Thus beginneth the fifth season of this here show. And where else should we begin than back home, in Slovenia, where Miha Guštin, a.k.a. Gušti is about to hit the big four-oh in his illustrious and wide-ranging career.

The tagline of Balkan Express is that the show is not about gusle and tamburice. However, it was precisely a tamburice orchestra where Gušti got his first taste in music, graduating swiftly to a mandoline orchestra. It was there where he got his first guitar at the tender age of 13. And since he's celebrating this fourteenth work anniversary, well, you do the math.

That being said, Gušti got his first real taste of fame and glory as a member of Big Foot Mama, a rock and roll sensation that was taking Slovenia by the storm in the 1990s. Gušti was the driving force behind the tunes, and by the time the band was working on their second album, he was pitching songs that were breaking the mold of garage rock and roll. Other band members were not really enthusing at first but when they did, they took the band to new heights.

In 2002, however, Gušti and BFM parted ways. As the band was probably at their peak, the naysayers were adamant that Gušti was done for. Well, they couldn't have been more wrong. His first project took him straight into electro-pop waters. Still as a songwriter and composer, he broke new ground collaborating with singer Polona Kasal.

In the mean time Gušti also branched out, sort of. He wrote one-off tracks for artists trying their luck at Eurovision as well as film and TV tunes. Specifically, the theme to the hit comedy series Naša Mala Klinika / Our Tiny Clinic (well, it was a hit in Slovenia, anyhow) and the critically acclaimed Nova Dvajseta/New Twenties

Eventually, however, Gušti was finally starting to add singer to his songwriter chops. The way he tells it, it was because he was finding it hard to convince others to sing his material. But if you think that he was finally starting to put his money where his mouth it, we won't stop you. Not in the least because the boy can sing. As witnessed by his recently released album Ljubezen Osvobaja / Love Will Set You Free.

Today it seems weird, to borrow a phrase, thinking that it took Gušti this long to step behind the microphone and do his thing. But such is life. Just becase he didn't do the frontman thing until now it doesn't mean he can't do it at all. And a lot of this will be on full display in about two week's time, when Gušti's throwing a big 40th anniversary concert in Slovenian capital Ljubljana. If you happen to be in the neighbourhood, pop over there. If not,

And that's all the time we have for today. Check out Gušti on YouTube, Spotify and wherever you get your music from and Balkan Express will be back next week.