South African rockers BLK JKS construct "Robots"

NEW YORK (Billboard) - When the South African four-piece rock band BLK JKS headed to the United States to record their first full-length album last January, they left the blazing Johannesburg summertime for the depths of winter in Bloomington, Indiana.

Unused to the cold but eager to record, the band borrowed sweaters and spent 10 hours a day pounding out live takes until an album materialized.

"I saw it as an exorcism," guitarist Mpumi Mcata says. "We've been growing in the five years we've been together up to this point, and recording was like trying to remember our past. We needed to get something out of us quickly."

After a feverish three-week recording period, BLK JKS (pronounced "black jacks") emerged with "After Robots," an aggressive epic that showcases jazz, prog-rock and pop through a rhythmic African lens. Set for release Tuesday (September 8) on Secretly Canadian, "Robots" is BLK JKS' proper introduction to U.S. audiences after months of mounting promotion.

Before the band set its sights on the States, BLK JKS cut its teeth touring in South Africa, and by 2007 the group had become a staple at festivals there. "I was on the Western Cape that March, and people told me about this band from Johannesburg that was the best in the country," says manager Knox Robinson, who's been with the group since August 2007.

In March 2008, the foursome landed on the cover of Fader magazine and was invited to perform at that year's South by Southwest (SXSW) festival. Attracted by the Fader story and the band's demos on MySpace, Secretly Canadian general manager Kevin Duneman met with Robinson in September and signed the group in December.

Instead of recording the album in South Africa, the band headed to a studio in Bloomington, near Secretly Canadian's headquarters. The move allowed BLK JKS to stay in close contact with their label and to bring on Secret Machines frontman and African music enthusiast Brandon Curtis as the album's producer. The recording session was followed by the release of an EP in March, along with sets at this year's SXSW and Sasquatch festivals.

The nine-track debut draws from a wide array of styles, from the danceable tribal chants of "Molalatladi" to the moody guitar rock of "Cursor." The album's genre-hopping is founded on an appreciation of African-influenced arrangements, a trend that recently has been highlighted by indie acts like Vampire Weekend and the Dirty Projectors.

"The way people pick up different African styles has been happening for a long time, from African church songs influencing jazz in the 1920s," drummer Tshepang Ramoba says. "It's interesting to see them now coming to the forefront a little."

Having played select shows on the East Coast in June, BLK JKS will embark on a full-fledged U.S. tour. The band is eager for "Robots" to be released, but it's just as excited to return to the road.

"The album might be weird to some people, but you come to the show and see it come together," Mcata says. "The album is the menu, and our show is the main course."

(Editing by SheriLinden at Reuters)