BIOGRAPHY Just Like The Others is testament against our conditioned
way of life. Work, shop, eat, watch TV, ignore, REPEAT. Leaving uswith nothing but cancers, mortgages, and mental
depression, let alone what we are doing to Heiling from multicultural Melbourne Jika is giving birth to a new hybrid of music. Ignoring the current template of the pop/rock format (ie: see Jessica Simpson/Linkin Park) Jika encompasses both traditional cultural and modern styles of music and fuses elements of latino, metal, funk, electronic, punk rock, hip hop and world influences. Using a full percussion section, Jika uses latin and afro rhythms to create a tribal South American feel. Keyboards, vocoders and electronic percussion add a psychedelic/electro drum n’ bass edge. There’s heavy riffs worthy of any metal fan in the mix, European guitar lines, there’s Spanish and Serbian rapping in there too, didgeridoo playing, there’s jazzy sections whilst incorporating, the fun, the love, and the feel of old school funk. This is the music of Jika, a four piece consisting of; a Chilean, a Serbian, a New Zealand born Polish-Singaporean, and an Australian born Spanish-Hungarian. Co-produced by Jika and Rene Parese (Dreadnaught, Jet, Dallas Crane), Just Like The Others is a CD that is not only socially and politically conscious, but reflects on deep personal experiences. Gosando Con Poco tells the story of vocalist Jeff Ortiz’s parent’s migrant experience caused by the military coup in Chile featuring samples announcing the death of President Allende. The song delves deeper as Ortiz reflects on his father’s death. War President George Bush makes a cameo appearance on track Power To I, not to forget Just Like The Others also features an ode to the mighty Big Mac Meal. Thus is the nature of Jika’s music, always changing, unpredictable and explosive. Taking an unconventional approach to songwriting, Jika’s music is absent of any verses or choruses that is commonly found in commercial radio music. Jika has thrown the regular formula of songwriting out the window, as the band writes through a composed approached, with songs often consisting of over 12 sections, each rarely repeating itself. Jika’s live show’s are full of energy. The
members are known to do anything from leap off speakers, damage guitars,
and fracture bones on stage. Some of the stages have also suffered as
Jika has literally broken the stage beneath them in venues in Footscray,
Bendigo and Sunshine.
“My head is spinning and it’s not just the alcohol… they are a real surprise packet, go and check them out” – indieinitiative.com “They are the United Nations of Rock… one of Melbourne’s hottest up and coming acts” – The Buzz Magazine “Eclectic and diverse… a bombastic fusion
of rock and electronica” “ The most energetic dose of funk-rock you’re
ever likely to witness… as a unit they commanded attention and
kept it tight. They love it and you can feel it.” Jika are: |