Blk Jks - Abantu / Before Humans [CD]

Cat. no: GBCD108
Format: CD
Barcode: 4030433610824
Release Date: 21st May 2021
Genre: Rock

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), return with a groundbreaking new album.

Monster grooves meet guitar and brass driven afro-rock. Echoes of spiritual jazz, postapocalyptic funk, renegade dub and kwaito.

Features Malian guitarist Vieux Farka Tour and Beastie Boys accomplice Money Mark on the track “Maiga.”

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

“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

“A dark and brooding number that simmers and smoulders as it goes, fueled by a driving rhythm section and mournful horns.” - Brooklyn Vegan about single “Human Hearts” 

“BLK JKS, an awe-inspiring exemplar of modern Africa’s indigenous sound, make a victorious return after an extended hiatus … [They] create something unique on this album.” ***** Morning Star

Press/Online features and reviews confirmed with MOJO, Financial Times, The Line Of Best Fit, Electronic Sound Magazine, RNR, Morning Star, Stamp The Wax, musicOMH, Rhythm Passport, Monolith Cocktail, Northern Sky, hiapop blog,The Arts Desk Radio support from BBC World Service (interview and episode), BBC 6 Music (1h Freak Zone playlist); SOHO Radio, Worldwide FM, Resonance FM and many more 

The story of BLK JKS reads like a veritable rock’n’roll legend. For a couple of years around the end of the 00’s, the enigmatic South African rock quartet was the darling of the underground scene. Apparently “discovered” by Diplo in South Africa, they went on to meet and befriend everyone from The Mars Volta to TV On The Radio, two bands they were often compared to. They jammed with The Roots, snapped pics with Pharrell Williams and hung out with Lou Reed at the SXSW festival in Texas.

Their debut album “After Robots” went on to blow down the walls of rock’n’roll Jericho with its heady yet seamless mix of post-apocalyptic African funk rock, jazz, kwaito, folk, renegade dub, psych prog-rock, TV channel hopping, internet surfing,  baqanga, soul and pretty much everything else in between. Confidently pushing one golden envelope through another the band began captivating a cult following for their music worldwide.

In 2021 with “Abantu / Before Humans” this present has a fiercely retro-futuristic fresh moniker: Afropunk. These brothers just want to jam. To say BLK JKS poured gas on the fire down below or lit the flames that created the soundtrack for the nascent Afropunk movement in their home country of South Africa especially… would not be too far off the mark.

Tracks: Yela Oh ! / Running Asibaleki / Sheroes Theme / IQ(w)ira Machine Learning Vol 1. / Mme Kelapile / Harare / Human Hearts / Yoyo ! The Mandela Effect / Black Aurora Cusp Druids Ascending / Maiga Mali Mansa Musa / Mmao Wa Tseba Nare / Indaba My Children

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