Image Text:

CARNIVAL VIBES: Ms Desire

UK-BASED SOCA artist Ms Desire brought carnival vibes to east London this week.

The singer’s intimate gig, Desire and Friends, at White Post on Wednesday was the perfect primer ahead of this bank holiday weekend’s Notting Hill Carnival.

Performing recent releases such as Anything You Want and her latest song Ah Feel but also delving into her back catalogue for tracks including My Team, Desire had the crowd singing and dancing along throughout the evening.

Desire, whose real name is Louise Sterling Jackman, showcased her vocals and versatility with a set that saw her switch between styles, tempos, original material and covers.

This range is something she’s keen to keep exploring. Last year she told The Voice: “I find that once you have a core following as an artist you are able to experiment safely because your fans are already with you and then they will go with you where you’re going musically.”

And while soca music is still little-known and not widely understood in the UK, Desire has built a following of those tuned into the scene.

.@MsDesireArtist did her thing last night. Perfect pre-carnival vibes pic.twitter.com/2zyKrl0iVl

— Alannah Francis (@AlannahFrancis1) August 22, 2019

One the Band accompanied Desire on stage, providing the instrumentals, and she teamed up with Dreadfulla for a few songs but the singer is more than capable of holding the stage on her own.

Just as carnival promotes unity and brings together different nationalities around Caribbean culture, so too did Desire’s show.

Her fellow UK-based Bajan soca artist Terrah Dan performed, showcasing the popular bashment soca sub-genre, as did Dreadfulla and S Pri, an artist all the way from Austria.

In the spirit of celebrating the incredible sounds of the Caribbean and African diaspora, Desire performed Koffee’s breakout hit Toast, as well as her cover of the Jamaican artist’s song, while Dreadfulla gave the crowd a taste of Burna Boy’s smash Ye.

DJ sets from DJ Bajie and Lex Lion and helped get the crowd in the mood for the live performances and DJ Paulie closed a great showcase of upcoming soca talent.

Desire’s carnival journey continues. Catch her on the road at Notting Hill Carnival this weekend with Infinite Mas.