BLK JKS

BACK IN BLK!!!

2009-07-16T16:40:00.002+02:00

HELLO JOZI

THE GENTS ARE BACK FROM BABYLON

JAMMING UP HOUSE NTSAKO TOMORROW NIGHT FRIDAY

BRIXTON HIGH STREET ACROSS FROM ABSA

JHB / PLACE 2 B / MOVE YOUR ARMS KINDA FREELY

EASY TO IMAGINE

2009-06-22T15:09:00.002+02:00

Tshepang and Molefi BLK JKS with Vieux Farka Touré and co. Photo via Will You Miss Me When Im Gone?

"The African double bill at the Highline Ballroom on Saturday was a night of triplets, scampering, chattering and barreling ahead in ways that could be dizzying. Vieux Farka Touré, a bandleader from Mali, and Blk Jks, a band from South Africa, arrive at their music from different directions: Mr. Touré by personalizing an inherited tradition, Blk Jks by global mix-and-match. But both play rock with rapid inner workings. Even songs with slower superstructures were bustling in triple time just under the surface...

...Blk Jks are less indebted [than Touré] to tradition. They sometimes hint at the bounce of South African pop, and like other African bands they sing (mostly in English) about social and philosophical questions. Yet just as often they turn westward: to Jamaica for the propulsion of ska and the echoes and spaces of dub reggae, to the Police for a blend of snickering staccato rhythms and gauzy guitar reverb, to psychedelia and progressive rock for shifty structures and bluesy guitar lines that wander far afield. Their songs often alternate between contrasting sections, with sudden shifts in tempo and meter that confounded would-be dancers. It’s as easy to imagine Blk Jks on a bill with the Mars Volta or a jam band as with fellow African bands.

But they easily had enough in common with Mr. Touré’s music to join him and his band for the set’s finale, “Sarama,” a song from “Fondo” that grew into galloping modal funk, with the Blk Jks guitarist Lindani Buthelezi answering Mr. Touré’s Malian curlicues with blues-rock leads by way of Jimi Hendrix. It was African electric rock, unconcerned with boundaries."

Jon Pareles, NY Times

WHERE IS THIS PLACE

2009-06-20T13:11:00.001+02:00

BROS

2009-06-18T11:18:00.000+02:00

HAPPY BORN DAY BLK JKS!!!

2009-06-16T05:36:00.000+02:00

BEEN JAMMIN THIS!!!

2009-06-15T13:14:00.001+02:00

"Early Warming" mix from UK selectas The Heatwave. BLK JKS first summertime in NYC...ladies it's reggae season!

Tracklist

Laden - Really Like You
Gappy Ranks - Gyal Mi Love
Voicemail - Ride Mi Bike (Gold Mine Riddim)
Gyptian - Money Man (Gold Mine Riddim)
Buju Banton - Buy Love (Gold Mine Riddim)
Richie Spice - Soothing Sound (Indiscretions Riddim)
Konshens - Straight Forward (Indiscretions Riddim)
Busy Signal - Beep (Indiscretions Riddim)
Mavado - Neva Believe U
Equiknoxx & Gerusalem - Cobba Cobba Riddim
Lil Joe - Wine (Cobba Cobba Riddim)
Tifa - Single (Cobba Cobba Riddim)
Spice - Badmind (Cobba Cobba Riddim)
Cecile - How It Feels (Hot Peppa Riddim)
Anthony B - Roll Mi Gal (Hot Peppa Riddim)
Mr Vegas - Mi Believe (Hot Peppa Riddim)
Mr Vegas - Old School Hustling (Heavenless Riddim)
Major Lazer feat Mr Lexx & Santigold - Hold The Line
Gappy Ranks - Put The Stereo On
Erup & Nature - Trample Dem (Multipurpose Stadium Riddim)
Beres Hammond - I Feel Good (I Feel Good Riddim)
Beres Hammond & Donovan Germain - I Feel Dub (I Feel Good Riddim)
General Degree - Jah Will Provide (I Feel Good Riddim)
Delly Ranx - Pleasure Pain (Comfort Zone Riddim)
Buju Banton - Pretty Every Time (Comfort Zone Riddim)
Cornadoor - Chocolate Fudge (Rougher Yet Riddim)

FREE DOWNLOAD!!!

EPIC PROPS DUE

2009-06-03T20:13:00.001+02:00

"A couple makes love in front of thousands of people at Sasquatch during The Decemberists’ set on top of a hill while the sun sets and creates a passionate unfogettable teen spirit vibe. Saturday May 23rd @ The Gorge."

via Daily Swarm

AFTER ALL THAT

2009-05-28T05:54:00.000+02:00

Had a day in Seattle, paid respect to the brother Bruce Lee.
"Because we don't know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens a certain number of times, and a very small number, really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, some afternoon that's so deeply a part of your being that you can't even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four or five time more. Perhaps not even that. How many times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless."

SASQUATCH! FESTIVAL!!

2009-05-27T08:56:00.001+02:00

We out there...THE GORGE!!!

¡¡¡EUGENE!!!

2009-05-26T22:40:00.002+02:00

Photographer Todd Cooper got it in!!!

WEST COAST UP

2009-05-19T09:45:00.000+02:00

AY IT'S ON AGAIN LOVE

BLK JKS IN LOST ANGELES THIS THURSDAY NITE

THE ECHO
1822 SUNSET
11PM

MESCAL YES / ABSINTHE NO

US AMERICA DATES!!!

