Video: BLK JKS Unplugged at SPIN

Watch one of 2009's best new bands play two original tracks acoustic, plus revamp a South African protest song!
BLK JKS

With an experimental sound that fuses jazz, funk, and rock, South African quartet BLK JKS (pronounced "Black Jacks") have found fans in Diplo and the Secret Machines -- and become one of 2009's hottest breakout acts. They recently dropped by SPIN's New York offices to prove that the hype is no fluke with an awesome acoustic set. Watch video below.

BLK JKS, 'After Robots' (Secretly Canadian)

The Motherland’s brightest bohos birth a new rock era.

The reach of Western monoculture, the end of apartheid, the Internet, mp3 file-sharing…we may never know what seismic historical shift to thank for the musical stew that is South Africa's BLK JKS. But in the 21st century, this quartet has been loosed from history and geography.

Hot New Band: BLK JKS

FREE DOWNLOAD: This South African quartet mixes Vampire Weekend's Afro-pop guitar with TV on the Radio's experimentalism.
BLK JKS / Photo by mikhael subotzky

Chances are you've never heard of South African rockers BLK JKS. But M.I.A. producer/DJ extraordinaire Diplo, Secret Machines frontman Brandon Curtis, and all-star indie label Secretly Canadian are big fans -- and they think you should be, too.

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