Thokozani Mhlambi

Thokozani Mhlambi (Phd Music) is the NRF Postdoctoral Fellow in Innovation, at the Archive & Public Culture Research Initiative at the University of Cape Town. He is a winner of the African Studies Prize at the same university. Mhlambi theorizes the sound archive, and also has an interest in using archival insights in creating artist work. This he does in cello and voice compositions. He plays the baroque cello, with gut strings, and integrates that with an African aesthetic, creating a sound that is unique. Part of Mhlambi’s theoretical concern is in thinking beyond the colonial sound archive, in imagining an African sonic past. He has performed in Brazil, New York, Botswana, Finland, and Canada. He has been a guest lecturer in Music at the University of Marinhao (Brazil) and the University of Jyvaskyla (Finland), where he showcased indigenous music traditions of southern Africa.

As of May 2019