2009-05-18T21:51:00.001+02:00

ITS ALL HAPPENING NOW...CLICK 2 ENLARGE

21 MAY / THE ECHO / LOS ANGELES

22 MAY / THE INDEPENDENT / SAN FRANCISCO
...WITH FOREIGN BORN

23 MAY / SENATOR THEATER / CHICO
...WITH SPEARHEAD

24 MAY / CUTHBERT AMPHITHEATER / EUGENE
...WITH SPEARHEAD AND SANTIGOLD

25 MAY / SASQUATCH MUSIC FESTIVAL / THE GORGE

27 MAY / THE BELL HOUSE / BROOKLYN
...WITH THE PRESENT AND POPO

2 JUNE / KNITTING FACTORY / BROOKYLN
...WITH DUTTY ARTZ AND DRY YAI

3 JUNE / IRVING PLAZA / NYC
...WITH FEMI KUTI

4 JUNE / IRVING PLAZA / NYC
...WITH FEMI KUTI

8 JUNE / TT THE BEARS / BOSTON

9 JUNE / KUNGFU NECKTIE / PHILADELPHIA

11 JUNE / WASHINGTON DC / BLACK CAT BACKSTAGE

5 JULY / WEEKSVILLE HERITAGE CENTER / BROOKLYN
...WITH CODY CHESNUTT

HOW GERMAN IS IT

2009-05-17T12:52:00.003+02:00

via "BST BNDS 3 or Best Bands 3 << WiTHouT VoWeLS at the scary German blog German Names

BLK JKS:
This South African lousy trappings with solely a not in the least any songs second to their beat compel ought to made a dub on themselves amid the blogosphere. The convince the dub is written BLK JKS more than of Black Jacks isn’t purely a divulge up to the SMS doctrine. above all Linda Buthelzi, the PM danseur songbird and guitarist is also it’s drawn author. Robert Laing at joeblog.co.za says
Linda the drawn author developed the band’s dub with its T-Shirt logo. He picked a font where the starting B has a intimately, the next four letters emoticons representing each crew colleague, and the fixed S has a teardrop with a map of Africa in it. Formed in 2000, but fair moment releasing albums to the dialect birth b deliver.

The band’s shortened curriculum vitae is chronicled on their blog.

BAND PRACTICE

2009-05-16T23:01:00.000+02:00

With some bossy US dates coming up—schedule on Monday—BLK JKS are going hard in training!

Ladies, do you think the gents look FIT? LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

For the record, yes Mpumi was in the house as well, in the usual supervisory capacity.

HOW WE GET DOWN IN LONDON TOWN

2009-05-01T11:39:00.002+02:00

MAY DAY MAY DAY MAY DAY

SURPRISES IN STORE

C U 2NITE

DIRECT QUOTE

2009-04-29T14:39:00.003+02:00

"It was only a matter of time before someone from the continent of Africa decided to show the world that indie rock, like all other pop music, rightfully belonged to them. Johannesburg, South Africa’s BLK JKS may just be that band."

A lot of hot air and swagger gets talked as the world figures out the music and the message and the mission that is BLK JKS.

But wow. Ian Power got right to the point.

RESPECT

DANG WE OPENED UP FOR THESE LEGENDS 2 NITES INNA ROW

2009-04-15T03:19:00.001+02:00

A CERTAIN RATIO. RECOGNIZE.

DOSUNMU SESSION

2009-04-07T23:59:00.002+02:00

Going to meet the man.

EARTH DAY MPUMELELO MCATA

2009-03-29T21:38:00.005+02:00

Photography by Liz Johnson Artur

Happy bday bro

RAINY DAY MUSIC

2009-03-29T11:32:00.005+02:00

As promised on the next rainy day:

"Lakeside" (acoustic on Studio 360)

DISTANT LOVER COME GET TO THIS

2009-03-27T17:51:00.002+02:00

He's here, she's there, nuff said...

via MRE

SOMEDAY I'LL BE DIGNIFIED AND OLD

2009-03-26T19:02:00.003+02:00

One of the boat-lifting properties of being a band on the rise (excuse the pun) is that BLK JKS has heads making all sorts of connections. Someday I'll Be Dignified and Old writes:

"so the BLK JKS record has me digging out some stuff i haven't spun in a while... one of them is this compilation. it's the first disc from a four disc set my little brother bought in '93 called Tougher Than Tough: The Story Of Jamaican Music."

There's a bunch of clips and a d*wnload link as well...Anyone who saw us in Texas knows "Welcome To Jamrock" was on constant rotation in the truck...Can we get to Jamaica please?

ART / ROCK

2009-03-25T12:34:00.000+02:00

Painting by Ms MudPhud March 2009.

Bonus quote "We saw BLK JKS last night at First Fridays. They are the new Nirvana, the next big thing coming out of South Africa and in general, I think. Too bad there wasn't more dancing in the audience. It also does not hurt that the lead singer is pretty hot."

Photography by Mikhael Subotzky published in Fader magazine March 2008.

THANK YOU GOOD NIGHT

2009-03-24T15:46:00.001+02:00

BEST MUSICIAN SXSW

2009-03-23T21:26:00.000+02:00

Best Musician: The drummer for Blk Jks.

Holy crap. Blk Jks are four young men from South Africa, and each of them could have been the best musician I saw. I went with Tshepang Ramoba, from Soweto for the raw physicality he used to anchor Blk Jks sprawling rock fusion jams. These dudes have serious chops.

Bill Werde, Billboard

BLK JKS FUEL TV

2009-03-20T16:19:00.000+02:00

2009-03-16T05:18:00.002+02:00

MEAN ASS PHOTOGRAPHY BY KWESI "FLASHON" ABBENSETTS

BLK JKS / / / / / SXSW SCHEDULE

Heading to Austin. Holler at us when you see us in the streets.

Maybe on the ~~vegetable oil powered school bus~~ plane ill chop out the insane acoustic version of "Lakeside" from this Studio 360 radio post. For now though, here's an equally arresting piece of work, a new song called "Banna Ba Modimo".

NYC POP!

2009-03-13T17:29:00.003+02:00

See yall this weekend!

