Mathew Tembo Bio.

Mathew Tembo is an award-winning Afro-Pop musician hailing from Zambia in Southern Africa. He is an important ambassador of Zambian music culture both in Zambia where he is from and abroad.

Tembo has toured and recorded all over the world. While touring in Europe, he produced hits including “Nelar” and “Kumalya Ndimu”, both from his second album “Save My Soul” a reggae album which was recorded 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 traditional instruments, at the 2008 Born and Bred Awards in Zambia.

Originally a reggae singer only, he began playing Afro-Pop when he had an eye-opening experience while touring Europe in 2004. When he was doing a presentation about the music he played then at the Rhythmic Conservatory in Copenhagen, Denmark, one of the professors from the conservatory asked him why he played reggae and not African music when he was from Africa. From that experience, a whole new world of musical possibilities came to life for him. On return home that same year, he began a self-taught exploration of traditional Zambian/African instruments such as the silimba (a home made marimba), which he made himself, kalimba (mbira/thumb piano), and kalumbu (a one-stringed instrument). Incorporating the use of these instruments into his original compositions, Mathew sings mostly in Chinsenga (language of Nsenga people) and Chichewa (music of the Chewa people) and weaves syncopation, repetition, polyrhythm and call-and-response into his music creating an enjoyable yet powerful style he calls Chachacha (redemption songs).

Mathew’s first musical experiences began in 1994 when he sung in a band called

Afro-Vision. He studied Music Education at Evelyn Hone College of Applied Arts and Commerce in Zambia majoring in classical piano and later studied Bachelors in Primary Education with a bias in Music at the University of Zambia. An active musician while in college, he played in popular reggae bands in Zambia, including the Bantu Roots, Waves Musical Youths, and Genesis and in his own band which later came to be called the Dark Black Band. Mathew then went on to study World Music Performance at the renowned School of Music at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL where he graduated in May 2013.

He has headlined at festivals such as the Millpond Music Festival in Bishop, CA, 2013, Umoja Festival in Pittsburgh, PA, the Accacia Festival in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,the Evanston Ethnic Arts Festival in Evanston, IL and the 3^rd Thursdays Arts Festival in Rochester, MN.

He has shared stages with big acts such as the legendary Oliver Mtukuzi of Zimbabwe, Mulatu Astatke and Mohammed Ahmed both of Ethiopia, 3MA, the Reggae legend Michael Rose, Stephen Marley, Pato Banton, the Skatalites, Tosh 1, Third World and

Dr Kenneth Kaunda, the first president of Zambia. His influences include Thomas Mapfumo and Burning Spear. The 2009 Songlines review by Martin Sinnock referred to him as a worthy successor of both the reggae superstar Lucky Dube and the creator of Chimurenga music Thomas Mapfumo.

www.mathewtembo.com

Make Love Band

Make Love is a reggae band based in Pittsburgh, Pa. Some of the members of the group have been performing all over the world for over two decades either as solo artists or with other ensembles. Their brand of reggae usually sung in English, Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia, and Chinsenga, Chibemba, Chinyanja and Chichewa, all Zambian local languages but also spoken in the neighboring Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, makes use of some Ethiopian and Zambian music elements such as syncopation, polyphony and call and response. Reggae Le Salam, the group’s fourth album recorded in the Netherlands, Malawi, Zambia and Ethiopia, features Fikru Serawit, one of Ethiopia’s finest in Ethio-Reggae. The lead singer Mateyo is from Zambia and has been recording and touring for over twenty years.

Mateyo, was born in Zambia although he has recently been spending quite sometime in Ethiopia, which he refers to as his second home. He started music as a singer in the 1990s after he graduated from high school but was also a well known keyboards player as he played keys in other reggae bands before his career as a solo artist took shape.

Serawit Fikru was born in the 80s in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His music career began when he was in elementary school, mostly singing music of the legendary Muhamud Ahmed’ from Ethiopia. After Fikru graduated high school, he went to study Ethiopian traditional music and Jazz at Tafari Makonen Jazz School in Addis Ababa majoring in alto saxophone.

During his time at Tafari Makonen, Fikru developed an interest in Reggae mostly because of the peaceful messages ‘preached’ in the music. He developed his own style of reggae, a fusion of reggae, jazz and Ethiopian traditional music. He is also a music educator teaching ensembles of youths at Siddartha Center in Addis Ababa.

The group, Make Love, has produced hit songs such as Reggae Le Salam, Awelela Mabunu and Mkazi wa M’Zambia. The title track of the album, Reggae Le Salam, sung in Amharic and Chinsenga is a cry for peace in the world. Although some critics might argue that peace has been sung too many times already, the group believes that there is still a need to sing about peace and love because there is still a lot of fussing and fighting going on in the world today. Make Love believes that the solution to all the fighting is love.

So, no more war.

Make Love

Bantu Roots Band

Bantu Roots is the best Reggae band to come from Zambia in Southern Africa. Their new CD  Mosi-O-Tunya is to be released early 2015. They emerged on the Zambian music scene in the 1990s with hits such as Spiritual War and Ujama Reggae from their debut album Spiritual War. Hypnotic bass lines are backbones of their reggae accompanied with hard hitting lyrics of peace, love and equal rights for all humanity.

Nzimbo Music International is the official booking agency for Mathew Tembo and the Afro Routes Band, Make Love Band and Bantu Roots. If you are looking for great Afropop/Reggae bands for your event, contact us at: nzimbo@nzimbomusicinternational.com, Phone: +1 412 979 2381, +1 412 979 2391.

Nzimbo is a Nsenga word for song. Nsenga is one of the languages spoken in Southern Africa. Nzimbo Music International is aimed at promoting, preserving and sharing African music and musics that have their roots in Africa with other music cultures of the world.