-century New Orleans. Back then, Mardi Gras was more for the wealthy - a place for elegant dresses, classical orchestras and big bands.

Thankfully, for those who didn’t wander in elite circles, there was another Mardi Gras emerging. Brass bands dominated this new scene, which incorporated sounds from African music tradition - syncopation, call-and-response and improvisation. These would later become fundamental to the carnival’s next chapter: the arrival of jazz.

Jazz became a central feature of Mardi Gras in the 1940s, propelled by the return of jazz superstar Louis Armstrong. In 1949, he was crowned King of the Zulus on Mardi Gras Day, a prestigious title awarded by the Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club to promote cultural pride and identity.

His return solidified jazz as central to Mardi Gras identity and inspired many local musicians to embrace the genre during carnival celebrations.

Modern Mardi Gras musical tradition combines brass bands with jazz elements and full audience participation. "Second line" parades are formed by brass bands which lead crowds (the second line after the band) behind them dancing, singing and celebrating.

With a motto like “let the good times roll” (Laissez les bons temps rouler in Louisiana French), it’s no wonder New Orleans, and its international Mardi Gras festival, is still the life and soul of the party. 

 

Search high-quality summer sounds

If you’re planning to capture carnival magic on film, head to Universal Production Music and search “samba”, “soca” or “summer” to find hundreds of high-quality carnival-ready tracks. Or why not search reggae, calypso or carnival/parade for even more music greatness to pump up your project.