13 MAR UNION HALL / BROOKLYN
10.30PM

14 MAR SANTOS PARTY HOUSE / NEW YORK CITY
8.30PM

...AND WE'RE BACK (AGAIN)

2009-03-10T06:56:00.005+02:00

Money quote: "These nebulous jams contain enough circular structure and memorable melodies to make them captivating dance-think pieces." via iTunes

GET

IT

IN!!!

WHOLE MIDWEST

2009-03-05T21:27:00.000+02:00

VENI VIDI VICI

2009-03-04T02:27:00.001+02:00

Just now.

LAST NIGHT ON PLANET BLOOMINGTON

2009-03-02T16:37:00.005+02:00

PHOTO KEVIN DUNEMAN
Thanks to everyone who welcomed us to Bloomington, it's become a home away from home.

BLK JKS play a FREE show at Jake's tonight, see you there!

Also SMH @ that blue ass weather map in the pic below. It's so cold in "da B."

IT'S ONNNNNNNNNNNN

2009-02-27T15:41:00.004+02:00

Yall know these dates have been floating in the ether for some time but today the mist lifted got out of bed and YO it's really happening!!!

BLK JKS IN AMERICA, SEASON 2 EPISODE 1

***FIRST MIDWEST AND LEFT COAST DATES***

2 MAR JAKES / BLOOMINGTON

3 MAR ROCK ISLAND BREWERY / ROCK ISLAND..."Daytrotter Presents"...TRUE

4 MAR THE EMPTY BOTTLE / CHICAGO

6 MAR NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM / LOS ANGELES

9 MAR RICKSHAW STOP / SAN FRANCISCO

13 MAR UNION HALL / BROOKLYN

14 MAR SANTOS PARTY HOUSE / NEW YORK CITY

18-22 MAR SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST / AUSTIN

SOMETHING WIKKED

2009-02-27T00:45:00.002+02:00

BLK JKS x dead prez...inna INDIANA!

WHAT YOU KNOW GOOD

2009-02-05T09:25:00.000+02:00

Know Your Mushrooms is screening at the Victoria Film Festival until Feb. 7. Here's where it will screen after that:

March 14 Austin, TX @ South By Southwest Music and Film Festival
March 13-15 Winnipeg, MB @ Cinematheque Winnipeg
April 3-6 Vancouver, BC @ The Vancity

Soundtrack by The Flaming Lips!

UNSOLICITED ADVICE

2009-02-03T18:51:00.002+02:00

"How do you get a girl to fall in love with you? Well, first you have to get her to your house. Then just put on Blk Jks, and the rest is history. It's just that getting her to come over that's the hard part."

Loving THIS.

How long til Valentine's Day?

EXTRA! EXTRA!!

2009-02-02T07:27:00.002+02:00

In which the gents go hard on the cover of the extra crisp Sunday Times Magazine (South Africa) and intrepid SA journo Diane Coetzer braves being mistaken for "another JKS groupie" and relates perhaps the most clear-eyed account of the band to date by weaving a narrative of the band's hard grind til now and a little perspective on what the future might hold now that it's big things poppin with on international label with Bon Iver and Antony & the Johnsons on the roster. Money quote: "A typical Blk Jks fan anywhere in the world is easy to spot. 'For the most part, it’s people who are moving forward and who are keen to look at the possibilities culture offers,' Mcata confides."

Or, as Coetzer writes: "...something about who turns up at a Blk Jks gig: lots of women of all colours and a reliable number of new South African hipsters who are looking for a soundtrack to an identity..."

LOL @ Mpumi and Molefi fighting the age-old "MIA vs Santogold" debate.

SMH @ the Times for calling BLK JKS "boys" on the cover.

Read the whole thing, it's good.

BREAKING NEWS

2009-01-17T17:03:00.004+02:00

JUST NOW BLK JKS SPOTTED AT O.R. TAMBO AIRPORT IN JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA.

WHEN ASKED ABOUT THEIR DESTINATION THE DRUMMER REPLIED "AMERICA."

...AND WE'RE BACK

2009-01-07T01:32:00.000+02:00

THIS WEEKEND: SOWETO STREET POP!

2008-12-11T20:10:00.001+02:00

FAMILY!

It's going DOWN this Sunday 14 December in Mofolo Park Soweto...BLK JKS playing SOWETO STREET POP as part of Soweto Arts Festival...running order and other details are a bit hard to come by but you're probably just gonna make a day of it: organizers are billing this as "the greatest music showdown of this kind ever" (!!!) with BLK JKS setting fire to the stage along with Pro Kid, Substance, Savages, Uju, and Siya Makuzeni's "Ippy Fuzz".

Checking out pics from last year, Lindani was straight Morello styles in trucker cap, Molef had a colorful cultural kufi, Tshepang in mirrored madness and Mpumi was in his short-shorts phase...let's see what has changed and what hasnt!

OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

2008-12-08T09:27:00.002+02:00

For Immediate Release December 8, 2008

BLK JKS SIGN WITH SECRETLY CANADIAN
MYSTERY EP TO BE RELEASED MARCH 10

"A movement unto themselves."—Fader
"The band's quick-fingered, multilayered vamps well up out of murky echoes, piling jubilation atop the anxiety, before submerging again."— The New York Times

