By Emma Wippermann

A refreshing mixture of prog-rock, jazz, and African beat, with some surprising classic-rock guitar riffs, BLK JKS’ performance in the former Rhoads dining hall brought a fresh musical experience to the predominately indie scene of the Tri-Co. BLK JKS are a South African band from Johannesburg, and the press has given them very favorable reviews; Rolling Stone gave them three and a half out of five stars and regarded their incorporation of jazz and African beats and rhythm with high esteem. They’ve been compared to TV On The Radio and even Sonic Youth, but I think they bring something much newer to the music scene.

African influence in indie rock is becoming more popular, as (poorly) demonstrated by Vampire Weekend, who claims inspiration from Congolese popular music. BLK JKS does it right, though—and not just because they’re actually African. They use traditional tunes and beats in some of their riffs, and then artfully distort them while incorporating western indie rock styles. The first song in their set began in a very post-rock manner, comparable to bands like Tortoise and Explosions In The Sky, and then transitioned in a flash to the African-style prog-rock they’re acclaimed for.

Every member had a microphone, but all were on reverb and loop settings except that of the primary vocalist, Buthelezi, who sang in both English and Zulu, and whose voice was golden and had an old time-y beauty. With two guitarists, a bassist, and a drummer, I expected the band dynamic to be traditional: the drummer stuck in back, the guitarists up front, and the bassist off to the side. There seemed to be none of that classic hierarchy, however—the members were all in a line at the front of the stage, and when the vocalist sang, he merely stepped from his place in their democratic line up to the microphone in the center. In terms of ability, the bassist and the drummer definitely stood out, each casually ripping out a catchy and complex riff or beat without pause. Every member was talented, though, and all had small solo-snippets throughout many of the songs, which lent a fuller dimension to their sound.

One of the guitarists, decked out in plaid, thick-framed glasses, and a carefully balanced trucker hat, opened up their set by proclaiming, “We came out here because we heard you were ready.” The energy of the songs certainly stood up to this epic proclamation, but surprisingly, the energy of the band did not. The members of BLK JKS all stood very still, gazing into space or at their feet, and played with little outward enthusiasm. They were all very talented and in tune with the music, but it was hard to feel engaged in the audience when the stage presence was lackluster. However, I could understand the possible lack of excitement for the show—the few in attendance were very earnest in their interest, but the turnout was slim. Certainly no more than one hundred students were there, and a few songs into BLK JKS’s set, a great part of the attendees slipped away to catch the Blue Bus to Haverford for the Lunt show, featuring the better-known and more indie-friendly Mount Eerie.

Bryn Mawr might not have been the best venue for the BLK JKS, but I was glad to see them come. The music scene on campus is undeveloped in comparison with Haverford and Swarthmore, and an up-and-coming band like the BLK JKS might spur us into action.

Related articles

• Spoon
• Karate: Unsolved
• Jen Cohen Performs at Bryn Mawr
• Eastern Blok, Mark Guiliana’s ‘Thing’ Come to Lunt
• Haverford’s Lunt Basement: Packed once again
• At the Drive-In
• Wizard Rock at Yule Ball
• Jazz Mandolin Project at Haverford
• “Let’s Be Friends”: A FUCS Review
• Vampire Weekend Plays Lunt Basement