Soulstar bares his soul to get back on track…
Uses experience of loss for title of new 13-track album
SOULSTAR is back to producing his best beats after going through a tough time in his life.
After losing his mother and best friend two years ago, he found himself in a bad space where he couldn’t even write songs.
“I went through a rough patch and wasn’t inspired to write music. That’s where the title of the album comes from, Back II Soul Experience – finally after a long time I started writing again,” says the 42-year-old, whose real name is Velaphi Mthimkulu.
The album is based on his real life experiences.
“It’s a 13-track album I worked on and it mostly talks about love. I wrote track 9, Bambelela, as a letter of motivation to myself…
“I worked with DJ Fortee, Heavy K, Black Motion, Mampintsha, Cuebur and Afrikan Roots on the album.”
Last year, the musician released a five-track dance/ house Extended Play (EP) recording, Back II Soul, and did a few features with African Roots and Heavy K.
He previously released two EPs in 2011 and a self-titled album in 2005.
“I didn’t write again until I managed to put this album together. It’s written from a truthful place and I put my soul into it so I hope people will feel what I felt when I wrote it.”
Mthimkulu is also a producer and sound engineer. He chooses to refer to himself musically as Soulstar because he is a big fan of American singer Musiq Soulchild.
Soulstar is also the name of the international artist’s third album.
He hopes people who buy the album will allow it to help them get through their own troubles.
“Whether they are in a good or bad space, I just hope people will get to hear what I felt and the issues that I deal with.
“It’s also there to help them in other ways and celebrate life as there are some upbeat songs on the album too.”
He says his top three numbers on the album are Bambelela, Take Me Home, featuring Black Motion, and Mtanabantu, featuring Heavy K.
“But the whole album is good. They should buy it and enjoy it,” he says.
He will be going on a national album tour and focusing on taking his music to people in remote areas where access to the digital space is limited and people still buy physical copies.
“Later in the year, I will be doing collaborations with other artists and, of course, writing more music. But for now, we are pushing the album.”