Secretly Canadian is pleased to announce the signing of South Africa's BLK JKS. After an action packed 2008 that found the band playing its first U.S. shows, receiving critical acclaim from the likes of The New York Times, Billboard, The Guardian and Dazed and Confused, the band is poised to build on their initial success with a March 10 release of their MYSTERY EP, which has been re-mastered and re-sequenced. As a preview for fans, MYSTERY will be available for free digital download from eMusic and Other Music Digital December 8 through January 5. In addition to the free digital preview of MYSTERY, a documentary about the band premieres on December 8 at www.digforfire.tv.
BLK JKS came to the U.S. in the spring of 2008 after a chance meeting with über-producer Diplo while he was on tour in South Africa. Landing on the cover of the Fader, as well as sets at the Fader issue release party and South by Southwest, sparked recording sessions at New York's famed Electric Lady studios that resulted in the MYSTERY EP. The record was produced by Brandon Curtis of the Secret Machines, who came to BLK JKS as a fan of the band.
BLK JKS consists of childhood friends Linda and Mpumi who grew up on the same block in Johannesburg's East Rand where they taught themselves guitar. They initially formed the band in 2000, and early BLK JKS shows and recordings garnered attention for their stacks of guitar drone and head-nodding beats. After the band's current lineup took shape with the addition of bassist Molefi and drummer Tshepang, both of Soweto, they embarked on a schedule of heavy touring throughout South Africa that earned them a loyal national following. The limited edition release of BLK JKS' now out-of-print 2007 "Lakeside" vinyl-only 10" marked the band's international debut, selling at select record stores worldwide.

Link to MYSTERY EP artwork: http://secretlycanadian.com/artist.php?name=blkjks

For more information, please contact Brian Shimkovitz at Sacks & Co., 212.741.1000, brian.shimkovitz@sacksco.com.

WEEKEND VIBES AGAINST VIBES: HR SPEAKS

2008-12-05T02:44:00.002+02:00

Watch more The DL videos on AOL Video

HR from Bad Brains putting it down, giving new meaning to the term "double speak."
Wow.
Respect!

THE VERY BEST NEW MUSIC

2008-12-04T22:33:00.001+02:00

It's your boys Esau Mwamwaya and Radiocliquot in Pitchfork with an 8.6!!!

Along with boldface names like MIA, Santogold, Vampire Weekend and Architecture In Helsinki, BLK JKS get a shout too:

Once you get through the indie-guarded gates, Mwamwaya and Radioclit are open here to everything from South Africa's marabi and kwaito music to Hans Zimmer scores to French and American hip-hop to Michael Jackson-- and in most cases, it's the tracks that lean furthest away from the familiar that work best. The regal "Sister Betina", BLK JKS collaboration "Salota", and Radioclit productions "Funa Funa" and "Kada Manja" are as immediately likable as the rest of the mix.

Check out for more TVB x BLK JKS collabs in 2009...and 2010 as Malawi and South Africa make their way to the World Cup!

For now, well done gents and respect for sharing "the best new music" with the world
for free. Here's "Salota" on reload. And REWIND!!!

IT WAS A GOOD YEAR

2008-12-02T10:26:00.004+02:00

One of America's best radio deejays just turned in his homework...

Garth Trinidad's Top 10 of 2008

1. Janelle Monae - Metropolis: The Chase Suite (Atlantic)

2. Raphael Saadiq - The Way I See It (Sony)

3. The Roots - Rising Down (Def Jam)

4. Keziah Jones - Nigerian Wood (Because Music)

5. BLK JKS - MYSTERY EP (SELF-RELEASED)

6. Bigga Bush Pres. Lightning Head - 13 Faces of Lightning Head (Lion Head)

7. Seun Kuti - Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 (Disorient)

8. N.E.R.D. - Seeing Sounds (Interscope Records)

9. Kissey Asplund – Plethora (R2)

10. Grupo Fantasma - Sonidos Gold (High Wire Music)

Thanks to everyone who went in on the MUSIC. Much more to come in 2009.

THIS WEEK: NIGHT OF 1000 DRAWINGS

2008-11-24T14:32:00.000+02:00

NIGHT OF 1000 DRAWINGS : Doodle for a Difference
book launch benefit show
Thurs 27th November starting at 19h00
Bus factory, 1 President Street Newtown, Jozi

*******BLK JKS*******
with Johnny Neon, Tale of the Sun and the Cutout Collective

All proceeds go to Paballo Ya Batho, a Jozi inner city homeless care organisation.
Book available in Cape Town at Biblioteq from the 29th Nov

LOL check out the guys getting they drawings ready...democratically!

BLK JKS IN RODEO MAGAZINE (SWEDEN)

2008-11-19T13:33:00.001+02:00

"Clash City Rockers" Rodeo magazine November 2009.

Wicked photography by Liz Johnson!!

BLK JKS IN BLEND MAGAZINE (HOLLAND)

2008-11-18T13:24:00.000+02:00

"Heulen Met De Vijand" Blend magazine Oct 2007. Rankin photo of a paint-splattered hit-looking white girl on the cover.

Not sure whats going on in this (awesome) picture but it's pretty obvious what the band was on when this was snapped on their first trip to Amsterdam.

WEEKEND VIBEZ: GANG GANG DANCE A PARIS

2008-11-14T22:58:00.001+02:00

***BONUS ROUND***

AC in BA pix.

"I'm Not (phaseone remix)" Panda Bear.

"Untitled (aka "Song For Ariel" aka "Guys Eyes" live on ma fama) Panda Bear.

all via GVB

THIS WEEK IN MONEY

2008-11-13T16:06:00.002+02:00

Lars Metallica Christies sells a Basquiat for $13.5 mil.

Omar TMV prints Old Money.

"Money" by Apollo Sunshine

MIRIAM MAKEBA 1932 TIL INFINITY

2008-11-10T06:17:00.000+02:00

Zenzile Makeba Qgwashu Nguvama Yiketheli Nxgowa Bantana Balomzi Xa Ufun Ubajabulisa Ubaphekcli Mbiza Yotshwala Sithi Xa Saku Qgiba Ukutja Sithathe Izitsha Sizi Kkabe Singama Lawu Singama Qgwashu Singama Nqamla Nqgithi made her final transition in the early hours this morning.

Words later perhaps. For now let's just think on the conquering lioness.

