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News
South Africa’s boundary bending BLK JKS thinking outside the box
Words Danna Hawley
Label them psych rock, or dub metal, or afro punk, but if there’s one thing you can’t call Johannesburg’s BLK JKS, it’s artless. And people need to already move on from thinking their recent Brandon Curtis-produced debut EP, ‘Mystery’, sounds like a South African version of TV On The Radio. They’re also not the ‘next big thing Diplo discovered’, just because he’s the link to their manager. BLK JKS are simply boundary shattering; anything but a fashion-based fad.
“It’s strange to see how our music is perceived,” says guitarist Mpumi Mcata. “Some people think it’s abstract and some are like, ‘Let’s put it in the Top 40!’ Creating music is a very introverted thing for the four of us - we try to open ourselves up to be honest about where we’re drawing the music from within ourselves. We know our songs were created in a special place and time, and we don’t mind how people talk about them because they are pure. They can’t be tainted if people say, ‘They sound like that band,’ or, ‘They sound terrible!’”
With seven years experience behind them already, BLK JKS are driven creatively by a desire to represent their background. “I suppose we come from a punk vibe,” continues Mcata. “We felt that kids in South Africa were like ghosts in terms of the rest of the world. We needed to stand up somehow and be counted.”
These days, kids in their home country, and across Europe and America, are singing along to their profound, experimental songs at kinetic shows. It seems they’re on the right path. The majors came knocking, but it was indie Secretly Canadian that secured their debut album, out this summer. “For the first time, everything fit,” says Mcata. “The label has a great soul to it - very humble.” Rather like the band itself.
