Trust in his gift is at the root Guiding Star, the latest album from South Africa’s Vusi Mahlasela. One of the hardest things to learn as a musician is when to not only recognize inspiration, but when to trust and follow it. This is exactly what Vusia Mahlasela has done with Guiding Star. Over his amazing musically and socially consequential career, Vusi Mahlasela is a singer-songwriter, poet and activist successfully following his muse. Mahlasela wrote and recorded this album as he toured the globe. Its soul-stirring title is very much a product of the new friends he’s met and experiences he’s had touring. Bearing the influences of various music and voices from throughout the world, Guding Star features guest appearances from friend Dave Matthews (’Sower of Words’), band leader and Allman Brothers guitarist Derek Trucks (’Tibidi Waka’), Australian didgeridoo star Xavier Rudd (’Chamber of Justice’), singer-songwriter Jem (’Everytime’) and longtime friends and touring mates Ladysmith Black Mambazo (’Heaven In My Heart’). Mahlasela also drew on the talents of numerous South African guests, including the legendary ‘Black Moses’ Ngwenya of the Soul Brothers, the children’s choir from the Agnes Chidi School in his home Township, Mamelodi and the KCC Gospel, among many others.
