Tembo is a playful drum machine that thinks it’s a checkerboard

Checkers? Go? | Image: Alon Daniel / Musical Beings

Tembo looks like a toy, but one of those bougie wooden toys you get on Crate & Kids, not some cheap plastic garbage. Despite its appearance, it is a fully functional drum machine and sampler. Rather than a bunch of buttons and a screen, you build beats on Tembo by placing what are essentially wooden checkers on a board. The point is to be approachable to would-be music makers of any age or skill level.

The core of Tembo is a pretty straightforward five-track step sequencer.