Mathew Tembo

Dr Mathew Tembo’s journey in scholarship began in 1995 when he went to study Music Education at Evelyn Hone College of Applied Arts and Commerce in Zambia majoring in classical piano and later studied for a Bachelor’s in Primary Education with a bias in Music at the University of Zambia. Dr Tembo then went on to study for his master’s in Music Performance at the renowned School of Music at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, USA where he graduated in May 2013. On 18 December 2024, he graduated with a PhD in Ethnomusicology with a focus on Zed Beats from the University of Pittsburgh, PA.

He is also an award-winning Afropop performer. While touring in Europe, he produced hits including “Nela” and “Kumalya Ndimu”, both from his second album Save My Soul a reggae album that was recorded in Groningen in the Netherlands in 2001. He was awarded best Afro-fusion for the song “Nandunge” from the album, Anthem, his first album to feature Zambian indigenous musical instruments, at the 2008 Born and Bred Awards in Zambia. Originally a reggae singer only, he began playing Afropop and then expanded his musical interests further.

He began a self-taught exploration of indigenous Zambian musical instruments including the silimba (a hand-made marimba), which he made himself, kalimba (mbira), and kalumbu (a one-stringed instrument). Incorporating the use of Zambian indigenous musical elements performed on these instruments, and reggae and jazz influences into his original compositions, Mathew sings mostly in Chinsenga (the language of Nsenga people) and Chichewa (the language of the Chewa people) and English. He weaves syncopation, repetition, polyrhythm, and call-and-answer to create his unique style.