Music of the Mountains: Selasee and the Fafa Family Part 2 of 2 with Selasee Atiase

Send us Fan MailSelasee Atiase was born and raised in Accra, Ghana. His upbringing was Christian, so he attended church every Sunday. On one particular Sunday, he heard someone playing guitar at the church, and something clicked for him. The melodies this musician played and the way they made Atiase feel inspired him to pick up the guitar, and by the age of twelve or thirteen, he had started performing his own compositions at church. He started studying in the School for Performing Arts at the University of Ghana, played with a local band, and continued performing and writing music however he could.In 1998, a church group in which Atiase was involved hosted a worldwide seminar, and his band performed for those in attendance. The band was invited to perform in Minneapolis, where the members stayed for two weeks and hosted workshops in schools. Atiase returned to Ghana shortly after and graduated from the University of Ghana in 1999. He moved back and forth between Ghana and the United States until 2001. The fallout from the September 11th attacks made it harder to travel outside of the country, and Atiase ended up settling permanently.After emigrating to the United States, he pursued a solo music career, and in 2005, under the management of Sean Cassidy and signed to Running Dreams Records, he released his debut album Run. The title track earned first place in the world music genre and second place in the people’s choice category at the International Song Writers Competition, that same song was included in the soundtrack of the EA Sports video game FIFA Soccer 06, and another song of his, “Makuma,” was included in the soundtrack for EA’s Cricket 07 (this song has not been officially released as of this writing). Selasee has since released two more albums, African Gate and Time for Peace, and the single “Count on Me” with David Hinojosa, and he is currently working on his fourth album, which will emphasize his current project Selasee and the Fafa Family.Our theme song is courtesy of singer-songwriter Brittney Wagner. Stream her record Better off Dead here. Support the showThank you for listening to The Mountain-Ear Podcast, featuring news and culture from peak to peak! Additional pages are linked below.If you want to be involved in the podcast or paper, contact:Barbara Hardt, our editor-in-chief, at [email protected] Hickman, multimedia producer, at [email protected] Lammers, podcast host, at [email protected] inquiries: [email protected] to our website for all of the latest news. Subscribe to The Mountain-Ear in print and online.Submit local events to promote them in the paper and on our website.Find us on Facebook @mtnear and Instagram @mtn.earListen and watch on YouTube today.Share this podcast by scrolling to the bottom of our website home page or by heading to our main hub on Buzzsprout.Thank you for listening!