Oops I Forgot To Mention....The New "It" Rock Act to Look Out For.......Introducing South Africa's BLK JKS!

I'm going to push the Black alternative til the cows come home or at least until Afronerd Radio gets its own channel on Sirius XM-I'm just sayin'.

Briefly...from the Boston Herald:

South African’s BLK JKS are not following anybody’s footsteps.

BLK JKS - pronounced Black Jacks - an alt-rock quartet from Johannesburg, don’t echo Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba or any of the South African greats who have hit it big across the Atlantic.

“We’ve never wanted to sound like someone else,” said BLK JKS bassist and singer Molefi Makananise, 34, from a tour stop in Minneapolis.

This is why BLK JKS can be found sharing bills with acts as different as the Dirty Projectors and Afro-pop star Femi Kuti. And it’s why the group has drawn raves in publications such as Rolling Stone and SPIN.

The foursome makes its local debut Sunday at T.T. the Bear’s, where the group marks the release of its first full-length album, “After Robots.”

It’s a disc that lives up to the band’s self-described style of “psychedelic dub rock,” with spacey reggae excursions peppering rock attacks, along with the occasional Afro-beat horn and South African township jive rhythms.

“We listened to pretty much everything,” Makananise said. “We grew up hearing so many sounds from everywhere in the world: reggae, jazz, gospel, African and world music, classical - and rock and pop music, of course. I didn’t listen to one particular kind of rock when I was growing up. I’d hear a song on the radio and think it was really cool - U2, the Police, so many different groups.”

When Makananise and drummer Tshepang Ramoba, both from Soweto, first teamed up with singer Lindani Buthelezi and guitarist Mpumi Mcata, childhood friends from the East Rand section of Johannesburg, the bassist didn’t know what to expect. He soon found out.

For the Herald piece in its entirety, click on the link below:

BLK JKS