The Brother Moves On (TBMO) is one of South African most exciting performance art ensemble, based in Johannesburg, Gauteng.
The group was founded by broad-based artist Nkululeko Mthembu and his brother Siyabonga Mthembu. Beginning as a loose art collective including graphic and performance artists, TBMO is most widely recognised as a band fronted by Siyabonga Mthembu as lead vocalist, who deliver incendiary live shows. This core group is regularly joined by a shifting cohort of collaborators and members from various disciplines. With over six albums under their belt, their latest studio album, $/He Who Feeds You…Owns You, was released in 2022 under Shabaka’s Native Rebel Recordings.
The Brother Moves On is known for their multi-disciplinary live shows described as “tradition-trouncing trans-Atlantic
Afro-centric futuristically ancient fusion” in which core members and invited performers take on various roles combining story-telling, theatre, drawing, video installation and other experimental media. The current ensemble includes Siyabonga Mthembu, Zelizwe Mthembu, Ayanda Zalekile), Simphiwe Tshabalala, Mthunzi Mvubu (alto saxophone), Mohammed Dawjee (tenor saxophone).
