kagablog

Ours is a continent infused with magic and lore, there is an ancience to Africa that many have forgotten in their daily travels through spacetime and shopping malls. BLK JKS are effortlessly tapped into this knowledge. Stripping away the veneer of contemporaneity, with its capitalist prejudice and digital obsessions, the JKS make a music that straddles time as it does influence and culture - their heart is thumpingly South African, but their reach is everywhere. It’s as easy to imagine them reverently abiding the words of legendary sangoma Credo Mutwa; as being awed by a particularly intergalactic Eddie Hazel guitar solo; or admiring a devious percussive experiment by Aphex Twin.

BLK JKS wear mystery like a casual tee. They seem to permanently reside in that dusk time-zone where familiar objects are cast in a nebulic glow - transformed into Other. I ask co-founder and axe-slinger Mpumi Mcata whether the mysterious informs their experience of reality: “We come from Africa sir, the Mystical are always amongst us; some people say angels we say ancestors - these energies are everywhere - what an amazing thing…to be floating in out of space_we hope our music/After Robots in some way allows people to drop the distractions and just revel in the wonder of being - it’s the drug of all drugs; to be connected.”

While the media has latched onto the ‘Black guys playing Rock?’ surprise (tellingly omitting the likes of Fishbone and Living Colour - and, for that matter, the entirety of Funk - from memory), and reach for the most exciting blurb to box their ridiculously anticipated ‘After Robots’, BLK JKS’ music speaks for itself, and often in tongues.
Mpumi monosyllabically asserts BLK JKS’ attitude to all this, “‘After Robots’ rides/battles a rather tall wave of hype that’s been building since the Mystery EP, do you embrace this expectation?”, Mpumi: “No.”

The last year has been quite a ride, culminating in their full-length debut recorded in Jimi-drenched Electric Lady Studios NYC. The JKS had been making ripples abroad even before droppin their virally popular Mystery EP in March. The unexpected darlings of all the right music and culture zines, their waves have swollen to such dimensions that ‘After Robots’ clocked in a 78 on Metacritic, with glowing reviews from the likes of The Onion (A.V Club); Spin magazine and PopMatters - a significant splash for any outfit.

Mpumi was kind enough to exchange binary code with us, from the midst of the American leg of their ‘After Robots’ tour:

*Your songs often enter a kind of trance/invocational feel - is performing a spiritual sensation for you?
“Yes.”

*You guys seem to fit seamlessly into the Chimurenga fold (PASS etc.), do you enjoy their myriad endeavours?
“Indeed, those guys are amazing - Forwarding the Agenda…we’re totally into them_phambili ngo Mzabalazo!!!! - lots of good work being done by South African peoples right now, it’s so refreshing that after just over 10 yrs of “democracy” and “freedom” we’re coming into our own; not so much corporate cock blocking anymore - although it’s not all roses - we’re really getting over the crab-in-bucket stuff and holding each other up.”

*I-Pod or tape-deck?
“Record Player (Vinyl Deck)”

*What music/artists have been making you guys smile or nod-in-rhythm in the last coupla months?
“Well plenty - Mastadon… and we like Righard Kapp’s new album [’Strung like a compound eye’]; always swim back to Bheki Mseleku’s ‘Celebration’, and things like Baaba Maal and the Brazilian Girls’ get-together on his new album ‘Television’ etc.”

*It’s been something of a whirlwind since you guys hooked up with Diplo Stateside last year - what have been some highlights of your international adventures?
“Being on a bill that read Squarepusher and BLK JKS at South Bank in London, I mean when we saw that poster/////// it was a super gig, we played after him, we were the only acts and he brought a huge rig with Pink Floyd-style light and then struck it down when he was done and all that was left was three amps and a drumkit - a little bit of Wow!”

‘After Robots’ is happening all around you - it’s time to get onto the train, destination? BEYOND

[originally published in Muse magazine]