WEEKEND SPECIAL: CAT FOOD

2008-11-08T07:41:00.000+02:00

This is the definition of "rolling", BLK JKS jammed House Nsako last night, grabbed some food and are heading to CAT FOOD @ the Yee Olde Haund Restaurant situated on Henly on Klip...For directions call 076 219 8618.

"Weekend Fassie" by Brenda Fassie (don't worry, definitely getting a proper re-post!)

SOUL GENERATED BY LOVE

2008-11-07T07:37:00.000+02:00

OK OK last PSA for now. Next week we're back to regularly scheduled serious busyness.

SA elections 2009, let's see them safe and peaceful...

FRIDAY NIGHT: THE B-SIDE

2008-11-06T14:57:00.001+02:00

SA's heaviest grind and most innovative events esquire Deejay BlaQ t hosts BLK JKS live in da mix but wait there's more...

...All the way from Brighton and Hove, United Kingdom Manello aka FunkiKora is our guest DJ, from Skylarkin' Sound system. Well known for his versatile, eclectic sets… with DJ BlaQt taking us through the night with some of that funky flavored good music … just think nostalgia as we relive the moments! This all goes down on the 7th November at The House of NsakO, situated on 101 High Street in Brixton (Jozi town) and 50 afros (rands) will get you in…with freebies for early massive! Hope to see you there…

http//: www.myspace.com/bsideblog

WE'RE A WINNER

2008-11-05T02:24:00.003+02:00

BLK JKS in Amsterdam, August 2008. Photo by Jen Mazer.

The lasting thing that came out of the first meeting between BLK JKS and Robinson in Johannesburg was something Mpumi told me when we were talking about Barack Obama, this was in March 2007.

Just see how you walk down the street afterward.

A South African would know. And yes a South African will tell us that democracy is no easy thing but for now let's just take a few walks down a few streets together.

"We're A Winner by Curtis Mayfield

"Black President" by Brenda Fassie

"Africa Unite by Bob Marley

"Mzabalazo" by BLK JKS

U-THEATRE INDABA

2008-11-03T21:03:00.002+02:00

Taiwan's U-Theatre visited our folks in The People's Republic of Brooklyn last week.

When will the ancient social/spiritual/martial/metallurgical/psychopharmacological history of ~~South Africa~~ Azania be told?

What will it look/sound/feel/taste like?

Who will tell it?

WEEKEND REQUIRED READING: THIS IS BJORK

2008-10-31T20:15:00.001+02:00

The One has a new single out with Thom Radiohead. That's news you can use, but the big deal is that Bjork is on a mission to help rebuild Iceland's economy by turning away from the heavy industry of aluminum smelting and instead investing in the hearts and minds of her country: proceeds from the sales of "Náttúra" will go to help seed companies—start-ups in the tech sector.

She's a model for the ways in which artists so inclined can affect real change where they are.

"What we are saying is, we've got three aluminum factories, let's work with that, we cannot change that. Why not have the Icelandic people who are educated in high-tech and work already in those factories in the higher paid jobs, why not let them build little companies who are totally Icelandic with the knowledge they have? Then they get the money and it stays in the country. Then we can support the biotech companies and the food companies and all these clusters. I think that if you want to be an environmentalist in Iceland, these are the things you've got to be putting your energy into.

"A lot of investors [are] coming, and I'm hoping they will want to invest in the high-tech cluster. There are money people here that did not lose a lot of money. For example, here is one investment company in Iceland only run by women. They are doing fine. [laughs] They aren't risk junkies. They just made slow moves. The people who are crashing, they took a huge loan and then another huge loan, and so on. And it's all just air. But these women didn't build on air."

NOW READ THIS READ THIS NOW:

Amazing interview with Bjork as she goes in on the Náttúra idea, the politics behind it and how the song came about here and here.

Náttúra info here.

Bjork's Times of London editorial on Iceland's economic "smeltdown" here.

PLANTS TALK TO EACH OTHER

2008-10-30T14:43:00.001+02:00

Over to the Fader blog, Eddie Stats is roping together a new sound he's hearing and calling it 2000Tone, viz. "re-emergence of a sort of punky-reggae, 2-tone aesthetic in the world of DJ-driven music." Not mad, because he's got BLK JKS inna mix, he got honeydips Jovi Rockwell and Santogold along for the ride and he got the a little blend up for free for all yall.

2000Tone Blend
Jovi Rockwell, “Rizzla”
Diplo X Santogold, “Guns of Brooklyn”
BLK JKS, “Lakeside”
Sizzla, “Solid as a Rock” (acoustic version)
De Tropix, “Badname”
Natty, “Badman”
The Magistrates, “Colour Coordination”

Take a listen!

TOMORROW NIGHT: ACOUSTICA RUSTICA

2008-10-29T19:05:00.001+02:00

Heita!!!

If your not in the country when this reaches you pardon us,but we just
had to get it out.

Love and respect fam,hope you are well.

However if you are in the country; the BLKJKS are having a sit down
gig at ROKA on 44 Stanley in Milpark Jhb tomorrow night.

Hope to see you there,and maybe we can after party it out at the
SL magazine thing in the woods.

L'UOMO VOGUE OCTOBER 2008

2008-10-28T19:04:00.000+02:00

Photo by Kai Z Feng.

SA's finest in there—double page spread—as part of a portrait series featuring Slash, the Raconteurs, Placido Domingo, Mark Ronson, Jason Moran, MGMT, Etienne Daho, Flogging Molly, Josh Groban, Lisa Marie Presley, Matt Costa, Sergio Mendes, Maroon 5, Conor Oberst, Ozzy Osbourne, Gnarles Barkley, David Fonseca, The Pretenders, Alanis Morissette, One Republic, The Black Keys, Anton Corbijn (self-portrait!), Marky and Linda Ramone, Ben Harper, Neil Halstead, the Ting Tings, Boogie Balagan plus a bunch of amazing features and Diddy on the cover.

