Abantu Before Humans

Description

A leading figure in the South African underground, the group BLK JKS (pronounced Black Jacks), supported by The Mars Volta and TV On The Radio, is back with a new album for Glitterbeat after more than 10 years of absence. Designed as a prequel to their album After Robots, Abantu / Before Humans includes echoes of spiritual jazz, post-apocalyptic funk, as well as elements of dub and contraband kwaito. The album features guest appearances from Malian guitarist Vieux Farka Touré and their collaborator from the Beastie Boys, Money Mark, on the track "Maiga." After jamming with The Roots, sharing the stage with Squarepusher, Femi Kuti, and Lou Reed, and recording their first EP Mystery at Jimi Hendrix's Electric Lady studio, they released their debut album, After Robots, with Secretly Canadian in 2009. Their participation in the launch concert for the 2010 FIFA World Cup with Alicia Keys allowed them to perform in front of two billion viewers, and their single "Lakeside" appeared on the FIFA 10 soundtrack. However, just as suddenly as they emerged on the international scene, BLK JKS disappeared... In January 2018, they recorded a cover of a song by their mentor Hugh Masekela with his son on vocals and Tebogo Seitei on trumpet. BLK JKS invited the young trumpet virtuoso to join the group, which became a quartet. They then locked themselves away for many weeks at the Soweto Theatre Orchestra Pit, which they transformed into a studio, and recorded their reinvention of a rock sound rooted in African diasporic influences focused on guitar and brass. But the studio was burglarized, and the hard drives containing the recorded tracks were stolen. The band returned to the studio a year later and re-recorded the album. In 2009, BLK JKS had explored the future with After Robots; today, the legacy of that first record now carries a retro-futuristic name: afropunk. Often cited as an influence by Spoek Mathambo, Nakhane, Petite Noir, and Urban Village, it would not be far from the truth to say that BLK JKS ignited the spark that set off the burgeoning afropunk movement in their home country, South Africa.