Sound Talks With…The Brother Moves On

When we knew that The Brother Moves On were coming to town we were sure we had to see them live. To explain what it is to see them performing live is something that cannot simply be done with words. It is a whole powerful multisensorial experience that has to be lived to be understood. I guess my South American roots, my devotion to shamanism in all its forms and the infinite love I have always had for meaningful music, helped me live the concert in a special way, maybe quite different from the rest of the public there. Due to technical reasons and algorithms taking decisions they shouldn’t, this interview wasn’t done on site but remotely as a result. Enjoy this ride into the realms of music that matters…

What is the thing that influenced you the most to make you decide for the first time to make music sound different from the so-called standard? Was it a conscious decision or it came naturally?

I think a political philosophy of the othered needs to remove the idea that Western Europe sets the standard or the norm. So, our Black Consciousness philosophy influenced by the Black Conscious Movement is central, it is our conscious decision to make from our center. Also related to this is the question that if human life originated from Southern Africa then shouldn’t a so-called standard, if required, emanate from the source?

Where do you think ideas for experimental arts come from, from inside (the mind and the soul), from the outside (the world surrounding us) or a combination of both?

Neither. The mind-soul dialectic is a sad bi-product of the Western European notion of existence and the cosmos, thus the need to add a third option of “combination of both” as a lazy means of not attributing this to the hereafter also. Art in my culture is not simply linked with ideas and notions of minds and souls or an inside and outside. As a cathartic and healing process, art is about connection and community and can never take the isolated individual/genius as a necessary actor. In art we are vessels to the connection that our cosmos presents in our ancestral lineage, so ours is not an experimental art but a means to affirm our lineage in the past, present and future.

What types of sounds do you prefer: organic, electronic or both?

Once again it’s the Western dialectic at play as all sounds point to the organic but not counterposed to the “electronic”. The electronic is part of the sphere of the organic as we are all pointing and referencing the power of the creator in creating.

What’s the craziest song you have ever listened to?

Not sure about crazy but I’m a big fan of the vocal dynamics that Animal Collective infer.

We were in your concert in Sofia, Bulgaria and our minds were blown away by the environment you create with your sounds. You guys took us (and the rest of the public) into a trance-like state and this is something few bands are capable of. Have you ever thought of combining your music with a theater-like set up on stage or maybe collaborating with audiovisual artists for a more immersive and complex experience?

Our shows tend to sway to the immersive then back to the sound. So this complex experience you speak of is the essence of our existence. But of course capital is central to such being a standard and EU/European venues at the moment do not have the pocket for our full show.

What are your plans for the future in terms of production and creation? (Any new albums, EPs or tours coming in the near future?)

We’ve just released two albums in two years. Tolika Mtoliki on Matsuli Records was an ode to our lineage and S/he Who Feeds You Owns You on Shabaka HutchingsNative Rebels Recordings was our sophomore record after our independent debut A New Myth. I think this year we will be focusing on touring these two albums and later in the year start the writing process of our new album. So focus this year is on solo albums with our saxophonist Mthunzi Mvubu having released his debut The 1st Gospel in November 2022.


What do you think should be the role of experimental and meaningful music (and musicians) in the development of the human race and the creation of a better world?

Music is the oldest healing vessel and should be freely available and accessible to the community at large. The commercialization of the form should not hinder this vital communal utility.

If through science or any other method we manage to prove the existence of a creator, god or great designer of the universe and you guys were chosen to play the background sounds for the first encounter with it, which song (yours or any other artist’s work) would you use for such an event?

In my culture that’s what we do everyday: To prove the existence of the hereafter through the now thus the music we make (all of it) is for this purpose.

Here some of our favorite songs by The Brother Moves On:


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