THIS THURSDAY: ART STAR!

2008-10-20T16:16:00.002+02:00

BE THERE OR BE SQUARE.

BENGT BERGER: BITTER FUNERAL BEER BAND

2008-10-17T18:59:00.002+02:00

FOR THE WEEKEND>>>

This dude is raw, here he is with Don Cherry (!!!) and and K Sridhar, Frankfurt 1982.

Check out the eponymous album...plus madd YouTubes!

BLK JKS RAP ATTACK!!!

2008-10-17T02:56:00.002+02:00

One of the things that came out of this rando session in London was BLK JKS switching it up and rapping a bit on the track "Salota"(originally Cannibal Ox's "Life's Ill" produced by El-P) for the Esau Mwamwaya And Radioclit Are The Very Best mixtape, out now.

Cob it up: "Salota" Esau Mwamwaya And Radioclit Are The Very Best feat BLK JKS.

And the whole tape is right here.

NEXT ACTIONS

2008-10-15T23:38:00.000+02:00

Today mastering guru Paul Gold (The Social Registry, Secretly Canadian, Sounds Familyre, Telstar, Neurot, Fat Cat, Domino Records, Nublu, Concent, Warp Records, Bastard Jazz, Drag City, Anticon, Record Collection, Omad, Wonder Wheel, Mesh Key, RVNG, ? Your Rupture, Sundazed, Norton, Urbanacity, U Phonic, Juakali, Ghetto Arc, Rude, Broklyn Beats, Espers, Jason Molina, Gang Gang Dance, Psychic Ills, Vietnam, Benjy Ferre, Nicodemus, Danielson, Sufjian Stevens, Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear, Red Sparrowes, Drop the Lime, Criterion, Doily, Love Is All, Long Blondes LCD Soundsystem, The Juan McClean, Eels, Rye Coalition, David Last, Dirty Projectors, Besnard Lakes, Phosphorescence, The Dust Dive, NNCK, Ecstatic Peace, Wooden Wand, Earthless, Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound, The Warlocks, Robert Pollard, Federale, The IO's, Bing Ji Ling, Still Going, Syclops, Tyvek, Fucked Up) was hard at work hooking up a new master version of the BLK JKS "MYSTERY EP".

A sign big things a gwaan! Maybe a re-release (on 12in vinyl???) in the near future?

BLK JKS x NME

2008-10-09T08:34:00.000+02:00

In which a certain Gavin Haynes travels to his native SA to find that the music scene is alive and well.

BLK JKS even get a mention!

Choice quote: "Meanwhile, an all-black group of childhood friends from Jo'burg's East Rand townships styled themselves as BLK JKS and began mixing the sounds of the psychedelic American underground with the afro-jazz they'd grown up with, forging the sort of enveloping art-rock swirl you'd expect from a back to basics TV On The Radio."

Gavin does double duty, blogging about his trip and his writing here.

Thanks to Peggy Unltd for the tip!

BIBI TANGA!!!

2008-10-08T18:52:00.001+02:00

Killed it last week at PASS.

Consider yourself warned!!

TRAVELING SPACEWAYS

2008-10-01T14:01:00.002+02:00

Sure China debuted its space program last week, but this week South Africa gets pretty far out.

As previously noted BLK JKS will blast off at Cape Town's Pan African Space Station, an unprecedented collection of far-reaching progressive music from around the continent and the diaspora.

On Thursday 2 Oct BLK JKS will be at GUBA S'THEBE with our favorite deck wrecker DJ BlaQ T, beginning at 6pm.

Then on Friday 3 Oct the band will rock The Assembly in District 6 from 9pm...

Send in a report and let us know if minds get blown!

THE RECORD GAME

2008-09-23T22:33:00.001+02:00

Even a make it happen, get it crackin DIY band like BLK JKS takes a label meeting once in a while. Here's what the warehouse of one of them looks like, in the middle of America.

Celebration: Bheki Mseleku 1955-2008

2008-09-16T03:15:00.000+02:00

The pianist was/is close to our hearts.

Check out an album called "Celebration" by this.....GENIUS.

Listen: Bheki Mseleku "Closer To The Source"

RESPECT

LONDON: CARGO/ROUGH TRADE WRAP

2008-09-14T22:18:00.003+02:00

Rocket-fueled finish to a magical mystery tour!!!

Big up Peggy UNLTD, Joe Roberts and folks at K-Swiss.

LET'S DO IT AGAIN

BRENDA FASSIE "TOO LATE FOR MAMA"

2008-09-12T16:04:00.000+02:00

¡NIKA BREAK!

2008-09-02T15:53:00.000+02:00

August Europe tour wrap to come, for now we just need a quick break.

Exhausted!

LIVERPOOL 28 AUGUST 2008

2008-08-29T17:51:00.001+02:00

If you ever have a chance to catch a show at Liverpool's Korova you must do so at all cost...that's if you can pull yourself away from the Scousingtons maurading the cobbled streets!

Thanks to Gemma at Mercy—the hostess with the mostess!

UPDATE: We missed this though. Drats!

LIVERPOOL TONIGHT!!!

2008-08-28T16:23:00.000+02:00

FYI BLK JKS still all real still all steel. We took the bus!

CARNIVALIA

2008-08-26T16:17:00.000+02:00

GYAL DEM SUGAR!!!

GOING TO MEET THE DON

2008-08-25T23:55:00.000+02:00

BLK JKS with the legendary Don Letts (in the Don's yard!), London, August 2008.

Proper way to kick off Carnival!

ROFL

2008-08-24T17:27:00.000+02:00

BLK JKS with Esau and Radioclizzo in the studio.

It's a bedtime story!!!

