Bulawayo producer scores Netflix feature on Temptation Island

THE global streaming stage has been given a taste of Bulawayo’s creative brilliance, as local music producer and composer Cosmos Themba Nkomo, professionally known as Cosmos Roinuj, has broken into the international sync market with a placement on Netflix.

The achievement comes as the second season of the hit dating series Temptation Island premiered last Friday, featuring Roinuj’s track Us Trust, in Episode 205.

Hosted by American television personality Mark L Walberg, Temptation Island follows four couples at a crossroads, who travel to a tropical paradise to test the strength of their relationships. Amid the emotional tension and unfolding drama, Roinuj’s composition provides a subtle sonic layer to the show’s most intimate moments. In an exclusive interview, Roinuj described Us Trust as an ambient, minimal-tension piece designed to reflect the fragility of human connection, aligning closely with the show’s central theme of tested relationships.

“The meaning behind the title is that love is easy, but trust is what gets tested and in that moment, you realise more about yourself and your partner. There is now ‘us’ without ‘trust’ and vice versa,” Roinuj said.

He said the intention was not to dominate the scene, but to subtly shape the emotional atmosphere of the viewing experience.

“I focused on creating something minimal and atmospheric. I didn’t want the music to take away the spotlight from the dialogue, but I wanted it to exist without the audience even knowing it’s there until they consciously decide to listen to it,” he said.

Securing a placement on a global platform like Netflix was the result of deliberate preparation rather than chance, with Roinuj revealing that the opportunity followed a year-long study of the series.

“It’s an exciting moment for me because just last year, I locked in on one of the seasons of the show just to study how music shapes the show’s experience. Literally, a year later, I got an email saying the show used my song!”

The breakthrough came through a sync brief with Atrium Music. Having already analysed the show’s emotional structure, Roinuj crafted a composition tailored to its psychological tone. “Temptation Island is built around real human emotions and that creates space for intentional storytelling. As a composer, those are the moments I’m always looking for, where I can make a viewer feel something without telling them how to feel it. Just the fact that there’s a note playing is enough for them to open themselves up to a journey that allows them to feel,” he said.

While the Netflix placement marks a major international milestone, Cosmos Roinuj is no stranger to high-level creative collaboration within Zimbabwe. A holder of a BSc (Hons) in Music Business, Musicology and Technology, his work sits at the intersection of cinema and sound, with a growing portfolio across animation, fashion film and music production.

Locally, he is known for his collaboration with animator Wayne “Left Hand Animation” Ndebele. The duo premiered the web-toon animated series Lost in Translation at the Alliance Française de Bulawayo in 2024.

His portfolio also includes collaborations with Fish F Ndaramu, Big Zulu and the award-winning fashion film, I Wear My Culture ZW.

As Us Trust continues its global journey on digital platforms, Roinuj is already looking ahead, developing a new project titled “UNSAID” as he deepens his exploration of emotions often left unspoken. — @MbuleloMpofu