Recently I connected with Salah Ananse and had a great conversation.
Salah Ananse founder of The Atl Weekender and lead-off DJ every year for House In the Park...
You're Atlanta's homegrown DJ and most of us are transplants. Since you were born and raised in Atlanta, tell us a little bit about the music scene when you were younger growing up in the Atl.
Salah: It was wild. You know Atlanta has always been a place where the black community has been doing well since I've been alive. So, that made it a great place for musicians to move to. Like you said, it's a transplant city. There was music all around me when I was growing up. I love being here. When I got into DJing, I was at Morehouse and Kai was already doing it and so was Ron Pullman. Both of them had been a big influence on me as well as Kemit and other people outside of Atlanta.
What was some of the music you were listening to as a young dude in Atlanta? What were the soundtracks of your life?
Salah: I was listening to everything really. House Music more so when I got to high school and college. Then before that, you know Soul and Hip Hop. I was a huge Hip Hop fan as well as Salsa. I listened to everything and I listened to whatever was around me.
Do you remember your first party and how the vibe was?
Salah: The first party I ever did was a house party. Me and a guy named DJ Doc did it. But then I used to do these parties called The Red Clay Parties. Red Clay parties were college parties but the collective that did Red Clay was so cool. It was Saul Williams and a few other poets. Red Clay parties were like a fundraiser for this magazine that they were doing so it was really cool.
Because you listen to so many different kinds of music man, we feel that when you DJ because you play different kinds of music. First of all, you do different types of parties which is really the bomb. The mere fact that you're able to keep people coming back is amazing because we never know what we're going to get. We can always count on getting something different. How come you're able to do that? What inspires you to keep us going?
Salah: Well, I think that's something that folks in Atlanta have created. We just keep pushing forward. Like what's next? We've never been people who just sat and waited. We like classics but we don't want to hear "nothing but classics". We want to hear something new. We want to know that things are progressing. I try to always incorporate that energy when I'm doing whatever I'm doing. Whether it's an open format party or whether it's a House Music party, I always try to play something new. If you don't actively search for it, you don't know what's out there. The DJ's job is not just to play what you know, it's to play what you don't know and expose you to new things. So, I feel like I'm not doing my job if I'm not exposing the audience to new things. Even if it's something classic that they don't know and I'm playing album cuts, even in the middle of a hot party, if it sounds good, I'm going to play it.
That's probably why Salah remains in high demand. He's done parties, festivals, corporate events, weddings, political rallies, and TV appearances as a DJ. Seems like he's everywhere. He's seen Atlanta and has a sense of what the people want.
Let's talk about the ATL Weekender and how did that come about?
Salah: Well, we had been doing House In The Park for a few years, and my wife Nina & had been traveling overseas to the Southport Weekender and checking that out. We also went to Mi Casa and another one that used to be in Puerto Rico called Candela. We'd gone to a bunch of different festivals that were aimed at our audience. I was like, "Yeah! We could do this in Atlanta and center it around House In The Park. Nina was on board.
Fortunately, people took to it. Really big shouts out to the folks in Chicago. Cheese and all of them, they came down for the first one. I really had some help from my boy Matt AKA DJ Kwest_on, also from Chicago. When I told him what we were doing, he came down for it and helped me out. We built something that you know, thank GOD, is ten years strong. It's going into the 11th year this year.
You do a lot of beautiful music. You've produced tracks that get us going and just have us singing. In my opinion, it bridges the gap between the generations. You play the music that my parents may sing to and we dance to it. And we may sing to it while the younger generation is dancing to it. It's different yet it's a wonderful and beautiful mix. What's your preference? Do you prefer to DJ or produce? What's your love?
Salah: Producing is my first love. But I don't know if I can choose now. Because I love that interaction between me as a DJ and the crowd. I don't know. I don't think I could choose. I'm an artist all the way around and a dancer. Being stuck in one and not being able to do not the other one would just drive me insane.
Because you've been in some festivals around the world, what are your expectations or your excitement about Charivari?
Salah: I honestly don't have any. I can't say 'cause all I know is what some people have told me. I know that it's going to be dope. I know that some of the people that I respect the most in the industry are always there. So yeah, I'm just looking forward to having some fun and communing with my people. Like I said, it's my first one and I know it's going to be crazy. I guess I do have expectations.
Salah Ananse, founder of The Atl Weekender and hosts monthly parties in Atlanta, Sunset City Groove, Meet Me Here, Come 2gether. Following Salah on Facebook and Instagram @Salah Ananse.