UNMISTAKEABLE OTHERNESS

2008-08-22T14:39:00.001+02:00

A review of this week's show at the legendary Whelans in Dublin...

In my shameful ignorance of African music I had no idea what to expect, but what I was greeted with was a complete surprise. It was incredibly dense music, constantly changing rhythm, tempo, language, mood and tone to create a whirlpool of sound. It defied all my preconceived notions of African music. It certainly sound like rock music, and there was also an obvious heavy western influence. Yet it also had a unmistakable otherness to it, an Africanness, something exciting, invigorating and alien.

It was a complete medley of genres. This was reflected even in their stage presence and stances. Linda Buthelezi, lead guitarist and vocalist, cut an angular figure, with violent punk poses and reckless thrashing, while to his left bassist Molefi Makananise seemed to be straight out of a seventies funk band. Contrastingly, rhythm guitarist Mpumi Mcata’s jumpy grooving completely suited his clipped reggae style, and at the back Tshepang Ramoba’s ecstatic drumming and solos put me in mind of a free jazz player. Yet although they all seemed to be from different bands and different genres, hell even different eras, they gelled, the music worked and it resulted in fantastic show.

Real talk via Analogue magazine.

Special thanks to Mark ChoiceCuts for putting on some great shows. And also to the dude on the street in Galway who taught us how to say "you're with two beautiful women" in Gaelic.

COMING ATTRACTION

2008-08-19T22:12:00.000+02:00

THIS DEEJAY WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE

2008-08-15T13:30:00.000+02:00

LA-based superstar DJ Garth Trinidad has been a big champion of BLK JKS for a sec now, bumping the necksnap "One Must Die" on the KCRW airwaves (webwaves?) and generally sparking for the band on the West Coast.

This Saturday's show is dedicated to KCRW's summer fundraising drive, and Garth will be giving away South Africa-only CD editions of the BLK JKS "Mystery EP"to supporters of the station's progressive public radio programming.

Garth's "Chocolate City" show is on from 6-9PM on Saturday. Please tune in (online!) and make it happen!!!

ACTUAL PROOF: NEW YORK TIMES PLAYLIST

2008-08-14T18:27:00.007+02:00

Had to repost this family:

"Now and then it’s easy to guess that Blk Jks, from Johannesburg, are an African band on their four-song “Mystery EP” (Robinson Projects, available for download from digital.othermusic.com). That’s when they go bounding into three-chord South African township grooves in “Lakeside” or overlay the reggae foundation of “Summertime” with syncopated guitars. But Blk Jks make their music in a global swirl of possibilities; they are an art-rock band. Produced in New York by Brandon Curtis of the band Secret Machines, the songs on the EP are far closer to TV on the Radio and the Mars Volta than they are to Ladysmith Black Mambazo. While the lyrics (mostly in English) ponder philosophical quandaries — “All the wise men ’round the world don’t know the answers” — the band’s quick-fingered, multilayered vamps well up out of murky echoes, piling jubilation atop the anxiety, before submerging again. An earlier Blk Jks song, “Transit Camp,” is available (from Emusic or CD Baby) on the South African compilation “Phrased Differently” (Runway Music); less vertiginously produced and furiously propulsive, it has the band “smiling into oblivion, then dreaming swift into the heart of the abyss.”

Tree free reading here.

AUSTERLITZ

2008-08-13T15:17:00.004+02:00

"...notable because of the lack of paragraphing, a digressive style, the blending of fact and fiction, and the inclusion of a set of mysterious and evocative photographs, scattered throughout the book, that enhances the melancholy message of the text."

A PARIS: STREET EDITION

2008-08-13T14:36:00.006+02:00

BLK JKS did the unthinkable for a band on the run, taking a couple days off in Paris after the packed out show at Fleche D'Or. Of course, Paris is a fine enough place to recover from the vicissitudes of life on the road...get a little existential...streteched out in a sunny park with a little falafel and Lebanese beer...

A PARIS: REAL PARIS EDITION

2008-08-12T15:03:00.002+02:00

Tea at the Great MosqueGreat Mosque? But of course...

PARIS

2008-08-11T19:36:00.000+02:00

Yesterday while you were reading this BLK JKS made their Paris debut at Fleche D'Or, an amazing rock club set inside an old Metro station.

Thanks Cathy at Gigs Production for the hard work and the vidz!

BLK JKS @ La Flèche d'or (PARIS)
envoyé par 00alticat00

SIDE NOTES

2008-08-10T11:52:00.000+02:00

We're in Paris blowing the roof off the club, but this came over the wires so we thought we'd share...

"Beats From Down Home to Far From Home"
New York Times playlist by Jon Pareles
Now and then it’s easy to guess that Blk Jks, from Johannesburg, are an African band on their four-song “Mystery EP” (Robinson Projects, available for download from digital.othermusic.com). That’s when they go bounding into three-chord South African township grooves in “Lakeside” or overlay the reggae foundation of “Summertime” with syncopated guitars. But Blk Jks make their music in a global swirl of possibilities; they are an art-rock band. Produced in New York by Brandon Curtis of the band Secret Machines, the songs on the EP are far closer to TV on the Radio and the Mars Volta than they are to Ladysmith Black Mambazo. While the lyrics (mostly in English) ponder philosophical quandaries — “All the wise men ’round the world don’t know the answers” — the band’s quick-fingered, multilayered vamps well up out of murky echoes, piling jubilation atop the anxiety, before submerging again. An earlier Blk Jks song, “Transit Camp,” is available (from Emusic or CD Baby) on the South African compilation “Phrased Differently” (Runway Music); less vertiginously produced and furiously propulsive, it has the band “smiling into oblivion, then dreaming swift into the heart of the abyss.”

NYT dude going IN!

OG link

PORTRAIT

2008-08-09T23:59:00.000+02:00

Lindani Themba Buthelezi, lead guitar and vocals. Amsterdam, August 2008. Photo by Jen Mazer.

