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Battery 9 (pronounced, in
Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...
, as ''Butteray Nea-ge''), an industrial music project from
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
,
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
, is the brainchild of Paul Riekert, who writes, plays and records the music in a mixture of English and
Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...
. The band name is sometimes written, without a space, as Battery9.


History

Riekert started recording under the name Battery 9 in 1994, bored with the creative constraints of a standard
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band format. A platform to run various projects from, One F Music, was subsequently founded, in the form of an independent record label and a small home studio. The first Battery 9 album, ''Protskrog'', was released in 1995. Made and backed by little more than a shoestring budget, it sold well enough to warrant a licensing deal with independent record company ''Tic Tic Bang''. The next release, ''Strop'' (1996), saw Battery 9 break through to a wider audience, with the song "Kiss the Machine" receiving daytime airplay and eventually charting on 5FM, a major nationwide commercial radio station. For the first time, the major industry took notice and the project received major media coverage, while the live act played for increasingly bigger audiences, culminating in a solo show at the Viper Room in
Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...
in 1997 that drew 1200 people. In the same year, the album ''Gris'', featuring remixes, re-interpretations and interactive CD-ROM data, was released. ''Wrok'' was released in 1998 and was awarded ''Best Rock Album'' in that year's
South African Music Awards The South African Music Awards (often simply the SAMAs) are the Recording Industry of South Africa's music industry awards, established in 1995. The ceremony is held annually, usually in late April or May, with the judging process starting in ...
. After a few major live performances, including supporting
The Prodigy The Prodigy are an English electronic music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboardist, and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured Rapping, MC and vocalist Maxim (musician), Maxim, dancer and occasi ...
and
Faithless Faithless are an English dance music Band (rock and pop), band that formed in 1995, with its core original members being Rollo Armstrong, Rollo, Sister Bliss and Maxi Jazz. During the band's initial period of success, Sister Bliss and Maxi Ja ...
on their tour in South Africa, Battery 9 took a break for a couple of months to re-assemble the live act. In December 2000 and January 2001, Battery 9, with the newly formed live act, performed a well-received short tour of South Africa. The set included new songs from the album ''Sondebok'' which was released in 2002. After a long break, a sixth album, ''Straks'', was released in late 2005 with almost no marketing or promotion. The next album, ''Galbraak'', was released in October 2008.


Current members

The band has had quite a few members and incarnations over the years, with Paul Riekert and the 6'8" tall Huyser Burger (also known as DJ Fokkolnonsins) remaining as the only two constants from 1995. The current guitarist is Dawid Kahts, who also plays guitar for NuL and Thys Nywerheid. The band currently performs wearing formal black suits, except for Huyser, who sometimes goes casual. Huyser Burger died on 5 December 2011 from acute kidney and liver failure.


Unorthodox instruments

As befits their industrial image, Battery 9 often uses unorthodox instruments on-stage as well as for recording samples. Examples include road signs, oil drums and other pieces of scrap metal. The blade from a bulldozer was included for a time, but it was abandoned because of the hassle involved in transporting it to the venues. DIY electric implements like drills, angle grinders, and jackhammers are also used, with some more for the visual effect than the musical merit of including it.


Albums

*''Protskrog'' — Album — 20 April 1995 — One F Music / Tic Tic Bang *''Strop'' — Album — 23 August 1996 — One F Music / Tic Tic Bang *''Strop'' (Limited Edition) — Album (limited to approximately 300 copies) — 23 August 1996 — One F Music / Tic Tic Bang *''Gris'' — Remix EP — 29 September 1997 — One F Music / Tic Tic Bang *''Gris'' (Limited Edition) — Remix EP — 29 September 1997 — One F Music / Tic Tic Bang *''Wrok'' — Album — 17 October 1998 — One F Music / Tic Tic Bang *''Sondebok'' — Album — 14 July 2002 — One F Music / Gallo Record Company *''Straks'' — Album — December 2005 — One F Music *''Galbraak'' — Album — October 2008 — One F Music *''Grimmig'' — Album — December 2016 — One F Music


Compilations

*"Ocean Culture" *"My Generation" *"Oppikoppi Live" *"Akwa - Pure South African Dance" *"Oppikoppi Live" *"Euphoria - Industrial EBM Compilation" *"Swerve" *"Om te Breyten" *"Essential Indie Vol. 1" *"Alternatief op sy beste" *"Mondmusiek - Breyten Breytenbach" *"Orgazmatracks 3" *"Barney Simon's Radio Revolution" *"20 Jaar Later: Van Voëlvry tot Fokof"


Side projects

Paul Riekert and various other members of the band have collaborated on many other musical projects. Examples include the "Breinskade" (Brain damage) album, which mainly featured the smashing of anything they could lay their hands on. More recent projects include the General Dealer electronica album, as well as the eerie almost-
folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...
album "Floukop" by Paul Riekert and Andre van Rensburg (a former Battery 9 guitarist) under the name of "Die Menere".


References


External links


www.battery9.co.za
— The official Battery 9 website (updated and relaunched 2007.03.01)
Screaming Machine
— An unofficial Battery 9 website
Myspace
— The Official Battery 9 Myspace {{Authority control South African industrial music groups Musical groups established in 1994 South African alternative rock groups 1994 establishments in South Africa Afrikaans-language musical groups from South Africa English-language musical groups from South Africa