BLK JKS are a seminal force in the South African underground. After an extended hiatus the Johannesburg foursome, championed by The Mars Volta and TV On The Radio (amongst many others) finally re-enter the musical fray with their first full length album in 12 years, “Abantu / Before Humans”. Monster grooves meet guitar and brass driven afro-rock. Echoes of spiritual jazz, post-apocalyptic funk, renegade dub and kwaito.

This is a sound that time-travels between the mystical, haunted and spiritual; an eclectic fanfare of psychogeography, prayer and protestation, from a wizened band that limbers to a soundtrack of soulful punk, rock-reggae, South African musical styles and beyond. It’s Bad Brains meets Sun Ra and Funkadelic on a millennia historiography tour, from the soil upwards, of Africa.

Ten years after their genre-traversing, trailblazing, award-winning debut “After Robots”, they are still regarded by many in the know as one of the most underr...

BLK JKS are a seminal force in the South African underground. After an extended hiatus the Johannesburg foursome, championed by The Mars Volta and TV On The Radio (amongst many others) finally re-enter the musical fray with their first full length album in 12 years, “Abantu / Before Humans”. Monster grooves meet guitar and brass driven afro-rock. Echoes of spiritual jazz, post-apocalyptic funk, renegade dub and kwaito.

This is a sound that time-travels between the mystical, haunted and spiritual; an eclectic fanfare of psychogeography, prayer and protestation, from a wizened band that limbers to a soundtrack of soulful punk, rock-reggae, South African musical styles and beyond. It’s Bad Brains meets Sun Ra and Funkadelic on a millennia historiography tour, from the soil upwards, of Africa.

Ten years after their genre-traversing, trailblazing, award-winning debut “After Robots”, they are still regarded by many in the know as one of the most underrated and best live bands in Africa today. Alongside once being dubbed “Africa’s Best New Band” by Rolling Stone Magazine International, drummer Tshepang Ramoba was named best musician at SXSW by Billboard Magazine.

“This South African art-rock band traffics in complexity, cross-hatching not only rhythms and textures but also the signifiers of genre” - Nate Chinen (New York Times)

“It’s a sonic roller coaster ride as tracks melt into each other, genres cease to make sense, rock guitars vie with free-jazz trumpet and where funk and hip-hop bleed into rock’n’roll. It’s almost as if Radiohead, Hugh Masekela, Funkadelic and Public Enemy decided to have a jam session. Impossible to categorise, BLK JKS occupy a unique space of their own making.” **** RNR

“A prequel to 2009’s amazing After Robots … What occurs when you listen to Abantu is that it is an Old Testament support to After Robots – where that album prophesied Afropunk, this album suggests the roots to that moment, an engrossing journey of Afrobeat, fuzzy yet hugely suggestive drone and psych textures, and a bristling sense of both pride and critique that sings through.” The Wire

“… Spectacular: the coming together of past, present and futurist Afro-diaspora sounds, to explore their homeland’s cultural legacy … An exhilarating, energised return.” **** Mojo
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