This year marks the 10th anniversary of the end of apartheid in South Africa.

When this is mentioned to Albert Mazibuko, a member of the South African vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, who will be performing at the Civic Theatre on Friday night, he immediately lets out a long, satisfied, ``Yeaaahhh.''

``It's good to see it in this way,'' he said from a tour stop in Las Vegas.

``Because I've seen it before how it was, and I can see it now. It's wonderful. It's a great feeling, although we still have a lot to do.... When I was a young man, I never dreamt it could be this way. It was something that you never even think about. ''

For more than three decades, the 10-man Ladysmith Black Mambazo (five basses, two tenors and two altos and one lead) has been performing the traditional a cappella music of their homeland, isicathamiya (Is-cot-a-ME-Ya).

The unique bass-heavy harmonies and trill, whistles and clicks were born in the South African mines. The men would leave their homes, travel by train to stay in bad housing and work six-day weeks. To lift their spirits, they would sing songs every Sunday morning and quietly perform dance steps.

``So, when they were there, they tried to sing the same music as it has been sung when they were home,'' Mazibuko said.

``But when they were there, they discovered that there are no high voices. The woman voices were missing and the girls, and some of the men -- they'd sing the high parts, so the music changed itself.''

In 1964, Mazibuko's cousin Joseph Shabalala put the group together after converting to Christianity and having a dream. Shabalala named the group Ladysmith Black Mambazo: ``Ladysmith'' for his rural hometown, ``Black'' for the strongest farm animal, the ox, and ``Mambazo'' for the Zulu word for ax.

During the '70s, the group recorded several albums and became stars in their home country, but it wasn't until 1984 that Paul Simon was given a tape of the group by a Los Angeles DJ and he fell in love with the sound.

Simon used the group for his landmark Graceland album, introducing Americans to the group and transforming the singers into worldwide cultural emissaries for South Africa.

Since then, the group has sold more than 6 million records worldwide; recorded and performed with other well-known folks, including Stevie Wonder, Dolly Parton and Paul McCartney; sung on several movie soundtracks; and provided the music for a series of Lifesavers candy commercials.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo also has performed at two Nobel Peace Prize ceremonies and sung for Britain's royal family and the pope.

The group's current tour is for its latest album, Raise Your Spirit Higher: Wenyukela. Most of the songsare sung in Zulu, but Mazibuko said the language isn't as important as the message.

``I think the music doesn't need interpretation, because I can listen to the English songs even though I don't know what it's saying or a good Chinese song,'' Mazibuko said.

``What we call our music is -- it's music from the blood to the blood. So it doesn't need to understand the words. But the message, you can get it.''

The group has changed some over the years and now includes some of Shabalala's sons. Mazibuko said it has added some new style steps to the traditional Zulu dancing, all of which will be on display during the group's high-energy show.

``In the live show, it's going to be a lot of dancing,'' Mazibuko said.

``It's going to be joyous music. If it's cold, it's going to make you very warm. It's going to be revival music and stimulation music. It's going to be a lot of singing in English and Zulu, so some of the song they won't understand the lyrics, but they'll appreciate the stories behind the songs. I can tell you, it's going to be a good, good show.''

If you miss Friday's show at the Civic, you can catch Ladysmith Black Mambazo on March 5 at the Cleveland Museum of Art.