It's that time of year when crowds swarm the streets, bass thunders beneath pavements and hands sticky with jerk chicken punch the air in salute to that landmark of British Summer: Carnival!

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The Red Bull Music Academy 2013 Carnival Series kicks off in Bristol for St. Pauls Carnival on 6th July. After last year’s hiatus, the event is back with a vengeance for jam-packed celebration of Afro-Carribean music with some heritage bass-heavy vibes. Returning with the Red Bull Music Academy Sound System, expect to see the freshest local talent, musical legends and all time Carnival heroes share the stage, setting the tone for the series ahead which includes appearances at Nottingham Carnival on 17th August, and the now legendary party under the Westway at Notting Hill Carnival on Bank Holiday Monday 26th August.

Spearheading the line-up, Bristolian DJ Milo rewinds to his halcyon days with The Wild Bunch: arguably the most legendary local Sound System whose latterday mutation spawned Massive Attack. Coming back to play St. Pauls Carnival for the first time in over twenty years, DJ Milo drops his current moniker of DJ Nature for an exclusive Milo set. Also making a welcome return, Redlight brings his unique blend of breakbeats, drum’n’bass and house for a session to top his floor-thumping appearance two years ago, expect a set firing it from all cylinders.

Bringing to life the ethos of championing emerging talent through new opportunities, the Red Bull Music Academy Sound System welcomes 2013 Academy participant T. Williams, coming from a different angle with his unrivalled style combining heavy house with influences from hip hop to grime. Beyond St. Pauls, Williams will be bearing the fruits of his recent stint at the Academy in New York at all three Carnival events (full line-ups for Nottingham and Notting Hill to be announced very soon). Also joining fresh from the Academy is Throwing Snow who will return to St. Pauls Carnival, somewhere he has been many a time but this year he will perform and play something very special on the day, this is Carnival after all!

They’re all joined by St. Pauls native Buggsy, the fast-rising MC who’s talent for quick-fire rhymes has catapulted him to status of local hero and beyond. It’s not just fitting to have him rep at St. Pauls, it simply would not be Carnival without him. Another cherrypick from the overflowing pool of local talent is OH91, whose musical path echoes Buggsy’s with both artists having recently laid down tracks as part of Red Bull Studios presents Soft Rockets. Completing this year’s bill, local duo Jus Now unleash their spirited fusion of Trinidadian Soca rhythms with the sub heavy sound of the UK underground, together representing a truly eclectic celebration of bass music from past, present, and the ever-changing future.

And as ever, they’ll be a few guests dropping in to shake things up on the day, promising an almighty stir! 

St. Pauls Carnival, St. Pauls Park, Bristol Saturday 6th July 2013.