



DJ Walshy Fire — one third of EDM outfit Major Lazer — made his Jamaican solo debut at Beach J’Ouvert at James Bond Beach in St Mary, last Saturday. Prior, Walshy Fire (given name Leighton Walsh) had performed in Kingston with his Major Lazer colleagues (Diplo and Jillionaire) and alongside the Black Chiney sound system.





The Florida-born DJ put in an impressive set which went down well with the Carnival crowd. "I’ve been playing solo at Trini Carnival for over a decade now. I didn’t have to change much because I already have a built-in audience from my time with Major Lazer, so it’s just a matter of mixing that style with the vibe," Walshy Fire told the Jamaica Observer.





The disc jock, who joined ‘Lazer’ in 2011, is the younger brother of former Jamaica and West Indies captain and fastbowler Courtney Walsh. Walshy Fire returns to the Major Lazer fold in June for the release of their Peace is The Mission album, which has a collaboration with soca star Machel Montano. "We are good friends and he was excited to be on the project," he said.





In addition to Montano, Jamaican acts Tarrus Riley, Chronixx, Mad Cobra, Jovi Rockwell, and former Brick and Lace member Nyla are included on the set. "As a fan of dancehall, the mission over the last five years is trying to search out for new Jamaican talent," he said. In January Walshy F





ire released Live for Today, a song with singers Kelissa and Keznamdi. Walshy Fire attributes his love for his music to his elder brother. "Back in the day, I used to listened his sound sytem tapes of like Killamanjaro. He was actually the one who got me into music and being a DJ," he said.