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BLK JKS: The Avant Garde In Africa

One of the biggest bands in Johannesburg, South Africa, BLK JKS (pronounced "black jacks") has spent the last two years breaking into the international music scene. The buzz around BLK JKS began in 2007, when the band released an eponymous EP; many called it avant-garde, in part because there's no other name for what it does. Chaotic and sincere in sound, the group is impossible to pin to one genre: Psychedelic rock, jazz, Afrobeat, blues, metal and reggae all cohere into an undeniably African rock sound.

After the release of the EP, the quartet began touring South Africa and took off on an international tour. It followed the disc with another EP (Mystery) in March and released its first full-length album, After Robots, in September.

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