The Brother Moves On (TBMO) are one of the most diverse musical groups to come out of South Africa in the past few years and they are already making waves in Europe with their captivating stage presence, fascinating costumes and solid melodies.
The group was formed in 2008 and is made up of Nkululeko Mthembu (costuming, performance artist, visuals), Nkululeko Mthembu's older brother Siyabonga Mthembu aka Mr. Gold (storyteller, lead vocalist, performance artist), their first cousin Zelizwe Mthembu aka Makongela (vocalist, guitarist, flautist), Raytheon Moorvan/Raytheism (vocalist, guitarist, synthesizer), Ayanda Zalekile (vocalist, bassist, multi-instrumentalist), Simphiwe Tshabalala (vocalist, drummer) and Rob Scher on the saxophone.
TBMO began as a self-proclaimed art movement mainly of graphic and fine artists and now incorporates instrumentalists for the live performance environment.
The name The Brother Moves On is a grammatical misconfiguration of The Brother Mouzone, a fictional character in the American television drama series The Wire.
TBMO released their first musical offering, a 6 track EP titled ‘The Golden Wake’ in 2012. It was recorded for a live studio audience. The EP told a fictional tale of a young South African villager named Mr. Gold. The Golden Wake as a performed piece is a staging of a funeral for the character of Mr. Gold and audience members are invited to the wake of this funeral and throughout the performance are introduced to other characters from Mr. Gold's life.
Following the success of their first EP, the group recorded a second EP titled ‘E.T.A’ (expected time of arrival) which presents two radio singles as a preamble to the ETA tour and the recording of their debut album produced by Paulo Chibanga of 340ml.
Having recently signed to Gallo Music Publishing, TBMO are putting all their efforts and energy into the first studio album which is tipped to explode on the South African music scene.
Already boasting a throng of fans especially in Johannesburg, TBMO are poised to become the next big South African musical export.