PORTRAIT

2008-08-09T23:57:00.000+02:00

Molefi Johannes Makananise, bassist. Amsterdam, August 2008. Photo by Jen Mazer.

PARADISE

2008-08-09T12:21:00.005+02:00

Photos by Jen Mazer.

Since you've been a regular reader of this site for a while now, you know the BLK JKS story has been nothing if not a wild ride—a rush of shocking vibes, unlikely turns and a little healthy buzz from the press. But at its core the experience has always pulsed an heart of depthless passion and incalculable invention. These are strange songs for strange days: certainly a new story for Azania but also for the world—in flashes it has felt like this might be the first music of our century.

Last night's performance at Paradiso—Amsterdam's premiere music venue—was one such flash. Leaving aside a tedious backstory of visa dramatics and travel hassle, BLK JKS stepped on stage shortly after midnight and proceeded to dial down into the music. "Concentration" flowed into "Molalatladi" and it went on from there, as four young lions alternated churns through raw material with considered lucid moments and polymathic pivots. At then at some point the set opened up and songs were leavened into songlines, passes became passages, spaces turned into space. Something new was suddenly created, this was something different and yeah yo its always like that any time you find yourself dancing and laughing and crying outside of yourself and everyone else is, too, it seemed as if the music itself was reaching out to us with its own speaking, its own message for each of us, a few years ago out in the A someone told me Africa has a plan for each one of her sons and certainly her daughters and it's up to us to uncover or discover that plan. I'd like to tell you when the music ended but it hasnt yet

AMSTERDAM: EUROPE DEBUT

2008-08-07T12:20:00.001+02:00

MANTUA PROJECT

2008-08-04T15:33:00.000+02:00

Sure, we got an apologetic SMS from Mark ChoiceCuts a few days before our set at Ireland's Mantua Project—an amazing progressive music festival set deeeeeep in rural Emerald Isle. But when dude texted "heavy weather, stage underwater, bring wellies and rain gear" how bad could it be?

Turns out the stage wasnt acutally submerged, mainly because it was on the highest hill around. When we arrived on Saturday, though, the combination of insane amounts of rain and happily undeterred festivalgoers had churned the grounds into an heaving, seething mass of thick ass mud with a mind of its own. True enough the weather cleared up a bit for the BLK JKS set on Sunday but a couple bros took the stage fully wellied up...and left Roscommon with the wellies on!

GUMBOOTS

2008-08-03T15:27:00.000+02:00

BLK JKS at Mantua Project, Roscommon, August 2008.

Mud to the knees!!!

THINGS TO DO

2008-07-31T16:42:00.001+02:00

~~1. Arrive London.~~

~~2. Wild out.~~

~~3. Wake up.~~

4. Shoot fashion story.

JUST ADDED

2008-07-30T16:51:00.002+02:00

BLK JKS at HOUSE NSAKO, JOHANNESBURG JULY 2008

9 AUG / Fleche D'Or / PARIS

19 AUG / Roisin Dubh / GALWAY

20 AUG / Whelan's / DUBLIN

21 AUG / The Pavillion / CORK

"YOU GUYS STARTED OUT IN A JAIL CELL"

2008-07-29T19:28:00.004+02:00

As you know we're out to Europe today...here's something to read while we're on the plane—a great interview in pensatos.com that touches on BLK JKS past present and future.

Essential reading HERE.

WILD INTERNATIONAL

2008-07-25T14:24:00.006+02:00

Photo by Brantley Gutierrez

Without further ado, here is the first round of BLK JKS dates for EUROPE...beginning next week!!!

1 AUG BIG CHILL FESTIVAL / EASTNOR

3 AUG MANTUA PROJECT / ROSCOMMON

7 AUG PARADISO / AMSTERDAM

28 AUG KOROVA BAR / LIVERPOOL with The Roseville Band

29 AUG ROUGH TRADE EAST IN-STORE / LONDON

30 AUG CARGO / LONDON

PARTING SHOT

2008-07-23T14:10:00.001+02:00

Greetings.

BLK JKS are performing at the House of Ntsako Friday at 21;00

Ntsako is on High str in Brixton opposite the ABSA bank.

Its their farewell party. R50 at the door. THANX

PRESS ROUNDUP

2008-07-21T17:30:00.002+02:00

...BLK JKS don't have a label but still get it poppin according to Billboard 26 July.

...Is "Lakeside" about a UFO crash site? in Paste August issue. Plus "Lakeside" on a free CD along with Tinariwen, Ladysmith, Baobab and Sergio Mendes (?!?!?!).

..."Freedom Fighters" on some basic cool shit in Dazed and Confused July issue. Boss photo by Jason Nocito.

WHAT WE BRING

2008-07-18T19:35:00.002+02:00

BLK JKS @ EvO LokxiOn Sundaze earlier this year.

AUGUST EUROPE DATES COMING NEXT WEEK!!!

Thanks DJ BlaQ t

BLK JKS ON ITUNES RIGHT NOW!!!

2008-07-08T14:47:00.001+02:00

Hey world, we're live on iTunes INTERNATIONALLY today...

"Be the first to write a review" as they say!

YALL READY TO JAK???*

2008-07-03T19:39:00.004+02:00

¡HEITA!

BLK JKS got with the team over at RCRD LBL to spread far and wide (read: give away) the beats that are "Summertime (Carlos Ramos version)"—a clip of the club mix we've been jamming this week.

Thanks to 'Los for the mix (we see you with that new-new!), RCRD LBL for the lookout and Fader for pouring gas on a 4th of July fire. That holiday don't mean shit in SA but we hope you have a good time rocking to this!

*We can neither confirm nor deny that "da Jak" is a new kwaito dance craze sweeping Soweto since the "BLK JKS Mystery Megamix".