Vusi Mahlasela doesn’t sound like I expect him to when he greets me over the phone. His voice sounds nothing like the lilting, weaving instrument that leads Zulu music legends Ladysmith Black Mambazo through a series of “whoop” and “yeeeee” noises on the song “Heaven In My Heart,” nor does it bear the smoke-rounded, South African timbre that mingles with that of Dave Matthews on “Sower of Words,” both tracks from Mahlasela’s new album, Guiding Star.
Instead, Vusi Mahlasela sounds tired, his voice thin without the rhythmic support that seems so integral to his power as a musician. It is roughly 10:30am in Charlottesville, which makes it 4:30pm in Mamelodi—a town east of the South African capital of Pretoria, named “Mother of Melodies.”
 Sowing words: South African folk master Vusi Mahlasela plants the seed of song at Starr Hill on Sunday. |
“There are a lot of interviews. I woke up at 3 o’clock this morning to record National Public Radio’s ‘Morning Edition,’” Mahlasela says. “It’s been really hectic.”
| Listen to Thula Mama by Vusi Mahlasela: |
Before ATO Records released The Voice in 2003—a collection of Mahlasela’s work, the first to be released in America—life was hectic enough. Born in South Africa in 1965, Vusi has lived nearly all of his life in Mamelodi and released albums with regularity since 1991’s When You Come Back. But, thanks to the efforts of Matthews and Charlottesville-based ATO Records, Mahlasela is developing an international audience through larger distribution deals and more demanding tour schedules, including a 2003 performance at the Kennedy Center and a March 2007 gig in San Francisco for Nelson Mandela’s 46664 Foundation, an HIV awareness group. Mahlasela also performed at Mandela’s 1994 inauguration ceremony.
“Some [media sources] come to film me at my home, and then I have to take them around through the streets of Mamelodi, and also to the Vusi Mahlasela Foundation [a music resource center in Pretoria],” Mahlasela explains. “At night, when I’m home, I get calls from the States to do interviews.”
But Mahlasela acknowledges that the exhaustive press attention is proof not only of his album’s momentum, but also proof that “people want to know what Vusi is doing right now.” Many of those people—including ATO recording artist Jem and Allman Brothers guitarist Derek Trucks—contribute to Guiding Star, an album “recorded and produced on farms, in lounges and other places,” often to accommodate artists that lived a good deal from South Africa. The effort won Mahlasela the award for Best Solo Male Artist at the annual South African Music Awards; Guiding Star, nominated for an additional four awards including Album of the Year, also won an award for Best Engineer (Lloyd Ross, who directed the international recording efforts).
Less than three weeks after the SAMAs and Mahlasela is preparing to head to America for six performances, including a May 12 performance at Jamestown followed by a May 13 performance at Starr Hill Music Hall, before heading to engagements in France and Spain. Until recently, Mahlasela has performed solo during most tours.
“This time, it will be different. Vusi will be here with a four-piece band. Really great to play with guys that are learning the music every day,” Mahlasela says, and now his voice gathers a bit of that revolutionary smoke, compelling but not overbearing. “The shows differ from venue to venue—we’ll change sets, try something new.”
And trying something new can be exhausting. Mahlasela has never been to Charlottesville, and, despite the fomentation of his status as “legend,” is a relative newcomer to a reasonably young American record label. The time hits 5pm in Mamelodi—Mahlasela has been awake and working for 14 hours now—but his voice grows stronger as he speaks of his upcoming tour and his record’s global impact.
“It gives me a good feeling to see people really noticing and listening to the music,” Mahlasela says firmly, leaving me with a bit of cryptic poetry: “It gives me
more wings.”
Vusi Mahlasela performs Sunday, May 13, at Starr Hill Music Hall at 7:30pm. Tickets are $15-17; in celebration of Mother’s Day, all mothers accompanying a paying ticketholder will be admitted free of charge.
