Submitted by Michael E. Williams
To say rock n roll is a vicious game is under statement when it comes to Anslem Douglas, composer of the biggest selling single of the last decade,” Who let the dogs out”. On the eve of his latest release, “Project A.D.”, we talk about his life in music and where it began.
MW: When did the music hit you, in Trinidad?
A.D.: Yes in Trinidad. I was in kindergarten and I was asked to sing a duet with a girl, “Under the blue bridge, under the sea”. When it was my turn I ran off stage.
MW: What was it about music that captured you?
AD: I remember from a little boy growing up I was exposed to local artists like Sparrow, Kitchner and Mighty Duke. So being exposed to so much different music I would always try to mimic them. I would tell my mom, “Look! I can sing just like the Mighty Sparrow” and I would slide across the varnished floor like James Brown. Those things stuck with me! My mother ran a school where she had a drama program. They put on concerts every summer. Most of my teenage life I spent singing, in church and on stage.
MW: When did you start to record?
AD: My first recording, “The Neighbor”, was with a band called Firefly. I wrote the song. Shortly after that Kenny Phillip, a local producer, heard it and wanted me to voice a medley of Carnival hits of the day and that was really the beginning. From there I got a contact with the band Atlantik, the biggest band in Trinidad at the time.
