Johannesburg-based BLK JKS (pronounced Black Jacks) came to international attention when they were discovered and taken to New York by super-producer Diplo. They have already appeared on the cover of America's prestigious Fader magazine and have been variously as the city's "first trendy rock'n'roll export", "the sound of a new South Africa" and "an example of the post-apartheid nation's new cultural momentum and boundary-breaking sensibility". Produced at New York's Electric Ladyland studios by Brandon Curtis of Secret Machines (a fan of the band), "After Robots" features dense vocal harmonies, eclectic guitar riffs and cyclones of sound. The listener can expect sudden tempo changes within each track and syncopation that refuses to kowtow to the demands of any one style. The end result is a collage of sounds, solos, FX, textures and reverb that create a feeling of hazy disorientation. They call what they do "psychedelic rock dub" but that's only part of their remit as they career wildly between genres: there are elements in their sound of shoegazing, of roots reggae, jazzy extemporisation and African hi-life and drum beats. It all adds up to one of the most unique musical visions of 2009.